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Hey guys, so my dad has decided my truck needs a tonneau cover before I go back up to school after Thanksgiving (I didn't even ask for it, he saw that it saves gas mileage and got it in his head that it's a necessity, I'm not going to argue lol!). I have a 04' F-150 6'5 bed, with the plastic bed rail/liner things (they sit flat on top of the edges of the bed, and I've heard they can muck with the installation of certain covers). We're trying to decide between tri-fold and roll-up velco. My thing is that I like the roll-up because I don't have to take the cover off if I want to access the whole bed, but I know some tri-folds fold up against the rear window to give you access to the whole bed. That would be great, but I've been having trouble finding ones that do that, that aren't over our budget.
My dad on the other hand is convinced that tri-folds offer much more stability and are tougher since they're sectioned. I countered by saying some roll-up covers have a lot of bows in them, but I can't find information on how many bows specific covers have.
I know that's a lot of stuff to read, so I'll sum it up below:
-I have a 2004 F-150 w/a 6.5' bed and plastic bed rails
-I'm looking for either a tri-fold or roll-up tonneau cover for under $350
-Is there a significant advantage between tri-folds and roll-ups?
-I would prefer the tri-fold be able to fold back against the window to provide full access to the bed
-I prefer as low a profile as possible, I like the sleek look
-It needs to be decently tough, I live in Minnesota so we get some heavy snow up here. So the more bows the better.
Besides that, I'd very much appreciate any general reviews of covers you guys have or had on your trucks, as long as the covers are within my price range. Oh, and the ASAP is because we'd like to order it tonight so it'll ship tomorrow and get here before I have to go to school again, otherwise it won't do much good lol! Thanks for the help guys, I really appreciate it.
I had a Truxedo Original and hated that cover with a passion.
I now have a Truxedo Low Pro QT and am very happy with it. I never had a problem with snow weight on my cover Original last winter and I don't see any issues with the Lo Pro. The Lo Pro has angled velcro so it rolls up nicer, it sits flat and it velcros back down nicer too.
I have the plastic bed rails and haven't really had a problem. If you buy used you will need to budget for weatherstripping replacement. I would also get a tailgate seal.
If I drive through the carwash I end up with water in the bed but that is the nature of the high pressure wash. Other than that it seals up nicely. The water leaks in at the corners and if it bothered me enough I could seal it up a little better...
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Chris - Avid Winter Hater
2007 F-250 XLT 4x4 CC SB 6.0 PSD - ARP, IPR GEn2 EGR Delete, 4" turbo-back, no muffler, no cat, 6.4 banjo bolts, SCT X3, Tenney 270A alt, coolant filter, air bags, Ranchos, etc.
1994 Mustang GT - HCI, MM suspension parts, etc Novi2k waiting on the shelf
Hope & A Prayer Motorsports
Hmm, I should take a look at one of those next time I am up in the Bemidji area.
Chris -
Hello to a fellow Minnesotan! If I can answer any questions about our Peragon truck bed cover, please let me know. We ship direct from our manufacturing facility in Bemidji, MN to our customers. By eliminating the multiple levels of markup, our solid aluminum, retractable design delivers a great value at a compelling price.
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Heath Copp
President, Peragon Enterprises, Inc. www.peragon.com
I really disliked the quality of all the bed covers i saw including their hinge assemblies. So I built my own....frame is 100% aircraft grade aluminum, made my own spring loaded latches & hinges out of aluminum as well.- 5 years and no issues.
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Member: Never trust a person over 40 who drives a Chevy club
Flatheads ain't so bad!
Certified backyard mechanic I & II
I live here in Iowa.. I've had my soft tonneau for just over 3 years and you can't tell that it's that old. My father-in-law (for lack of a better term) just bought a 150 last summer and is very accustomed to having his truck clean. He's had covers on all his "town trucks" and this time was no different. After going through all the expense to purchase a tri fold and having it professionally installed he was dissatisfied with it because during rains even though all pieces were checked and double checked by the professional installer, it leaked. His friend who picked one up at the same time had similar issues. They were to say the least very dissatisfied and ended up that the manufacturer (not installer) paid the fees to have them taken off both trucks. I live on gravel and commute 140 miles/day. They came to me because the tonneau still looked good, is watertight and has performed flawlessly for 1/4 the cost of what they had.
They both ended up purchasing and installing the tonneaus themselves because it's that easy. All three trucks have the plastic type bed rail caps. After 3 winters for mine and 1 each for the other 2, we are still completely satisfied with them. They have 2 bows in them. Downey Products.
Hello,
We carry a full line of tonneau covers with great reviews and comparison shopping options. Click this link to see all of our covers that are under $400 for your F150, then just click the ones you are interested in to see them side by side! Good luck and let me know if you have any questions (PM for special pricing).
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