Tonneau covers - Pros? Cons?
 

I was just offered a free tonneau cover today - it's a hard cover that's "split" (it opens in sections) and came off a Ranger (it's either an '03 or an '05 - I can't remember) - the guy who's giving it to me took it off his truck when he had a camper shell put on. He claims it ran him about $900 at the time he had it put on - I think he got it from a Ford dealership...

Anyway, I'd like some input from folks who have these covers on their trucks. Trying to get some pro's and con's from people...

Is weight an issue? I hear this thing is pretty heavy, but I haven't seen it yet so I haven't gauged for myself the weight. How much would it affect gas mileage?

Are these things effective at all in reducing wind drag or is that another myth?

How accessible is the bed with one of these covers on? I understand that the sections can be removed, if needed...

The bed rails on my truck are already pretty tore up from the aluminum bed rail caps that are on there now (it used to be a service truck) so, I'm not really concerned about that... I've also got a drop-in bed liner that, I think, was installed by whatever dealership in Montana this truck was originally purchased at...

Anything else I should know about these covers?

Thanks.

My '91 Ranger had a bed cap. I went from that to my '08 that has a roll-up vinyl cover. It has several cross bars to stabilize it and velcro strips along each side to seal the bed from the elements. I find it very easy to open and close. There are tapes and clips to keep it secure when opened.

Bed access is very easy. It is weather tight. It was either a factory or dealer install. The one drawback I find is that I can't carry big items and have them secure and protected from the weather as was the case with the cap.

A friend of mine has a hard cover that fold open in 3 sections. It also opens easily and is weather tight. It probably is heavier than the roll-up cover, but I doubt that either type weighs all that much that fuel economy would be adversely affected.

Some studies show that a covered bed results is a slight increase in fuel mileage.

The major advantages of a cover are that the looks of the truck is improved (you don't have a messy bed open for all the world to see), cargo is protected from the elements, and you don't have to worry about light weight items blowing out as you travel.

Hope all this helps.

I've been running a soft tonneau for 3 years now. I run the same commute every day, 140 miles per day on the same roads at the same speed (speed limit). I have documented my fuel consumption over 130,000 miles in my Ranger. The claims that the tonneau company made were exactly right. I got an 8% boost in mileage.
I like the tonneau not necessarilly for the looks, but because of the concealment factor. Most of the cargo that I carry fits under the cover and we've done a bit of travelling with it and it worked out quite well because you can open it up from either end and it's weather tight. I can quickly and easilly take it off and roll it up in the case of hauling large items.
The thing I don't like about the hard covers is that you can't take them off when at a store if you pick something up that's too big. They aren't flexible in their use. BUT if you're getting one for nothing, use it. Make it work for you. You won't be losing anything. The nice thing about the extra weight of a fiberglass cover is that your truck will ride a little nicer and a bit quieter.

That's the clincher there, you come across something on the large side and "dangit" I can't take it home with that hard shell there.

Soft covers are the way to go.

However, if it looks nice and you don't come across having to haul larger objects it might be a good choice.

Or take it and sell it.

Josh

I was kind of wondering about having to haul large objects - The way that this guy made it sound was that each section could be removed separately - depending on what I'm hauling, it almost sounds like they could be stood up in the bed alongside what I'm hauling. Or, if I know I'm going to be hauling a large load ahead of time, I could just take them off at home and leave them there... I do, on occasion, use my truck for what it was intended for lol (which reminds me, I need to finish sweeping the gravel out of the bed...) - plus, I have tiedowns in all 4 corners of the bed...

I won't know for sure until I've actually seen it - hopefully, that will be tomorrow... The guy who's giving it to me is a retired US Army Ranger and I've known him for around 3-years now - kind of hard to talk to as he's partially deaf and I have the kind of voice that people with hearing impairments have a really hard time with... He sometimes has a hard time trying to explain things so, I'll just need to go over there and see this thing for myself...

Thanks for the responses :)

Rangers Lead the way! 75th!

Nice pick-up
 

8% is a nice pick-up on FE. I use the rack on my truck at least monthly and more so in the summer months when the projects are more plentiful. But an increase like that is tempting me to take off the rack for the winter, reducing drag, and putting on a tonneau.

I've done some reading on the subject and apparently there was a study done by engineering students (at University of Texas???). The study showed that a hardshell tonneau is superior to a soft cover for improved FE. However, this is counter intuitive to me given that weight difference (hardshell is heavier). But it seems to reason that increasing the slip of our Rangers is achieved by covering up the open bed.

Thanks for posting your findings!

