I put together this tonneau cover buyer’s guide to help some people find what they are looking for in a truck bed cover.

When buying a tonneau cover for your pickup truck, one of the first things you should do is ask yourself, what do I use my truck for? By this I mean do you use your truck bed often, do you carry high cargo loads or low loads below the truck bed rails or do you use your truck bed very seldom. Are your pockets deep or like many others shallow and you need an inexpensive cover. Do not just go out to buy a tonneau cover because you seen one on another truck and it looked great. That truck may have a cover that takes time to open and that would be no good if you use your truck bed often. Below I will throw some of my personal ideas at you just to get you thinking.

Inexpensive:

If you are looking to get a one that protects your cargo but is inexpensive or so called cheap, The Mile Maker by Tonneau Masters is about the cheapest you will find with runners up the Slant Side also by Tonneau Masters and the Seal N Peel and Snap Soft both by Lund Genesis.

Quick Roll Up:

You may want to get at your truck bed quick and easy but still want to keep the price down, I would suggest the Extang Express. This is a great cover if you use your truck bed but not continuously.

Inexpensive and fast:

If you are looking for one that is inexpensive but allows you very fast access to your truck bed I would suggest the Hinged Tonneau by Lund, the hinged Slant Side by Tonneau Masters or FullTilt by Extang. These are all great products, if you use your truck bed often and want quick, easy access to your truck bed and you are carrying low loads.

Inexpensive, Quick and High Loads:

You are trying to keep the price down but you need to be able to get at your truck bed fast, often and maybe with high cargo loads. If this is you then a soft folding bed cover would be a great way to go. The Extang Trifecta or the Trifold by Lund. These lids fold open allowing you to drive with them open for full access to your truck bed when hauling higher cargo loads.

For a more expensive product and more security for your cargo I will make the following suggestions.

Easy access:

If you use your truck bed often or just want a truck bed cover that can be matched to your trucks paint, the fiberglass hinged lids by Gaylords will do very nicely as long as you aren’t carrying high cargo.

Easy Access and Higher Loads:

The Bakflip by Bak is an ABS plastic folding tonneau which is very popular. Reds Beds make a folding aluminum diamond tread plate cover which will give you great security and full access to your truck bed quickly and easily.

For a class all on their own, not cheap, allow you quick access to your truck bed and open up completely allowing you to carry higher cargo loads any time.

Retractable Tonneau Cover:

These covers retract into a canister behind the cab of your truck. Pace Edwards has the Roll Top, JackRabbit, Full Metal JackRabbit and even one that opens and closes electrically with a remote called the Bedlocker. Bak offers the RollBak and Truck Covers USA offer their American Roll.

If you are not concerned about access to your truck bed they are many more tonneau covers available in roll up, with snaps or with velcro to secure them.

A tonneau cover is about the best aftermarket auto accessory you can invest in for your pickup truck. The advantages of owning a truck bed cover heavily out-weigh the amount of money you are going to pay for one.

The advantages of owning a tonneau cover can be such as the great added look you will give your vehicle by adding one to your truck bed. There are so many different types out there you should have no problem picking out a look that is right for you. You can get a sleek looking low profile, or one that stands up a little. There are soft covers, fiberglass tonneau covers, aluminum, roll-up, retractable, electric, folding, hinged and more.

Having a truck bed cover on the back of your truck will protect your cargo from weather conditions such as snow or rain. There is no need of having everything in your cargo area soaking wet. Who wants to shovel snow out their truck box before using it? Just being able to keep the debris out is a bonus with pollen or leaves in the fall. It just a real clean sleek look having a tonneau cover.

Whenever you haul delicate cargo such as flowers or plants or even paper products a truck lid will protect them from winds such as created from higher speed highway driving.

Without a tonneau cover you don’t feel safe leaving your vehicle with cargo in it, even for a few moments. There are a lot of people out there who like to take things that don’t belong to them but when they can’t see what your truck box contains they don’t even think about it. For added protection there are quite a few tonneau covers that are lockable today.

Having one on your truck bed in the closed position will create less wind resistance by allowing the wind to pass over your vehicle instead of hitting the tailgate causing drag. Less drag spells less fuel consumption and there is no need for me to mention the advantages of saving fuel to you.

Investing in a lid is just the logical thing to do when you’re the owner of a pickup truck. For those of you who have not decided if a tonneau cover is any good. Well Duh. Have a happy shopping experience, you’ll be glad you did.

First let me give a brief description of the Gaylord’s traditional tonneau cover and list some of its features. The Gaylord’s traditional tonneau cover is constructed of fiberglass. You can order them in black or custom painted to match the color of your pickup truck and give it a factory look.

