We are looking at trading for a 2013 fx4. What is best hard cover for the bed?
Ford's is $1300.
Are they water tight?

 

I personally went with a Peragon bed cover for my 2011 F150. And although it is not 100% water tight, I love it. I couldn't be more happy with it. It's a hard folding cover. It's made of aluminum and has rubber seals. However just like a soft tonneau cover it does flap while driving down the road. And between that and the fact that it is folding makes it vulnerable to water immersion. I should mention that even though it vibrates while driving, it's completely silent. Thanks to the rubber seals. Look them up. The best part is the price and the fact that they are a site sponsor. Like I said I love mine and wouldn't hesitate to buy another one tomorrow if I needed to. Oh and I should mention they have excellent customer support long after the purchase has been made.

 

^^^^^^^^^

Great post brother!

 

I think "best" is very subjective and is dependent upon your needs and the primary use of your truck and its bed (hauling large, bulky items that are higher than the bed rails or not, for example). And everyone has their "favorites" (I'm no exception).

Since you mentioned "water tight," I think the solid hinged "tilt forward" tonneau covers would provide the best bed water resistance, if that's what you're after. But they do have their drawbacks: very large and requires at least two people to remove/install, limited accessibility to full bed, unable to haul tall cargo without removal, have the tallest profile.

Ford offers the BakFlip G2 as their official F-150 folding bed cover; I had the F1 (highest weight-bearing version) on my 2009 and loved it. There were barely any water leaks, which was only after very heavy rainstorms or commercial high-pressure car washes. I currently have a Pace Edwards Full Metal Jackrabbit (came with the truck), which is a roll-top. It leaks at the slightest hint of rain, and it takes up almost a foot of space in the front of the bed, which space is already at a premium since it's the standard 5.5' length. It does seem to offer a very low profile when compared to the BakFlip (which itself is very low profile, but the BakFlip has a cleaner, solid look whereas the Jackrabbit rolltop itself is slightly depressed below it's rails, which is perhaps why it's more prone to leaks), but eventually I'm going to replace it with an F1 because I absolutely need all the bed space I can muster. I also like the BakBox accessory which offers a toolbox-like moderate-sized storage area that can be folded up to only a few inches. I can completely remove both easily by myself if I absolutely need the entire length of the bed for whatever reason as they are very lightweight and are held in-place with ***** so no tools required; not so with my Jackrabbit roll-top.

Some people don't like how the BakFlips completely block the rear window when fully unfolded against the cab due to hauling long and tall cargo that requires all panels to be folded; the cargo may itself block the rear view so this may or may not be a real issue for those who rely heavily on the interior rear view mirror. And the plastic hooks that stow the prop rods when not in use are very flimsy, with the rods sometimes falling out of them from bumps and rough roads.

If you decide on the BakFlip, you can get them cheaper than from the dealer: G2's around $800 shipped.

 

[QUOTE=Augster;16334207]I think "best" is very subjective and is dependent upon your needs and the primary use of your truck and its bed (hauling large, bulky items that are higher than the bed rails or not, for example). And everyone has their "favorites" (I'm no exception).


Well said. It really depends on your intended use of the truck. If you're gonna take it out and do 'truck stuff', then a cover that gets out of the way easily would be best.
Personally, I have a SnugTop fiberglass lid. Does what I need, secures the bed contents and keeps stuff dry.

 

I have a Ford cover, Bak. All I can say is don't get one ! The cover that I bought looked nice and sealed decent, but one hinge was bad, my Ford dealer after some arguing got the cover replaced. The new cover just doesn't look the same, it leaks all over. Ford claims warranty now has to go through Bak, Bak tells me to take a flying leap, I bought it from Ford not there problem.
These covers had high ratings early on but if you check the newer ratings are much worse. One reason that I bought mine was on earlier versions you could drive with just one section opened, allowing things like lawn mower handles to stick out. Now to save money they left one latch off, now that is no longer possible.
So bottom line for me is I would never deal with BAK again. Ford now uses advantage for the 2015 + models, I think they are unrelated to BAK, Ford wouldn't drop them if it was a good relationship.

 

I have a Fold-A-Cover bed cover on my '13 Super Crew and it has worked out great. I have never had more than a few ounces of water leak into my bed during a hard rain. I also went with the optional Personal Caddy tool tray, under the front locking section, to use as my tool box. The latching system makes it one of the more secure types on the market. Fold-a-Cover Factory Store | A Division of Steffens Automotive They are bit pricey, but well built.

 

Check out the Bak Revolver X2 tonno. This is a hard tonneau that can be rolled up to easily access the bed.

 

Do you have this top? I'm considering one in the future.

 

I have the Revolver X2 on my F250. The rollup doesn't take up any bed space since the cover rolls on top like a softcover. When fully rolled up the cover is lower than the head rests on the back seat so visibility is still good. Also in the winter with snow & ice this cover still rolls up, unlike canister type covers.
There are no drain tubes like folding hard covers have. It seals up very well I get minimal water leakage in the bead.
The cover does flex or bounce some when driving down the road. There is no noise made from the motion.
If you want to lock the cover in a partially rolled up position you will need to be clever with the bungee cords. You need a bungee on each side to hold the levers down, then a strap to hold the rolled up part of the cover in place.
I just found out that the are fairly secure too, some one tried prying my open. All they did was bend up the corner.
I would definitely buy another one for my next truck.

 

I chose the Leer 100R. Watertight and plenty of lockable storage. My truck is a 2013 FX4 5.0L

 

I have a Retrax rolling bed cover on my truck, my cover is actually a 2004 model that was installed on new on a '04 and transferred to my 2011 when I bought it in 2014. The cover is 12 years old and has held up wonderfully! Works well and is decently water tight although not as good it was over 10 years ago. I haul stuff over the bed rails decently often so the rolling cover is perfect for me. I have not had any issues with it freezing in the winter, but I park in a garage every night so I'm unsure how it would handle being outside all the time.

The canister does take a little space up front, but that's what the bed extender is for.

 

I have a paragon as well on my truck.

On all my trucks in the past, I had a bed cover of some sort. 99 ranger had a soft top from an aftermarket brand. Had the truck two years. It was fine when I traded it in.
My 01 F150 had a ford brand soft top with removable ribs, and it had plastic snap in for the sides (not buttons, but a solid strip of trim plastic that slide into a groove) it didn't survive the 5 years i had the truck. My 07 Explorer sport trac had a ford brand flip hard top. It was a pain in the butt to use if you had tall objects.

The paragon has been awesome for the last two years I have had my 13 FX4 F150. The paragon only uses up a few inches of the front portion of the bed if you open it up. Its easy to remove the panels if you need to. I have done it a few times.

my father has a 13 King ranch F150 and a painted to match paragon cover. He used in the past on his trucks Retrax. They take up about a foot of the front portion of the bed.

Of all the tops I have had, I would go with a Peragon again. It isn't watertight, but it doesn't pour water into the bed either. There is a tiny portion that allows some water to get in, but you can position the cover to limit that.

 

My truck has the Ford cover on it. It's not a hard shell cover, but it works well and with over 100,000 miles on it now it's still water tight and works like new. It does flap in the wind and make noise if the rear glass is open but it doesn't really bother me. I like that it can easily be folded away to expose open bed cargo area quickly, or taken off by one person completely if need-be. I have had hard and various soft covers in the past and I personally think this Ford tri-fold style is the best of all worlds.