Different types of tonneau truck bed covers – Whether you’re transporting tools and construction supplies, carrying large pieces of wood or working on the farm, you need a truck that can get things done. Tonneau covers allow you to get the absolute maximum performance out of your vehicle and to optimize it for a particular need.
There are a ton of different types of tonneau covers (truck bed covers) on the market. Utilize this informational article to learn more about the top tonneau covers for your specific needs.
Here is a link to a huge array of Tonneau Truck Bed Covers on Amazon – Truck Bed Covers
For more information about Tonneau Truck Bed Covers (Ford F150 specifically), check out our Ford F150 Tonneau Truck Bed Cover page.
The truck bed cover (also known as a tonneau cover), a pickup truck’s tool box cover, is a very common aftermarket product that you can add to your truck for a wide range of reasons. The best type of tonneau cover mixes performance, style and of course an easy way to use it. Here are a few of the most common reasons why truck owners tend to add a truck bed cover to their pickup truck:
- Tonneau covers help you avoid getting valuable tools and equipment stolen from the back of your truck by hiding them from plain view. There are also tonneau covers out there that lock and protect your tools and equipment.
- A good tonneau cover will save your items from bad weather (such as rain, snow and even sun). This reason is especially important if you are a truck owner that often time keeps metal tools, metal tool boxes or other sensitive material type items in your truck bed for work.
- A tonneau cover also allows you to keep your awesome truck’s bed clean and neat. This way, you’re ready to go when it’s time to get to work or haul stuff. Debris like leaves, dirt and water will often accumulate in a truck’s bed that doesn’t have a good cover in place.
- Most people will choose the look of a truck with a bed cover over one without every time. Tonneau covers come in a large range of styles, it can be a sleek addition to your truck in order to give it a bold look.
Check out our homepage for Truck Bed Cover Reviews here: Truck Bed Cover Reviews – Best Truck Bed Covers
Roll-up Tonneau Truck Bed Covers
The roll-up tonneau truck bed covers are a really good choice for many different types of truck owners. These covers are flexible and super easy to install. This makes them the absolute ideal option for truck owners who need a simple tonneau cover that they can start using immediately.
Roll-up Tonneau Truck Bed Cover Benefits:
- roll-up tonneau truck bed covers are a really low-cost choice. They are indeed the most affordable type of a tonneau cover style if you don’t require a hard cover for your truck.
- These covers are really easy to install. The roll-up design typically sports a frame that you are able to attach to your truck’s bed without the need of any fasteners or even drilling. You won’t have to change a thing about your truck in order to utilize a good roll-up tonneau cover.
- A tonneau truck bed cover gives you ample protection from the elements like the sun’s heat rays as well as any heavy weather. The roll-up covers that are made from a vinyl-coated material tend to be the longest lasting and best performing type of roll-up tonneau truck bed cover. They are pretty decent in rain and snow as well.
- One large benefit is the fact that these covers do not need to be removed from the truck bed when transporting larger items. All you do is, you simply just roll up the tonneau cover in order to have more truck bed space.
Roll-up Tonneau Truck Bed Cover Considerations:
- The roll-up truck bed cover does not provide a ton of good protection from having your items stolen. Due to the fact that the roll-up tonneau truck bed covers are constructed out of soft vinyl material; thieves are able to cur right through them.
- The other issue is that roll up tonneau truck bed covers typically do not last as long as some of the other much-harder truck bed covers. The very soft vinyl material that comprises a roll-up tonneau truck bed cover is much more likely to get damaged when compared to other “harder” types of truck bed covers.
- This style of a truck bed cover does not do as well during heavy rain and snow storms or blizzards. The issues seem to get worse as the roll-up cover ages.
Tri-fold Tonneau Truck Bed Covers
Tri-fold tonneau truck bed covers come in both hard and soft varieties, with hard versions typically providing added theft and weather protection. These covers have folding panels, giving you access to your truck bed in sections. This is a great option if you need bed covers for trucks with tool boxes.
Tri-fold Tonneau Truck Bed Cover Benefits:
- Tri-fold tonneau truck bed covers are simple to install. Most models are no more difficult than a standard roll-up cover.
- Hard tri-fold tonneau truck bed covers provide more theft protection since they can’t be cut into. They’re also far more durable.
- Many tri-fold tonneau truck bed covers sit flush against the top of the truck bed, offering a built-in appearance many users prefer.
Tri-fold Tonneau Truck Bed Cover Considerations:
- Tri-fold tonneau truck bed covers restrict access to at least a portion of your truck bed. This may be an issue if you need to routinely access the back of your truck bed.
- Tri-fold styles make hauling large and tall items more difficult due to partially restricted access.
- These often cost more than roll-up covers. This may be offset due to a longer lifespan, depending on your unique needs.
Retractable Tonneau Truck Bed Covers
Designed to offer protection without compromising flexibility, retractable designs are ideal for people who use their vehicles in different ways.
