Tonneau cover information (good AND bad)?

[Longwell]

I plan on getting a tonneau cover for our 2007 Chevrolet K3500 DRW, for use over the hitch, for security and for extra storage/hauling when not towing.
I have no experience with these covers.
If you have experience with them, please let me know the advantages and disadvantages of the various types and/or brands of covers.
Thanks for any help with this.
Larry

[swanny]

the cover i have is called Access Limited. nice low profile cover, HD velcro sides. I've had it for 3yrs and still looks and preforms as new.

kevin

[William H. Collier]

I have had two Truxedo's and a third one in the garage in a box waiting for my new Super Duty to come in. I have been very happy with them.
Bill

[Rondo]

Larry-- I've got the Retraco bedcover on my 2007 2500 shortbed. It slides from back to front and rolls up in the front of the bed in it's own box. It is about 11" deep at the front and takes up about 14" of the topbed at the top/front. I'v got a Reese slider for a hitch and if I take the locking handle loose and pivot it 180* the cover slides right over the hitch with no problems. Really like the cover and when I'm out I lock the cover if I have anything of value in the bed besides the hitch. You can still put things all the way to the front of the box and the width of the box if the hitch is not in the bed and the storage box for the tonneau has the depth of the wheel well up front under it so you can put things all the way up front. I also have a locking mechanism on my tailgate of the truck so no one can get into the back if I have both locked.

[restez]

I have the Access cover on my truck and have used the same cover on 4 trucks. I bought it new on a 92GMC and each time I bought a new truck the cover went with me. The only problem was a few years back I had to replace the velcro strips on the bed mounts which was about an hour job. Last week I finally bought a new Access cover because the threads were starting to show on some parts of the cover, not bad for an 18 year old cover. I would definitly recommend the Access cover

[dpam]

I have and like the Truxedo, and the release is at the back so if you have a locking tailgate the cover cannot be opened unless someone uses a knfe on it. On a past truck I had a roll & lock (shutter type), but I didn't like that it froze up in the winter. The Truxedo is about $1,000.00 less than the roll and lock.

[sailer]

I use the Roll-and-lock great cover and it goes over the hitch ,,,its installed about $950.00;;;sailer i have had 2 now and love it as you can stop it anyplace as i have mine on the first notch as we tow

[mtpocket2]

I would get one that goes between the rails. I have a nice dent in the rear corner of my bed from the trailer smashing the rail into the bed. Judging by the dent depth I would have been fine if I had not had the tonneau cover on it. Also a self contained one is nice. Where you going to go with the bows when your not using it? Mine are always in the way when the cover is rolled up.

[grampachet]

Truxedo here. Only problem was when the velcro was wet and it froze I couldn't get it open. Didn't take much to thaw it and then all was OK.

[washley1]

Mine is a Trifecta. It is a tri fold and works great. Like DPAM above, with a locking tail gate it is somewhat secure. Holding up great after 2 years, and no water gets in either!

[8e3k0]

We ran a truxedo and like it because items are out of sight when not pulling as I can see my hitch in the rear view mirror, and when you need the box the full 8 feet are open as usable space.
Very easy to operate and economical.

[Waynem]

I had the Roll-n-lock on the F350 King Ranch, long bed. The long bed version allows for 4 or 5 stops. All the way back, 1/4, 1/2(I think), 3/4 and all the way closed. The cover itself locks. It will withstand 300 pounds of weight on the top of it, but I never checked that out, nor would I want to. It is a hard body cover. It fits between the rails so it is flush with the top of the rail. On the Reese 16K hitch all I had to do was turn the release handle upside down so the cover would clear. I think that you would have to do that with any cover and a 16K Reese.

[KathyandDave]

We have the Pace-Edwards Bedlocker electric shutter-type. Works fine in the winter if I brush the snow off before operating it. Once I lock the tailgate, everything is secure. The Pull-Rite hitch handle doesn't protrude. I run the cover out partway to cover the front of the bed when traveling so a bad guy can't retrieve things from the front of the bed when we're parked for lunch. I have to make sure I leave clearance from the pin box to allow it to rotate without hitting the cover's edge gasket.

