Hard tonneau?

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Looking for a hard style tonneau cover for the wife's 2018 F150 with 5.5ft bed and would love to hear some suggestions. I've familiar with most of the big brands but the cost is rather off putting, though I supposed there is no free lunch. Any thoughts on the best value in hard tonneau covers? More specifically I'd like to look at the one piece fiberglass style. I just don't see the folding or roller hard tops as a good choice in Michigan with our wet springs and wet/freezing winters.
 
When I bought my Frontier it came with a LEER tonneau. It was super nice (still sitting in my garage). color keyed, hydraulic lifting, carpeted underneath, options for lights, lockable. I took it off and replaced with a soft roll up because the hard shell means no option for anything taller than the sides of the bed. But If you are looking to turn the bed into a giant trunk in winter that cover was really nice.
 
A good (but expensive) hard cover is a BakFlip which I have purchased twice-for two different trucks. A cheap cover that my Son purchased on Amazon for a truck similar to yours is called "Tyger". It's a soft but very reasonable cover.
 
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I had a soft tonneau on my truck for a winter or two. It worked ok. I would make sure to keep fresh snow off it immediately (just like the rest of the truck); mine was a tri-fold so no velcro or snaps to mess with. It worked just fine. IMO they are cheap enough to try out--if you don't like it, flip it on CL for reasonable money (or buy one off CL in the first place). I found it easy to flip up and down, and if I needed to remove it was off in a minute or two. They do seem a bit flimsy, the rubber weatherstripping is apt to need replacing after a few years, or something will break, but again, cheap in the first place, thus cheap to replace.

Admittedly they are not theft proof (to the contents of your bed), so if that is your goal the hard cover is better. I just look at 'em and think they are cause more problems than they are worth: if you need to move something too tall, you wind up leaving it jacked up and tied down. They are too heavy to take off often. They cost a lot and are probably hard to get rid of (not sure any used car lot wants them on a trade-in). [But who am I to talk? my truck has a fiberglass cap on it, which has all of the same problems, but is relatively easy to break into, so it doesn't have even that. But it's exactly what I wanted, and just like you, if you want a hard cover then get one.]
 
Originally Posted by supton
I had a soft tonneau on my truck for a winter or two. It worked ok. I would make sure to keep fresh snow off it immediately (just like the rest of the truck); mine was a tri-fold so no velcro or snaps to mess with. It worked just fine. IMO they are cheap enough to try out--if you don't like it, flip it on CL for reasonable money (or buy one off CL in the first place). I found it easy to flip up and down, and if I needed to remove it was off in a minute or two. They do seem a bit flimsy, the rubber weatherstripping is apt to need replacing after a few years, or something will break, but again, cheap in the first place, thus cheap to replace.

Admittedly they are not theft proof (to the contents of your bed), so if that is your goal the hard cover is better. I just look at 'em and think they are cause more problems than they are worth: if you need to move something too tall, you wind up leaving it jacked up and tied down. They are too heavy to take off often. They cost a lot and are probably hard to get rid of (not sure any used car lot wants them on a trade-in). [But who am I to talk? my truck has a fiberglass cap on it, which has all of the same problems, but is relatively easy to break into, so it doesn't have even that. But it's exactly what I wanted, and just like you, if you want a hard cover then get one.]


There are hard covers that are tri-folds that give you access to your bed-without removing the cover. Also-Kelley Blue Book does allow adding a cover option when evaluating what your truck is worth. The last truck I traded in I left the hard cover (BakFlip) in place (because it was starting to become dull) but they dealer left it in place and advertised it as a feature.

Fiberglass covers-while nice looking are probably the worst of hard covers. They are heavy, you don't have full access to your bed, takes two people to remove, and take up a large amount of storage when you have to take it off and put it somewhere.
 
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Originally Posted by CKN
There are hard covers that are tri-folds that give you access to your bed-without removing the cover. Also-Kelley Blue Book does allow adding a cover option when evaluating what your truck is worth. The last truck I traded in I left the hard cover (BakFlip) in place (because it was starting to become dull) but they dealer left it in place and advertised it as a feature.