The traditional lid has a stainless steel crossbar and lock system. The two locks are self-tightening compression-type that helps ensure a watertight seal and add security to your cargo area. This tonneau cover by Gaylord’s also comes with two gas struts to help with opening and keeps the lid from slamming closed. The traditional tonneau cover comes with a lifetime warranty for the fiberglass structure and the paint and 2 years on the working parts. I myself think this is a very fair warranty.

The traditional tonneau cover by Gaylord’s also comes available with a speedsturr wing on the back which adds a more sporty and racy look to your pickup truck.

Some previous buyers of this truck bed cover have such comments as how great the truck bed cover looks on their truck and how happy they were with the paint job on the truck lid. I haven’t found very much in the line of negative comments about the traditional tonneau cover by Gaylord’s.

A few points you may want to think about before purchasing this truck bed cover.

The hinged fiberglass tonneau cover would be great if you are looking for great weather and security protection as far as tonneau covers go.

If you use your truck for hunting, fishing, going for groceries or other such uses where you want quick easy access to your truck bed or if you want a very sharp look for your truck, or with the speedsturr wing, a sporty, racy look, the traditional tonneau cover by Gaylords would be a great choice to make.

If you use your truck for larger, high cargo loads, this truck bed lid would not be such a great choice for you. If your loads are usually higher than your truck rails, look for a tonneau cover such as a roll up cover, folding tonneau cover or a retractable truck bed cover.

This truck bed cover comes highly recommended by previous buyers. Overall, as far as quality and looks go, the traditional tonneau cover by Gaylord’s would be a very good purchase for your truck bed.

A lot of these tonneau covers have been sold. Probably because they are inexpensive and they give you great access to your truck bed just by folding up the three piece design. The trifecta is custom made to fit the make model and year of the vehicle it is intended for. This cover is made of heavy duty vinyl sewn to an aluminum frame. This particular cover uses spring clamps to latch closed at the tailgate. It is kept secured with straps whiled opened up to the cab. You can drive with it opened or closed. This tonneau cover is shipped fully assembled and installs quickly and easily with no drilling. You get a 10 year tarp warranty and lifetime on the frame. Of course as with other lids it improves fuel mileage. So if you want quick easy access to your truck bed and without the heavy cost of a retractable, this cover is probably for you. Although security isn’t as good as a retractable, it does keep your cargo out of sight out of mind. If you have an over the rail bed liner you will probably have to do some minor cutting to get this cover to fit.

What others are saying about the Extang Trifecta Tonneau Cover!

No stretching, no snaps and completely removes in less than five minutes. You can’t beat that…. A great cover that is easy to install and use, their may be possible paint damage along the bed rails after time due to wear and tear…. Everything is great about this cover including cost, installation and quality, that is why I have purchase my second and third one…. Super easy to remove and put back on. As for looks about an eight on a scale from one to ten. Easy to install and sturdier than the Torzo…. One person complained the cover didn’t quite completely cover the stake holes, about a half inch left but still praised his cover…. Another person loved his tonneau cover but had complained about two missing clips. After then receiving the clips one bolt stripped quite easily but was overnighted a new clip…. Someone was very happy with their cover but said they had to buy extra weather stripping to go behind on the bed rails below the rear window…. This person speaks he did a lot of checking around before buying. The fit was good and it literally went on in 5 minutes no problems except… The rear spring clamps would not stay clipped up inside the aluminum arch rails. when you folded cover up, the clamps would swing down toward the cover unless a person on each side held them up. Extang is aware of problem and after 3 calls to them he ended up crimping the rails tighter together as they suggested to remedy the problem…. One person says he had this cover on his Tacoma for 3 weeks now and it works flawlessly and it was great with very little or no leaking in very hard rains. It has even been said that it stayed cool under the tonneau after being in the sun all. There were a few complaints on how after a while there was a little puffiness where the Extang trifecta tonneau cover folded. One person gives this advice “Be sure to follow the directions on the bars that warn you about the clamps. They should be clipped into the bars and as far to the sides as possible before folding the cover to avoid damage.”

In Summary

Hey come on. If you your hinge is covered with the soft material you are bound to get some puffiness. I just wanted you to know what to expect. Over all most people who purchased this tonneau absolutely loved their cover and how easy it was to install and the price they paid for it. A few did not like it because they thought it was very light weight, cheaply made so to speak. Others called this a benefit. They were after having snap up covers and loved how easy it was to get access to their truck bed with the trifecta. Some were after having a fiberglass tonneau and loved this one because it was so light and easy to take completely off. Many people have commented on how dry their bed was staying after hard rains. Just think about what cover will suit you as far as how and what you use your truck bed for. You can get a free report to help you decide what type of cover is best for you, by visiting my website mentioned in the resource text below.