Kevin

pros: no leaves and water/snow crud in the bed any more. can't see what is under the tarp. I get better mileage. Makes the truck look a bit better.

cons: a bit pissy to put on & off, not theft proof like a shell. not sun proof like painted steel.

hard shell covers don't have a downdraft bubble just at the tailgate. that bubble is kinda draggy, but way less than empty bed. At a constant state speed, weight impqacts mileage at less than a percent or so.

the tri folds cost about 700 + new, more depending on model and accessories. God only knows what a stealership would charge.

Some links
 

Tailgate Up or Down

The study was at Texas Tech by the way.

Kevin

I won't be able to get to this cover until next week, but he described it in a bit better detail to me today - apparently, it's a bi-fold with lifts. The lifts can be disconnected and the sections can lay back over the top of one another (depending on which one you want open.) Also, the sections themselves can be completely removed, if needed. He mentioned something about them being lockable which, if they have keyed locks, that's an added bonus in my book...

I seem to remember hearing something about that Texas Tech study before - that's an interesting read...

I have a "hard" tonneau cover with hinges at the front and gas lifts to help open it. I can remove it in about 10 minutes, if necessary, by loosening 6 bolts, and lifting the entire assembly off. Cost ~$900 painted to match the truck.
I love it. It looks great, and it keeps leaves, junk, snow and nosy people out of my truck bed. When I go to the grocery store, I can simply pop open the lid, load the bags of chow, and drop the top shut. It makes my Ranger Regular Cab into a "2 passenger Sports car with a really big trunk."

So, how do I install this thing?...
 

Ok, I finally picked the cover up today... It's sitting in the bed of the truck getting snowed on, at the moment...

I don't know who made this thing, but the removable center divider (to keep cargo from shifting would be my guess) has the Ford oval logo molded into it...

It is a locking bi-fold cover. The 2 sections of the cover are not the same size - it appears the section that covers the rear half of the bed is a bit longer than the other half. They are hinged in the middle.

There are no C-clamps. But there are these 2 large aluminum "T-brackets" that mount in the middle of the bed rails - these provide the support for the hinge assemblies. It's looking like I'm going to have to cut holes in my bed liner to mount these brackets.

This thing is heavy - 100lbs+ easy. Both sections are framed and have lifts to hold them up. I was thinking I'd have to remove my bed rail caps, but it's looking like I won't have to (unless it's needed to install those brackets.)

Based on the way I described this thing, does it sound familiar to anyone? I tried doing a quick Google search to see if I could find one like this online, but I haven't had any luck yet...

I'd like to see if I can find installation instructions for this thing. It looks like once I get those brackets mounted, the rest should be gravy... Anybody know where I can find the instructions? :confused:

Edit: I think this might be it - or very close to it, anyway...
Ford part# 2L5Z-99501A42-AB - Hard Tonneau Cover - Short Bed - 2-Panel Center Hinged

That's the one I was looking for years ago when I first got my Ranger. It was actually on the black one that I almost (should have) bought. Fairly expensive, I don't think Ford sold too many because that cover is now discontinued.

The front part locks, I think, the back doesn't because the tailgate is accessible without the rear up. The divider is what keeps the stuff in the front secure.

I have a LeBra soft tonneau, set up pretty easily. Fuel economy isn't really what I was after though. Got it to keep my stuff dry.

Joe - did you see any MPG pick-up and just not as much as you hoped for? Or, the before-and-after data shows no real improvement?

Kevin

Both sections lock, but the previous owner had it standing up against the wall of his garage and he backed into it one day with his '03 Ranger which completely destroyed the lock and cable assembly for the front section - the only way to unlatch it now is to crawl into the back of the truck and pop the latches manually...

I'm almost finished with the install. I had to remove the bed rail caps and cut some small holes into the bed liner. The rail caps had to come off for 2 reasons: 1) because of the brackets that clamp onto the rails - these brackets help hold the cover in place and are needed to attach the lifts to; 2) the latch strikers for the cover (there's one in each corner) are mounted inside the stake pockets (I see now what he was trying to tell me) - those strikers have been more of a PITA than any other part of the cover (I've already sheared one bolt stud off by over-tightening the nut - gotta drill a hole in that one for a new bolt) and another one, I had to soak in penetrating oil to get the top bolt loose (this is the one piece I have to put in today to finish this project.)

The cover has a double seal where it runs down along the bed rail. I'm having some issues getting the outside seal on the front section to seal right because of the way the bed liner is hooked over the front lip of the bed - not having a working cable assembly for the latches isn't helping much...

The seal on the rear section that sits on top of the tailgate makes it a tad bit difficult to open the tailgate with the cover closed, but it's the only way I can open the cover at the moment until the previous owner finds the key for it...

I think I see why Ford discontinued these covers - the design isn't terribly bad, but it is heavy and somewhat cumbersome. I'm tall enough to where I don't have any problems opening it or folding the sections back, but I can see where a shorter person would have an issue...

I'll get some pictures when I'm done...