Fiberglass covers-while nice looking are probably the worst of hard covers. They are heavy, you don't have full access to your bed, takes two people to remove, and take up a large amount of storage when you have to take it off and put it somewhere.

Good info. I have not looked in a while; going off memory when I was looking.

I recall the hard trifolds, but I also recall them being pricey. Being a cheapskate that's all I'm liable to remember.
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I have an Extang Encore that's I've been happy with. It's a tri-fold hard cover that can open from the front or the back.

If I were to go with a solid one-piece tonneau, I would go with the UnderCover SE (mainly because it's light enough to be removed by one person).

Link: https://undercoverinfo.com/undercover-se
 
I have a Extang Tri Fold hard cover on my Silverado for over 4 years. Highly recommend one.
It has had over 2 feet of snow on with no issues.
 
I am on my second Bak brand tonneau. It's my last Bak. The first was a Bakflip. Leaked terrible at the seams. They took it back. I then tried a Revolver, hard roll up. I like the design of it, but its a cheaply made POS.

I have had Extang trifolds in past, and they were good.

I live in WI and a trifold or hard rollup (look at Sentry brand) are fine in winter. I have used a soft fold (Extang) and had no issues either.

My first tonneau was a fiberglass hard tonneau, and I hated it. Always squeaked and rattled. Was a PIA to lift with snow on, but I didnt want to brush it off for fear of scratching paint.
 
I had hard one piece fiberglass covers on two of my trucks. On the plus side, they were waterproof and secure. It was like having a giant trunk. On the negative side, it severely limited the height of what could be carried in the bed. They were heavy, took two people to get on and off, and took a ton of space to store when not in use.

Once I got a truck with a soft rollup cover, I've never looked back.

In other words, think very carefully if a single piece hard cover is what you really want.
 
Originally Posted by MNgopher
I had hard one piece fiberglass covers on two of my trucks. On the plus side, they were waterproof and secure. It was like having a giant trunk. On the negative side, it severely limited the height of what could be carried in the bed. They were heavy, took two people to get on and off, and took a ton of space to store when not in use.

Once I got a truck with a soft rollup cover, I've never looked back.

In other words, think very carefully if a single piece hard cover is what you really want.


Agreed. I had one on an old truck and really didn't like it all that much.
 
I've read a lot of negative on BakFlip. The current favorite on the Ram forums is LOMAX or AloyCover (WeatherTech twin).
 
Originally Posted by kkreit01
I've read a lot of negative on BakFlip. The current favorite on the Ram forums is LOMAX or AloyCover (WeatherTech twin).

I'll just add this about the BakFlip. We've had hail here a lot this spring and there are TONS of dented BakFlips on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace with bad hail damage. I would have thought they'd hold up better than they did!
 
Originally Posted by K20FA5
Originally Posted by kkreit01
I've read a lot of negative on BakFlip. The current favorite on the Ram forums is LOMAX or AloyCover (WeatherTech twin).

I'll just add this about the BakFlip. We've had hail here a lot this spring and there are TONS of dented BakFlips on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace with bad hail damage. I would have thought they'd hold up better than they did!



There are a few different materials for different models of the BakFlip. If you live in an area that gets hail-the appropriate BakFlip I believe would be the F1. It's the one with also the longest warranty-three years. It's also the most expensive. But some guys like to buy $50,0000 trucks and look for the cheapest covers, coilovers, etc. If the F1 gets dented from hail-you have much bigger issues than a dented tonneau cover. Lets not confuse the fact that some of the above mentioned tonneau covers are made out of the same material and have different costs point depending on which material are used.

Just to be clear.....
 
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I've been very happy with the Extang Encore. As mentioned, it folds from the cab or the tailgate, locks with the truck key, and it can be installed, removed, and stored very easily, and it's built like a tank.
 
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