Choosing a Tonneau Cover
July 20th, 2010 by Greg D.
When it comes to choosing a tonneau cover, where do you start? There are dozens of manufacturers and each of them offers a daunting variety of choices and variations.
Despite being in the industry for ten years, I found myself in this situation. My old vinyl tonneau cover decided to pull a Mary Poppins and take flight while I was flying down the freeway the other day. Apparently I exceeded its speed rating and it disintegrated. So now I need a new cover…great. I sell them all day long so this should be easy, right?
Well, not so much. There are roll up, folding, retractable, and hinged tonneau covers, all of which are available in soft fabric, ABS, or aluminum. Since my last fabric cover self-destructed, I opted for a hard cover. I really like the retractable design, but I need all the bed space I can get so that eliminates the roll up/retractable styles. Since I haul dirtbikes (and hinged covers are a bit of work to install anyway) I figured the folding style would best suit my needs.
After a bit of research I chose Bak Industries’ Bakflip HD cover. Its solid aluminum construction can hold 400lbs of weight and lock in any position. It also installs in less than a minute and looks great!
About the Author: Greg D.
I blame my vehicles for the fact that I don't own a house and am not married. Maybe I should thank them. Either way, the off-road and the outdoors are my passions, the driving forces that motivate me to be productive and successful in life. Motorcycles are my first love, good ol’ dad started me out on a xr80 when I was five years old, and I've been riding ever since (much to the dismay of my mother). I believe in the "Buy it once, keep it forever" policy. If something breaks, replace it with something better. Do that long enough, and you'll have some awesome toys!
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