Anybody got a hard tonneau cover on their pickup?

[dholly]

Just bought a pickup and am considering either a roll-up or accordian-fold hard tonnneau. Curious if anyone has any practical experience with either, particularly in the northern winter climes? Was thinking about this Peragon Bed Cover.

[Hot Foot]

I have this on my truck Click Here!

The electric roll up is nice, however, it is about twice the price and not to sure how well they will hold up mechanically. The snugtop looks great on any truck and removal can be done in less than 5 minutes with two persons.

[GZire]

We've used the hard piece deals on our company pickups. I'm not sure how secure they are and I am not certain what happens in winter climates too.

My impression was it's more for a low security option (to securing things in your bed) and for looks.

[AZ-G35]

My current truck has none. The Toyota I had had the soft cover with three wooden slats. I don't think they use the wood ones any more. The cover was a snap on which at that time meant they were drilled into the body. Definately not recommended. Although it rolled up really guick. My dad has a similar version that has a metal frame on the top and it is a lot better (smae as the toyota except all metal parts and soft top.

[dholly]

Thanks guys. Since it's just a Regular cab, there's no room to store tools, etc., in the cab. I figure if somebody wants something bad enough, they'll get it whether it's inside or out. Hard or soft cover won't likely stop 'em either, but I'll be damned if I'll pay $400-$500 for a soft tonneau so some d*ckhead with a pocketknife can get his jollies on a late night walk-by.

Fiberglass caps and tonneaus sure are nice, but I want quick access (i.e., 5 secs rather than 5 mins) to the bed for my FEL so I've been looking at those canister type rollup covers (aluminum slats sandwiched between vinyl). But, with all the snow and ice up here in winter, I'm a bit skeptical of them as it seems like they could get frozen or jammed up with ice in the winter.

So, I am kind of leaning towards something like the hard aluminum accordian-fold cover made by Peragon. Was hoping to hear from someone familiar with those types of covers. Aside from the security issue, a tonneau cover of any kind seems like a wise move from a fuel economy point-of-view.

Western New England College performed an in-depth study on the effect of airflow once it passes the truck’s cab. The flow separates behind the cab and enters the truck bed resulting in a drag coefficient (Cd) of Cd = .432 if the bed is not covered. When a square truck cap is added, the drag coefficient increases to Cd =.480, or an 11.11% increase in drag. When a tonneau cover is used, the drag coefficient decreases to Cd =.381, or an 11.81% decrease in drag. Additional comparisons were made in the study by changing the tailgate. Replacing the tailgate with a cargo net resulted in Cd =.461, a 6.71% increase in drag compared to removing the tailgate which resulted in a C d=.447, a 3.47% increase in drag. Also, lowering the tailgate resulted in Cd =.414, a 4.17% decrease in drag. The results of this study concluded that the best method of decreasing the drag coefficient, thus increasing fuel economy, is to install a tonneau cover over the truck bed.

If you drive 18,000 miles per year, at 15 mpg that comes to 1,200 gallons of gas. At a minimum 10% savings you would save around 120 gallons a year…

[partyman66]

Originally Posted by dholly

I'll be damned if I'll pay $400-$500 for a soft tonneau so some d*ckhead with a pocketknife can get his jollies on a late night walk-by.

I've also heard that a lot of poeple also have trouble putting those soft covers back on after removal once they have aged a few years and the sun has dried them out(causing them to become less flexible and sometimes even slightly shrink).

[dholly]

Yep, lots of horror stories and they just sound like too much of a PITA to bother with. Now, on the other side, a quick and easily removeable hard cover sounds like it would be worth the extra $$ to me.