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Tonneau CoversTonneau Covers come from the word Tonneau which was originally a word used to describe a vehicle with an open rear passenger seat like the sporty and very popular Fords, Buicks and Cadillacs of the early 1900’s with rumbleseats.But today Tonneau Covers or as they are commonly called - truck bed covers or lids – fit over the bed of your pickup truck and are one of the most popular ways to protect and enhance your vehicles appearance. A truck bed cover also provides such benefits as better gas mileage, protection for items you keep in your truck bed and enhanced security. Since there is such a large selection of truck bed covers in the marketplace today I’m going to define some of the common terms associated with truck bed covers, talk 
about the types and styles of the various tonneau covers and bring you up to date on the most popular manufacturers – what styles they make, who makes the strongest, the lightest, the easiest to install, etc. Kinda like a big Tonneau Cover Reviews page!I’ll also link you to some background info and tech stuff on each manufacturer via a link to their website. If you have a favorite product that I haven’t included herein or you have a question or want to make a comment please feel free to use the Contact Us button in the left side menu on this page. Enjoy! And checkout the young lady in this pic lifting the 58 pound ultra strong Undercover Truck Bed Cover! If she can remove the UnderCover Tonno and carry it around - so can you!
Truck Bed Cover Definitions & TermsTruck Bed Cover = Tonneau Cover = Truck Bed Lid = Truck Lid = Lid ABS - Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene Geloy - An amorphous terpolymer of acrylic styrene acrylonitrile. Used for its exceptional durability in outdoor environments. Manufactured by Saudi Basic Industries Corp (formerly GE Plastics). TPO - ThermoPlastic Olefin EPDM - Ethylene Propylene diene Monomer EPS - Expanded PolyStyrene Carpeted Headliner - is a polyester carpet bonded to the underside of the the tonneau cover. Hard Tonneau Covers : Usually made of fiberglass, aluminum, ABS, TPO or other hard stuff. The operative word here being “hard”. Good examples of hard truck bed covers are : Hard truck bed covers can be a hinged single piece construction - like BAK's Tilt BAK tonneau cover and the Undercover truck bed covers - or retractables like the Pace Edwards truck bed covers - or folding covers like the Extang Solid Fold tonneau cover. You can usually drive your truck with a folding or retractable lid part way open. Some hinged lids, like the Undercover truck bed cover have to be removed if you’re transporting anything that sits higher than the bed rail.
Soft Tonneau Covers: Usually made of a vinyl or vinyl coated canvas tarp that may be attached to a frame and secured to your pickup with snaps, clips or other mechanism. A soft truck bed cover doesn’t typically support a lot of weight but is simple to install, remove, rollup and is lightweight. Soft tonneaus are usually : You can usually drive your pickup with a soft lid in the rolled-up or folded position as opposed to many hinged hard tonneau covers which must be driven in the locked down position or removed from the truck bed.
Customer Product ReviewsThere are so many hard truck bed cover manufacturers and almost as many soft tonneau cover manufacturers that I couldn't find just 1 website to send you to for customer reviews. So I'll start with the website with the Best and Most Customer Reviews Truck Bed Cover StylesHinged : usually a solid, one piece lid made of fiberglass, aluminum, ABS, TPO or other plastic/composite material. The hinge allows you lift the truck bed cover up and access your stuff without totally removing the lid from the truck. Most manufacturers offer locking mechanisms to secure the lid in the closed position - and some even secure the tailgate. Gas struts/shocks are used to keep most hinged lids in the open position so they don’t fall on your head or fingers!Folding : folding truck bed covers can be hard or soft. If hard they are usually made of one of the plastics and/or aluminum. If soft they are usually made of a framed vinyl tarp. They are nice because they let you open just that part of the truck bed you need to carry your cargo.
Roll-up : roll-up truck bed covers are usually made of a vinyl or vinyl coated canvas tarp. To access your truck bed you just roll-up the tarp as far as you need to and then secure the tarp in place with snaps or whatever. Ribs or trusses that span from side to side are often used to support the tarp. It’s hard to secure your truck bed and cargo area with this kind of lid - but ease of use, light of weight and low of cost make a roll-up truck bed cover a wise choice in a lot of cases.
Retractable : retractable truck bed covers are way too cool and very expensive. They are usually made with metal slats that are coated with vinyl or similar material and kinda work like venetian blinds. Some are so strong you can stand on top of them and some not … Some have manual systems to retract the lid and some have electrically operated retraction systems. They are low profile and usually sit below or at the level of the truck bed rail. They usually come standard with key locks but some come with electric locks. Yah, that’s right - you can click a button on the remote control fob for the retractable truck bed cover and it will unlock itself and slide open while you stand in awe of the new accessory you just added to your pickup!
