CHOOSING THE CORRECT TRUCK BED COVERS

Truck bed covers help protect your gear, but choosing among the various truck bed covers/tonneau covers can be overwhelming. Learn how to figure out the best truck tonneau covers for your particular needs.

Style of Cover

As you start browsing the various truck bed covers available, you will notice that there are multiple styles. This is because what makes the best truck bed covers depends on your needs. As a result, manufacturers offer a range of styles to appeal to all drivers. The most common styles include:

· Hard non-folding

· Hard folding with a rack system

· Hard folding without a rack system

· Non-rail styles featuring a closure with hooks and loops

· Soft snap-ons with rails

· Soft styles with rails and zips and channels

· One-pieces

· Roll-up soft covers

· Roll-up hard covers

· Retractable hard covers

· Soft folding covers

To narrow down your selection of styles, you should start by deciding whether you want a soft or hard truck bed cover. Then, you can think about closures and whether you want it to fold, retract, roll, or open in some other way.

Materials

There are also multiple materials available for truck tonneau covers, including canvas, twill weave, nylon, vinyl, aluminum, and others. When considering the material that is right for you, you will want to think about durability, maintenance, weather-resistance, theft-resistance, security, and appearance.

Ease of Opening

With the vast array of truck bed cover styles, some will be easier to open and close than others. If you tend to place items in the truck bed and leave them there for a long time, then ease of opening may not be as important. Most truck owners, however, will want to ensure they can open and close the cover within a minute or two at the most. Otherwise, you can waste valuable time trying to store and retrieve your gear.

Features and Characteristics

The features that the best truck tonneau covers should include will vary based on driver preference. Most covers will have some sort of weather-proofing, but the extent can vary. To decide if you need full water-tightness or the ability to handle extreme weather, think about the conditions you typically drive in and the sensitivity of the cargo you will be carrying.

You should also think about whether you need your tonneau cover to be able to lock. Many models will have locking abilities by default, but this is not always the case. Some tonneau covers may not come with lockability but may offer compatible accessories that add in that ability. The importance of this feature will depend on the value of the tools and cargo you store in the cargo bed as well as the risk of theft in the areas you travel.

Material and things such as joints, hinges, and closures, will also closely relate to security. Some of the best covers have additional construction measures to boost security, such as hidden heavy-duty hinges.

Some tonneau covers will have built-in adventure-ready features, such as racks to hold your outdoor gear. This may be an important feature depending on how you plan to use your truck. Or you may spot a cover with roof rails built-in, or available as add-on accessories.

Installation

When narrowing down your tonneau cover choices, you should also think about the ease of installation. Some covers are incredibly simple to install, even if you have minimal experience completing truck upgrades yourself. Others may strongly encourage professional installation. Then, there are yet others that fit somewhere between these extremes.

Compatibility

Always ensure that your chosen truck bed covers are compatible with your vehicle. The size of a truck bed can vary somewhat based on automaker and model, so keep the measurements of your bed in mind during the selection process.

The Top Brands

 As with any other item for your vehicle, some brands of truck bed covers have a stronger reputation than others. Although many other manufacturers will also produce high-quality covers, the following are among the most popular and top brands: BAK Industries, Undercover, Rock-N-Lock, Extang, and Truxedo. Between those brands, you should find the styles, colors, and features you need.

With a better idea of the best truck bed covers available, you should be ready to choose among all the great truck tonneau/bed covers on the market. With the right truck bed cover, you will at TuffTruckParts.com.