Hello. I have a 2001 F150 SuperCrew....and my wife and I are very interested in purchasing a tonneau cover for the bed of the truck. But I'm having a hard time deciding which type of cover would work best.

Does anyone have any ideas, suggestions, etc? I've looked into a Roll and Lock....and was wondering if anyone knows of this brand and how well it works on the SuperCrew. Are there any other brands that would work too??

I'm leaning toward the Roll and Lock....but am wondering about the kind that hinge open as well...similar to a car trunk. One of my concerns is that if I want to haul something tall....the hinged one may not work properly??? Also..how do these covers work with the bed extender? We hardly use our bed extender...so we could probably remove that if need be.

Any advice or suggestions on these covers would be most greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

redwinb

 

I have the Pace Edwards brand Jackrabbit roll top on my '01 F150 SuperCab. I really like the top. Takes up about 9 inches in the fron of the bed. It has come in handy many times with carrying tall items. I have to keep it lubed so it slides easy. Never had any major problems in three years. I changed the drain hoses used in the front because the original ones would kink and not allow the water to flow out of the box that it all rolls into. My wife likes being able to open the tailgate without touching the top also. One thing I do not like though is that it will leak a bit on the edges in a car wash or heavy, heavy rain. Never ruined anything, just annoying. I also have the bedrug liner. I would buy either item again without hesitation.

My Dad had a hard cover on his 99 Ranger, it was always being propped up to carry larger items. Looked real clean but I felt it was a hassel. Plus, my wife had a hard time opening it.

 

I have the same tonneau cover described above. Overall I really like the cover, it comes in handy when you want to carry things in the bed when;

Driving on the freeway (stuff wont fly away)
Putting things in your bed and parking in public areas (people might take stuf)
Having people PUT things in your bed (usually trash )
Keeping your cargo somewhat dry when it rains

The only two things that bother me is the 9 inches or so it takes up in the front. Sometimes that space is really needed. I also get really nervous when hauling something heavy in the bed, makes me tie things down good. The second is the rails that hold the tonneau cover partially covers the 4 tie down holes in the corners of your bed. This prevents you from installing bed rails.

Other than that Im really happy from investing in it. It keeps what I carry in the back safe and dry. I never really calculated what mileage gain I got to the exact decimal but I ballpark an improvement of around 1/2 MPG. All depends on how much freeway you drive. The more freeway, the more (though marginal) improvements.

Take a look in my gallery, I have some pictures of the tonneau on my truck.

 

I got my roll and lock tonneau cover from the dealer when i bought the truck new. Just a few complaints, but other wise, i love it. I'm no fan of snaps, so the roll and lock was the solution. Never had any problems with it at all and it always stays good and closed even at high highway speeds. Doesn't leak a drop even in the car wash. I've even slept under the cover in the rain when out camping and I stayed nice and dry. My only beef is that the frame of the tonneau cover is held in place by 3 mickey mouse clamps. Althought they do the trick, I think that Ford could have designed a better bracket. As well, the three cross member (count 4 if you include the one that runs across the top of the tail gate) have these little rubber ends that do not stay in place very well. A few were actually lost by the Ford dealer when when the cover went from one truck to the other. Ford eventually replaced them, but if you are not carefull and you lose them, then the cross members will not stay in place and are essentailly rendered useless. I've tried to glue them in place but that didn't work very well. Might try silicone next. Other then that, it's a bit tought to wash the dirt and dust off of, but rolls up nice and tight against the rear window and allows us to throw the dirt bikes in without a hassle. Takes all of 3 minutes to "dismantle" and gain access to the bed, although it is a bit easier if you have another guy on the opposite side of the truck to help you. Of cousre the comments above are all applicable in my case i.e. keeps stuff out of side and prevents people from throwing crap in your bed. This one suits my needs the best as a hard cover would not allow me to get the bikes or anything that was higher then the bed itself into the back. And in my opinion, ...then whats the point in having a pick-up? You might as well buy a station wagon or a trailer. ;-)

Cheers. Hope it helps!

 

Just curious Shmuck, it sounds like yours is a soft cover that rolls up. These we are refering to are the hard covers that roll into a box in the front of the bed.

 

Access is the best roll up cover and wont rip. Secures with Velcro so you can adjust and it wont flap on the hwy. Been waterproof for 3 years.

 

I have your basic soft tonneau cover with the snaps and it does a pretty good job of keeping things dry. If I need to put something tall into the bed, I simply unsnap enough fastners and remove the rear bar. If I need all the room, I remove it by unbolting 4 clamps. Of course it's not very good for security but it will keep things dry. I've had it since new and it has weathered well. The F150 is garage kept so that may have something to do with it.

Funny thing, I hardly have it installed anymore. I took it off when I was remodeling the Kitchen and haven't gotten around to putting it back on. It's just so much easier to just "chuck" stuff into the back. If I know I'm going to be needing to haul something to keep it dry then it just takes a few minutes to bolt/clamp it back on.
I never cyher'ed if it helped on my MPG but I don't think it did much as my ole 98 F150 4x4 w/the Off Road package has consistantly got 17MPG since new. I think I got 18MPG once but I'm thinking I must have been driving down hill most of the time

Volfandt

 

Hey AzPete,

Ya the one I have is a soft cover. I know you were refering to your covers that were hard slider types. Although they seem like a "perfect" solution, for me I needed a soft cover that I could roll up. The snaps I decided against for various reasons, but the roll and lock style works like a charm.