Tonneau covers anyone??

JJZ 109 · Oct 9, 2019

ArlyA said:
How many people here have used the Gator SFX Tri-Fold Tonneau Cover?? Like it? Hate it? Thanks!

Got one and love it. I really like the spring loaded locking levers in the rear. On my second Gator cover. Keeps the bed dry and does a good job for a low price. $249 plus shipping was $268.
My only problem with Gator was getting parts with a previous cover. Forklift at a local building supply hit the rear bar or "tail rail" and bent it. Emailed and called to get the replacement. Got bounced from person to person. Found out that Gator, RealTruck and Tonneau Covers World are all one and the same company. The tech people asked if I really wanted to tackle the job because it was difficult. Finally after a month I got the part. Had the old one out and new one in about a half hour later.
Once had a TonnoPro tri fold. About $40 more than the Gator. About the same quality and did the job also. Unless my needs changed I'll probably stick with Gator.

ArlyA said:
It it easy to open and lock shut?? Fold back to use more of your bed?? Thanks!

Super easy to open and lock shut. It folds back so that just the front panel of the 3 is covering the bed. So you'll have about 2/3 of the bed wide open. Fine for my use. If you were hauling an object that was higher than the bed rails and you wanted it up close to the cab you'd have to remove the cover. Also an easy job. 2 hand adjustable clamps up at the front corners. No tools required for installation or removal.
I had an expensive Peragon on the last truck. Looked good in the videos and on paper. Leaked and didn't seem to stay adjusted for more than a few months. Never again.

ddbackhoe · Oct 9, 2019

JJZ 109 said:
Got one and love it. I really like the spring loaded locking levers in the rear. On my second Gator cover. Keeps the bed dry and does a good job for a low price. $249 plus shipping was $268.
My only problem with Gator was getting parts with a previous cover. Forklift at a local building supply hit the rear bar or "tail rail" and bent it. Emailed and called to get the replacement. Got bounced from person to person. Found out that Gator, RealTruck and Tonneau Covers World are all one and the same company. The tech people asked if I really wanted to tackle the job because it was difficult. Finally after a month I got the part. Had the old one out and new one in about a half hour later.
Once had a TonnoPro tri fold. About $40 more than the Gator. About the same quality and did the job also. Unless my needs changed I'll probably stick with Gator.

Super easy to open and lock shut. It folds back so that just the front panel of the 3 is covering the bed. So you'll have about 2/3 of the bed wide open. Fine for my use. If you were hauling an object that was higher than the bed rails and you wanted it up close to the cab you'd have to remove the cover. Also an easy job. 2 hand adjustable clamps up at the front corners. No tools required for installation or removal.
I had an expensive Peragon on the last truck. Looked good in the videos and on paper. Leaked and didn't seem to stay adjusted for more than a few months. Never again.

Ive got an Extang on the Ridgeline and sounds like the exact same cover (probably is except the tag). Had it a little over a year, so far its been great. Easy on/off, open/close

JJZ 109 · Oct 12, 2019

ddbackhoe said:
Ive got an Extang on the Ridgeline and sounds like the exact same cover (probably is except the tag). Had it a little over a year, so far its been great. Easy on/off, open/close

I wouldn't be surprised. To me the Gator, TonnoPro and other lower priced tri folds look a lot alike. Last I looked RealTruck was running a free shipping deal. That would have saved me $20.

ArlyA · Oct 23, 2019

Folks, Today I ordered a Extang Trifecta 2.0 Tonneau bed cover. We are traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday and must cover our clothing bags with something! Thanks for your insights.

buckeyefarmer · Oct 24, 2019

John_Mc · Oct 24, 2019

So what are the advantages and disadvantages of roll-up vs tri-fold covers. I've never owned a tonneau cover before, but am considering adding one to my Tacoma.

Snow load can be an issue if a storm hits when I'm away from home, so if someone has experience with how various designs handle that, I'd appreciate hearing it.

ArlyA · Oct 24, 2019

Since we've never owned one, in fact we are waiting for the certain style of topper to come out for our ranger, but got tired of waiting and will look again for one in the spring.

Tonneau covers,

90% of the time, we don't need much of an opening to throw our tools into the back of this truck, so we'll just flip over the rear most section or 2. Seems most people are happy with these flip over style covers and they cost less than the roll-up ones do.

We do indeed receive snow here on the south shore of da little lake so I plan to keep it shoved off. Bad idea?? :laughing:

John_Mc said:
So what are the advantages and disadvantages of roll-up vs tri-fold covers. I've never owned a tonneau cover before, but am considering adding one to my Tacoma.
Snow load can be an issue if a storm hits when I'm away from home, so if someone has experience with how various designs handle that, I'd appreciate hearing it.

JJZ 109 · Oct 25, 2019

I live on the NY/Canada border and we see snow. Many times I've removed 8-12 inches of snow from my tonneaus with a soft foam "snow rake" type thing. Never had one collapse yet.
Granted, you might not want to leave wet, heavy snow there for days upon end but my trifold covers have always stood up.