Retractable Tonneau Truck Bed Cover Benefits:
- Retractable tonneau truck bed covers can fold up into a canister when not in use. This means they’re easy to get out of the way if you’re hauling large or tall items and need your entire truck bed.
- They come in many different styles with unique coating materials, allowing you to tailor the look of your bed cover. Common coating materials include aluminum, poly-carbonate and vinyl.
- Some retractable tonneau truck bed covers can be locked in place while partially open. These are some of the best covers for trucks with tool boxes that need to be accessed routinely.
Retractable Tonneau Truck Bed Cover Considerations:
- Retractable tonneau truck bed covers tend to cost more than roll-up and tri-fold designs. Many people feel the added flexibility still makes them a smart buy.
- They can be more difficult to install and remove from your truck.
High-impact Plastic Tonneau Truck Bed Covers
If you are looking for an extra-durable tonneau truck bed cover for your truck, high-impact truck bed models made of plastic, vinyl or aluminum can be a really good choice for you.
High-impact Plastic Tonneau Truck Bed Cover Benefits:
- High-impact tonneau truck bed cover models are super easy to install. That is a great thing if you are looking to install it on your truck and then to remove it sometime soon in the future. Many truck owners are able to perform installation and removal within a matter of minutes.
- These tonneau truck bed covers are very durable and each one is specifically designed to last for many years. A high-impact tonneau truck bed cover is able to weather to frequent use and hard conditions brought on by mother nature.
- Many high-impact tonneau truck bed cover models provide locking mechanisms that allow you to have maximum security and protection for your tools and other equipment. This is a huge benefit that allows you to routinely keep all of your expensive tools, materials and other construction or everyday supplies in your truck’s whether out on a job or just parked on the street overnight somewhere.
High-impact Plastic Tonneau Truck Bed Cover Considerations:
- These truck bed covers can get pretty expensive. Although they are very durable, high-impact tonneau truck bed covers require quite a bit of up-front investment. If you don’t require a heavy-duty tonneau truck bed cover, you would be better off to purchase a more cost-effective option that is almost as good.
- A second reason why the high-impact tonneau truck bed cover model can potentially not be idea, is because they can interfere with your shiny new tool box and other in-truck storage devices and options. Granted, you could always purchase a lower-profile toolbox for the job or you could just invest in a raised high-impact tonneau truck bed cover instead.
- The tonneau truck bed covers can often time be on the heavy side of things. High-impact tonneau truck bed covers will often need to be completely removed from the tray in order to be able to haul larger and taller cargo. Certain models can also get quite heavy, so the removal of one can before a problem for just a single person to do, although strong yet lighter high-impact plastic tonneau truck bed covers are also available.
Fiberglass Tonneau Truck Bed Covers
Coming together with an exceptionally high range of level of performance and a smart (yet sleek) style, fiberglass is definitely the number one pick for a truck owner that is looking for a premium tonneau truck bed cover.
Fiberglass Tonneau Truck Bed Cover Benefits:
- Fiberglass aftermarket truck products are extremely strong as well as durable. A fiberglass tonneau truck bed cover should be able to last you for a long number of years, even if you are one of those people that utilizes your truck for work on a daily basis.
- Tonneau truck bed covers that are made out of fiberglass have the look like they are an actual part of your truck. They provide a sleek style and most truck owners prefer the way the fiberglass tonneau truck bed covers look over the other options out there.
- Fiberglass tonneau truck bed covers also provide one of the most secure locking features, that helps to keep your tailgate from getting opened without lock’n key or being unlocked from the inside. These truck bed covers are an absolute great choice for you if you are looking for a really secure tonneau truck bed cover.
Fiberglass Tonneau Truck Bed Cover Considerations:
- Fiberglass tonneau truck bed covers are pretty expensive. For many truck owners, this fact can be offset due to the truck bed cover’s performance and sleep design style.
- These truck bed covers can get fairly hard to install. In certain cases, you might end up needing to get a professional involved in order to help you install a heavy-duty fiberglass tonneau truck bed cover.
- The fiberglass tonneau truck bed covers are really heavy. Most of the fiberglass truck bed cover models can weigh between 80 to 150 pounds. What this means, is that you most likely will not be able to remove the truck bed cover by yourself. This may become an issue if you need to transport taller or bigger cargo on the regular.
Our Final Words
Tonneau truck bed covers help protect the tools, work equipment as well as personal possessions that are stored in your truck. They are also great for providing protection of your truck bed’s paint and finish from mother nature’s wrath. The tonneau truck bed covers also help to keep your truck bed clean from dust and other debris. For most truck owners, having a good tonneau truck bed cover is an absolute must.
Although there are a ton of different out there on the market, the tonneau truck bed styles that we listed here on this page will work for just about any truck make or model available, so make sure to do your research before choosing the best tonneau truck bed cover for your requirements. There are also a variety of other truck accessories that can help you outfit your truck for both work or leisure.
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