Tool Box : hinged, folding, roll-up or retractable truck bed covers designed to work with an integrated toolbox system for those of you who really use your pickup for work, sigh!
Special Designs : 4Way Tonneau Cover lets you open the cover from any side of your truck - SilverShield same as 4Way Tonneau Cover
What are Truck Bed Covers Made of ?Fiberglass : strong and heavy, can be shaped into cool aerodynamic shapes, near exact color match to your pickups factory paint. Hard fiberglass truck bed covers are perennial favorites with ARE Tonneau Covers being one of the most prestigous manufacturers. Plastics, Rubbers and composites : strong and lightweight, sometimes color matched - sometimes just black. Hide scratches pretty good. Easy to clean. Aluminum, other metals : strong and light to medium weight, used for folding, hinged and retractable truck bed covers, enhanced security and strength. Tarps : made of canvas, vinyl or vinyl coated canvas, inexpensive, keeps the weather out, don’t stand on them!
Manufacturers of Truck Bed CoversOh, my, my! There are more Tonneau manufacturers than Carter has liver pills. No wonder people get confused when they go out to buy one of these things! Let’s simplify the job - here are some of the most popular manufacturers along with a quick description of their product line. For more detailed product info and company info – click on the company name link. If you have a favorite Truck bed cover manufacturer that I haven’t included herein or you have a question or want to make a comment please feel free to use the Contact Us button in the left side menu on this page.4Way Tonneau Cover - mfg of 4Way Tonneau Cover truck bed cover Advantage Truck Accessories - mfg of TorzaTop, Hard Hat, Ironman, Sure-Fit truck bed covers Advanced Folding Cover LLC - mfg of X5 Supra Tonneau Agri-Cover Inc - mfg of Access, Access Limited, Access Toolbox, Access Lorado, Access Literider, Access Vanish, Access TonnoSport truck bed covers A.R.E. Accessories LLC - mfg of LSX, LSII truck bed covers ATC Truck Covers Inc - mfg of ATC Classic, ATC Platinum, ATC Wrap truck bed covers Back Country Accessories - mfg of TekStyle truck bed cover BAK Industries - mfg of BAKFlip, TiltBAK, RollBAK truck bed covers Century - mfg of Evolution, Cargo Cover truck bed covers Checkmate - G&T Truck Products - mfg of Checkmate FX, Checkmate DX truck bed covers CrafTecInc - mfg of Soft Hatch truck bed covers CYC Engineering's Armor Lid - mfg of Armor Lid truck bed covers DiamondBack Automotive Accessories - mfg of Diamondback HD, SE, LT, X truck bed covers Extang Corporation - mfg of Revolution, Solid Fold, Express Tonno, Trifecta, Extang RT Tonno, Fulltilt, Classic Platinum, Black Max, Tuff Tonno truck bed covers Fold-a-Cover - mfg of LS Series, G4 Elite truck bed covers Gaylords - mfg of TL, X-2000, E.L. X-2000, Speedsturr Wing, Butterfly truck bed covers Jason Industries - mfg of Dimension, Rage and Hugger truck bed covers Lazer Lite Covers - mfg of LT Sport truck bed cover Leer - mfg of 800, 700, 550, 550R truck bed covers Line-X - mfg of Line-X truck bed covers Lund - mfg of Genesis Hinged, Genesis Roll-Up, Genesis Seal & Peel, Genesis Snap, Genesis Tri-Fold truck bed covers Pace Edwards - mfg of Bedlocker Electric, Full-Metal JackRabbit, JackRabbit, Roll-Top-Cover, Utility Bedlocker truck bed covers Peragon Enterprises - mfg of "Truck Bed Cover" tonneau covers Ranch Fiberglass - mfg of Legacy, SportWrap Lids Retrax - mfg of Retrax, PowerTrax, Silver truck bed covers Roll-n-Lock Corporation - mfg of M-Series, E-Series truck bed covers Rugged Liner - mfg of Folding Cover, Snap Cover truck bed covers Thacker Manufacturing Inc - mfg of Herculoc truck bed cover TonnoPro - mfg of Tri-Folding truck bed cover TracRac Inc - mfg of TracTonneau roll-up truck bed cover Trek Industries Inc - mfg of Alumi-Tech truck bed cover Truck Covers USA - mfg of American Roll Cover, American Work Cover truck bed covers Truxedo Inc - mfg of Lo Pro QT, Edge, TruxPort, Truxedo Deuce, Tonneau Trax, Truxedo Plus, Original truck bed covers Undercover - mfg of Classic, SE, SE Smooth truck bed covers Vertically Driven Products - mfg of tonneau covers for Jeep products
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Most hard truck bed covers (hard lids) support a considerable amount of weight placed on them - the