[mail2us]

Larry, we have an Access Lorado cover. It fits great on our 2500HD shortbed and even has clamps specific to GM bed that reinforces it. I did have help putting it on by John Kohl, but an average person (not me!) could do self-install. I purchased online at autoanything.com with free shipping and a fair price. Our SuperGlide hitch does not interfere with the cover in anyway. Good luck.

[Art-n-Marge]

I had a Pace edwards Rollback cover on my short bed. It also provided a bed light to see cargo under the cover since the light at the top of the cab did no good when the cover was on. I didn't like losing 11 inches at the truck bed next to the cab because of the canister which stored the retracted cover, but the cover was strong and weatherproof. It had stops in one foot increments. The cover had its own lock and when the tailgate was locked that provided the security I sought. All told, it weighed about 90 lbs.

When I bought a new long bed truck, I purchased a BAKFlip (from BAK Industries who has several types of tonneau covers). I picked this because it flips back from the rear of the bed in two foot sections with the final flip laying all sections against the rear window. (Sure it blocked the rear view, but it's a truck - that's what side mirrors are for). This eliminates the canister and gives me back all 8 ft of the bed. Unfortunately a small amount of the top of the truck bed is lost to the parts of the cover that flip back but it is not as much as a canister. There are four sections for a long bed, 3 for a short bed. Unfortunately, at the time this was a new design and some of the seams were taped and sealed with rubber which is starting to show some wear after 4 years. But it's still weather tight and the new models are vastly improved. Because there is less metal this unit weighs about 70 lbs and I have removed the whole thing a couple of times to not impede bed usage at all. For security the bed cover sits over the top of the tailgate and the tailgate must be dropped in order to release the cable latch to flip it open. I had a manual locking tailgate, but installed a powerlock to make it easier to unlock/lock the tailgate.

In either case, I rolled back or flip back, but not completely when using the 5er hitch. All my gennys and gear fit between the hitch and the front of the truck bed. It's somewhat hidden, but I have a cable lock that secures everthing to the truck bed hooks as a deterrent.

The lightest, least expensive and probably most flexible for tall cargo in the bed is the soft tonneau which many have mentioned. These are not restricted to one or two foot increments. My BIL lost his when someone took a knife to it to see what he had inside his truck bed. Fortunately, he had nothing and ended up only losing the cover. He didn't replace with the same thing because it was not insured since he neglected to tell his insurance about it. He just didn't spend enough on it to worry about. I chose the more solid tonneaus for this reason.

I also prefer the roll back or flip back style to allow putting tall cargo in the bed without removing the cover completely. The original hard top tonneaus only had a pivot point at the bed edge closest to the rear window and didn't raise far enough. They were also wieldy to remove. This is what my BIL ended up with because he got the cover very cheap. But he has to remove it completely when towing his 5er or carrying tall items (like when helping family move).

I hope this information helps.

EDITED - corrected some typos.

[KathyandDave]

Follow-up: A downside of the PE Bedlocker is the guide rails along the top of the bed obscure the stake pockets, preventing installation of tie down eyes, which makes moving furniture unwieldy (Art's term, thanks). I plan to notch the guide rails at the pockets.
On edit: Older PE Bedlockers had the cargo light Art describes. Ours, newer, does not, which was a disappointment.

[billhoover]

I have an ExtangRT: http://www.autoanything.com/tonneau-...A1073A0A0.aspx
The RT works fine, it's rolls. I would recommend not getting a cover with snaps, leaks and takes a long time to snap all the snaps.

[Bill-N-Donna]

We have the Fold–A Cover and like it very well. It folds in four sections and allows you to get to the front of the bed or opens from the back. When towing it folds up against the cab and covers a tool box I keep in the bed of the truck. It’s lockable and it’s designed to latch the tail gate even if the tail gate doesn’t have a lock on it.

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http://www.foldacover.com/

[bjj5633]

I have the roll-n-lock and I love it. It heeps everything dry and it locks. About $1000 installed. good luck

[ExPatNW]

We have a F350 2008 Long bed with the step in the tail gate - which I find very useful. However, the profile of the tailgate because of the step is a little different to tailgates without the step and this made it hard to find a cover for the bed that would work. We went with the Bakflip - http://bakfliptonneaucover.com/. I am very happy with it. When not towing the hitch remains in the bed hidden from the weather etc by the cover. I fold back the cover when towing, but leave it flat rather than up against the window. Installed myself - didn't take too long. Mostly rain proof.