Tonneau Covers & Fifth Wheels

[pbryan]

I'm shopping for a tonneau cover for a short bed F-350. Currently I tow a TT, but am planning to move up to a 5'er in the future. I'd like to find a nice cover that I can leave in place while towing, and then fully cover the bed when unhitched.

I'm curious what you guys use and how you like it. Especially those of you towing 5'ers with a short bed truck.

--Paul

[JRTJH]

I had a Tonno-pro trifold cover on my 6.5' F150. It cost about $250 and was still in "like new" condition when I sold the truck after 3.5 years. It offered great weather protection, but if a thief wanted in, any knife or box cutter would give access. Here's a link to the factory website for your truck:
http://www.tonnopro.com/catalog/9914...ck-p-2441.html

I found mine at another site for about $50 less with free shipping.

Exstang, Lund, Bakflip and a few other companies, build a similar cover.

You can find bed covers from $89 all the way to over $1500, depending on the construction, materials and features. If you're looking for a simple, inexpensive cover that will keep water/snow out of the bed when not towing, most any soft cover will work. If you're looking for security as well as protection from weather, a hard top tri-fold or rolling cover might work better. If you're wanting to go "all out" you can go upwards of $1500 for a remote control, rolling, hard cover, even get it painted to match your truck.

For basic weather protection I'd say a soft side tri-fold would work well and all that I've seen fold "thin enough" that they can stay in place when towing. The only issue I had was access to anything stored under the front 1/3 of the bed when the fifth wheel was connected. It's accessible, but sometimes hard to get to without climbing into the bed and reaching under the cover.

[chris199]

Benn using trifold covers from Advantage...the premium cover with the covertible-like fabric. Had one on my Tundra and now on my GMC. Very satisfied.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[Trent McCain]

I've had great luck with Truxedo soft covers. I ordered one new for a 2002 Ford SuperCrew, then traded for a new F150 in 2006 so purchased another Truxedo and had it on the '06 and later an '08. When I traded the F150 in 2011 for the used ' 09 F350, the previous owner installed a Roll n Lock hard cover. It worked well, but I didn't like how the canister took up space in the front of the bed. I placed an ad, and sold it locally and as luck would have it afew months later found a used Truxedo in like new condition for $125! I prefer the Truxedo or Agri-Cover covers for the ease of use, (the Truxedo/Agri-Covers work well in cold climates) the ability to fully remove them in 2 min if needed, and the price is reasonable. Sure a soft cover won't keep a thief from stealing your things, but during the summer, I have the 5th wheel gate on anyways. IF you go the soft cover route, don't buy a 'snap' cover. I had one years ago on an '85 Ford F150 and in the summer it worked alright....but anything under 50 degrees, and you couldn't hardly get it snapped shut. I currently have one on my '95 Ford FlareSide daily driver, because it's the only option still available for it.

[Terry W.]

I have an 2006 F250 with a Pace Edwards full metal roll up cover. When we moved up to a fifth wheel I was woried about it cover the hitch. We have a Reese 16K hitch on a manual slider and the cover just clears the hitch. I MUST tie it in a level position both fwd/aft, left/right to clear.

[allmi01]

My f350 has a Lund tri-fold soft toneau cover and I like it a lot. $250 as I remember from JC Whitney.

I have seen a customer soft toneau once on a F350 were it had a velcro section in teh center over the 5th wheel hitch. They had a 5'er connected with the toneau in place. Looked kind of cool as the bed was totally covered except where the 5'er pin box connected to tthe hitch. Had to improve air flow.

Mike

[justlkn]

I use the Extang Encore which is a trifold also. Pretty tough and water proof too.

[Bigsky3625]

Retrax Pro on our long bed. Sealed rollers. Very smooth one hand operation. Rolls up in a very small box. Locks in any position.

[Martydonna]

I have 96 F350 8' Box- soft cover no snaps, just Velcro down the sides and clips on the back at the tailgate. Won't keep anybody out. Rolls up nice, just have my handle facing down in the bed. About $250-$300

[FLCapt]

I have a BakFlip hard tonneau on my Dodge, I fold it over the first third of the bed where it still covers the nifty tool box I also got from Bak. I tow all over, on very uneven & rough roads and offroad, never had any issue with clearance. I love this cover, it is water tight, and secures the bed when not towing. Bak has now come out with a hard rolling cover, that looks like it would work too. My truck is a longbed. Hope this helps.

[webslave]

Originally Posted by FLCapt

I have a BakFlip hard tonneau on my Dodge, I fold it over the first third of the bed where it still covers the nifty tool box I also got from Bak. I tow all over, on very uneven & rough roads and offroad, never had any issue with clearance. I love this cover, it is water tight, and secures the bed when not towing. Bak has now come out with a hard rolling cover, that looks like it would work too. My truck is a longbed. Hope this helps.

I, too, use a BakFlip hard cover (the G2 model) on my short (6' 6") bed. It can stay covering the front third of the bed while towing and still leave maneuver room while protecting the few things I carry in the bed from the elements. When I unhitch, it covers the B&W with no interference and protects the stuff in the bed of the truck while we are out and about while sightseeing. Being a hard cover, I can stand on it to clean the bugs off the front of the 5er. Coupled with the locking tailgate, it is reasonably secure from tampering (anyone determined will be able to pry it up, but, it does latch and is cut proof). One big advantage of the G2 is that it can be folded up against the back of the cab and gives me the full bed of the truck for carrying cargo when we aren't traveling and I have the hitch out.

[warsw]

I have a Fold-A-Cover Hard Tonneua. Works great, It's tuff and really works well keeping the weather out. I keep the front 3rd covered while towing and the stuff under it stays pretty clean and dry even with the other 2/3s open.http://www.foldacover.com/

[JeffS]

We use the Access LiteRider on our F250. The cover is a flat top and sits about 1 1/2 inches above the top of the bed. I needed this extra clearance to clear the release handle on my Valley slider hitch.

[Outbackmel]

I use a Roll n Lock and LOVE it. When traveling I keep my cables and chocks in the truck bed. One hand to pull back to hooked hitch and lock when at a stop and all secure in 10 seconds. When stopped at a site and unhooked, keep 2 sets of golf clubs in front of hitch and cover rolls all the way to back of box and locks secure.

If I buy another fifth wheel and need a 3500 v present 2500, another Roll n' Lock is going to be right in line as an early purchase.

Thieves will select an easier target vs this cover. I use a tow tail gate, very EZ removal and install WITHOUT the deep V cut out. When not towing I use my normal Dodge tail gate. The combo of the gate and top make it extremely difficult to get into when properly locked.

Lastly, CANNOT LEAK.

What more can a person ask for??

Not cheap.

[fred1609]

I have the pace Edwards metal rollup model which clears the saddle on our hitch but I have to tie down the saddle with bungee cords. Great thing is the roll top makes the bed secure and we can place items in the back where they are as secure as a car trunk.