Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Tonneau Covers

Access roll ups have been good to me. This truck is on its third bed, but still the same Access tonneau cover.

Rough Country has a nice black powder coated aluminum slat roll up. Cool cover. My son is getting it for his new Sierra. Seems like a nice compromise from a soft roll up or a hard flip up. He didn't like the idea of having it block the back window when flipped up.

Will update once we install it. $900.


Clyde

The exact same cover that I have. It's been on two trucks for what has now been 10 years. Cold doesn't bother it when rolling it up. It was 23 degrees when I loaded up for a dump run today.

either that or drop your tailgate...

i have truxedo sentry with the aluminum slats under the black vinyl and I love it

In theory yes. In the real world you'll need pretty accurate measurement devices to figure out the fraction of 1 mpg you'll save. The fuel savings will never come close to paying for the cost of the cover.

A tonneau cover would be in the way more than it would help me. I've tried them and prefer a cap. A good fiberglass tonneau isn't much cheaper than a cap and the roll up ones don't last long. It's pretty rare for me to find something that won't fit and if it doesn't fit in the bed it's a lot easier to load in the utility trailer anyway.

Bakflip MX4 on my F150. Strong, secure, looks good, keeps stuff dry except a few drops.

Widely debunked as not true. The tonneau helps marginally.



First link that came up on my search.

For this series of tests, Consumer Reports used a 2013 Dodge Ram V8 at a speed of 65 mph on the highway. The tailgate was left up during the first test and lowered on the second test. For the third test, a tonneau cover was secured over the truck bed.

Many truck owners believe that a tonneau cover will improve a truck’s gas mileage just as well as leaving the tailgate down. This is because the cover will supposedly distribute the air evenly across the body of the truck instead of collecting it in the cargo box. This theory is backed up by tonneau makers, who claim that using one will improve your gas mileage by 10 to 13%.

During the first test, the Ram got a combined 22.3 mpg. With the tailgate down, the truck got a combined fuel economy rating of 21.5 mpg. This shows that buying into this popular myth is actually worse for your car in reality. However, both of these ratings were better than the test involving the tonneau.

With the tonneau cover attached, the Ram’s fuel economy rating was 21.4 mpg. According to another study conducted by SEMA, the tonneau cover increased their truck’s fuel economy, but only while driving at a certain speed. Their test truck saved a little over one mile per gallon while driving at 85 mph. However, this situation is so uncommon that you probably won’t save much money at all while using the cover.

Another popular method that Consumer Reports didn’t test is using a mesh net. The net is attached to the back of the truck with the tailgate lowered. According to a test conducted by Mythbusters, it improved their truck’s gas mileage by 5%.

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/will-dropping-your-tailgate-improve-your-trucks-gas-mileage/

THIS

Lower that gate and see how long it is before the ass end of the bedsides are loose.

Anybody that does this isn't too smart.

BAKFLIP is as good as they get

I settled on a soft tri-fold by Tyger for my new Tundra. I really like it , keeps the bed dry as a bone. Easy install on Toyota's rail system , no drilling, no cutting . It removes in about 2 minutes if I need the whole bed. Top of bedrails are "clean" when removed, no rails , seals .
Linked below.

https://www.tygerauto.com/tonneau-c...-fit-2022-2025-toyota-tundra-55-bed.html

Installed a Gator Recoil tonneau cover on the new F150. Not as nice/refined as the Pace Edwards Switchblade I had on the last truck, but is pretty decent. I like the option to position a middle stop-point anywhere on the track. The hardware isn't as good as the Switchblade but it isn't bad. Seems solid and secure so far.

If it's was going to have one, the retrax seems to be the gold standard from what I've seen.

Had one on a used truck I had. I ended up selling it because the roll up took up too much bed room. Put on a topper/camper and all problems solved.

Everyone's tool needs are different.

I’ve had caps and tonneau covers since 1986, had molded plastic, fiberglass, metal, but if you don’t haul anything tall to fit inside cap, I really like the fold up to get in front of bed with front flap up to fill extra fuel tank, and back flaps fold up to get to your ball in bed for gooseneck trailers, nice throwing guns in back and keeping them dry.

Soft rollup

I'm happy with a tri-fold on my Tacoma. It is water-tight, and it provides some security.

I have used many different types of covers from tonneaus to caps both metal and fiberglass. They all have pluses and minuses. My last truck I decided to just get a cheap trip fold which fits my RAM truck perfectly. It offers good water proofing, keeps the snow out of the bed and can easily fold back allowing almost all of the bed to be used with a tall load. In the event I need the whole bed it only takes a couple minutes without needing tools to remove the unit. I am planning on trading the truck this fall and should be able to take the tonneau with me when I get a similar model.

I’ve had the Amazon Tyger soft tri-fold on my last three trucks. Works great, keeps things in the bed dry, and very easily removable by one person if needed. It takes about 2 minutes to remove.

Have the REV hard folding tonneau cover on my '24 GMC Canyon. Fits very well, keeps out dust and water, and I like the security it offers when locked up. Fits perfectly flat, and looks good.