What do I look for in a quality cover? Any experiences of what's worked for you? Not worked?
Yes, there will be occasional snowload on this one.

The Berlin soft tonneau cover I had on my Ram was perfect for the 4 years I had it

ARE LSII hard top for my Ford in the NorthEast.  It's "overrail" design keeps snow and rain from getting into the bed.  It looks bulky but is strong.  Expensive too.

I've had two.  Both were expensive.  Both developed mold in the material.  Don't put armor all on them or the first time it rains that stuff will run all over the paint.  It will continue to do this for a long time afterwards.

Screw around all you want but you ain't got nothin' until you look into an UNDERCOVER tonnaeu, abs re-enforced plastic.  You and all your friends can stand on it.  It locks and it only weighs about 35 pounds.  It is solid and can be taken off by yourself only if you need more height.  It is 100% waterproof.

You can run 60 mph with the thing half open although it is not recommended by the manufacture (lawyers, I'm sure). It looks good too.

Downside, it only comes in black when I last looked and it has an alligator type finish.  It can be painted but it will never be like the smooth finish on the sides of the truck.  I considered this a small price to pay.  Another thing is it is not cheap (about $600) but no one will ever come along and cut it or will you ever rip it.

Fold-a-cover - dad has one and if I didn't need a completely open bed for hauling dirtbikes I'd buy one of them.

Brian

+100000000000000 for the undercover i have one on my ram as well they are the shit

I'll have to look into this option. Sounds interesting. thanks.

oh yeah kinda tacticool to got an led at the back perfect for nightfishing or just fishing around inthe truck of your bed at night

i used to work at a aftermarket truck accessory shop and we installed a few different covers. 99% of the ones we installed were made by a company called Truxedo; mainly the lo pro model. they are a soft cover that comes with a lifetime warranty. they install fast, look nice and stand up over time. i have one on my truck and i love it.



i also installed jack rabbits, pacer and a few other brands. the jack rabbit was nice because it was made of aluminium and rolled up into a box but there was a few downfalls. first if it got a little out of alignment it would pop out of the rails and get jammed up. second it had a big box that sat at the front of the box that housed the cover when it was rolled up. that sucker took up a lot of room. third it was a bear cat to get the rails to align and install in to the box.



the pacer models were a hard cover that could fold up into like 3 or 4 sections. they installed fairly easily but i didnt like the way they worked/looked. you had to fold it up from the back to the front to access the front of the box and when it was fully folded up you still had to reach under the rolled up section to access the front of the bed. they came out with a later model that allowed you to fold back the front section so you could access the front. i didnt like the look because it was plastic and just didnt look right on the trucks.



if you have any specific questions feel free to ask away. hope this helps

My dad has had two covers, both made by Extang.  Both are the "Black Max" brand.  Both were snap-on soft covers.  None had any issues.  One was on a regular cab '97 Chevy 8 foot bed and the other is on a extended cab '06 Chevy 6.5 foot bed.

Valueable info here and thanks for the offer to help.

I've been looking at Truxedo, Extang and Agricover's Literider. All solid products, great install videos and lifetime warranties. I've also been checking out the others mentioned in this threead.

I have been eyeing this one.  http://www.bakfliptonneaucover.com/

Used to work with a guy who had one, never got a chance to ask him about it but it seemed like a decent piece of equipment.  

Whatever you decide, don't forget the AAR

truxedo also has excellent customer service. i needed a seal for one and i had it at my door in 2 days at no charge. one guy got an entire new cover due to the stitching coming out on this 4 year old cover..



 

I've got the Xtang Full Tilt and love it!  I've had it on my truck since new in '03 and it still looks great.  The one bad things are dings that I put into it.

Strong sun in the summer and lots of snow in the winters.  No problems.

K

+1 for undercover.  I switched from soft to undercover and couldn't be happier.  Completely waterproof, secure, and even has a little led to light the bed at night.  I can remove and install by myself when I need to haul tall stuff.  Just takes about an hour for initial install to get the brackets square to your bed.

I have a Bakflip HD coming next week. What I like about it is that if you need full access to the bed it fold and locks up aginst the rear of the cab.

+1, I had one on my Chevy.  Each model is a little different so it follows the contours of the truck (hood, sides, etc.).  It comes painted to match the truck too.  Very dry and secure, however requires two people to remove from truck

Stay away from hard shell covers. Don't be that guy.

Do you mean the fiberglass "lids?"

Why?

I have had a an Extang BlackMax on my S-10 for almost 3 years and it still looks nice. I never planned on removing it a lot so I opted for the cheapest; a snap on. It goes on easy in the Summer, if its cold forget it, even on the winter setting on the snaps. I've had 8 inches of snow/freezing rain on mine and its still fine. I think it was under $200

If you are removing it a lot for cargo, get a better one.


Edit: I didnt see any increase in mileage, but I bought it for extra dry storage and looks only.I don't think any types see an increase.

No, the "camper" style covers. Those things are hideous.

I have a Truxedo cover on my Ram. Have had it for 7 years no problems, still looks good, keeps the rain/snow out, velcro still good. I am 6'0 210 and I can stand on it with out a problem or damage to the cover.

J-

I wasted a 1000 bucks on a Roll-N-Lock. Never again .

Undercover;









Autoanything.com has cheap shipping to your door.

Access Roll up covers are good. Had mine for 8 years and it's still holding up fine.

I bought an Extang for my '08 GMC.  It was bottom of the barrel quality and it didn't fit or work correctly.  Their customer service is about the same.  I've been dealing with them since feb and I still don't have a working Tonneau.

I had a Lund Tri fold on my last truck.  Awesome cover.  Had it for more than 5 years without a single issue.  Great cover at a great price.

I've had a Retrax roll up on my Tundra since I bought it new in '03, no complaints at all. It's rated for a foot of snow. My wife had one put on her '08 Titan since it worked so well for me. Don't like that one quite so much since it interferes with the tie down rails in the bed. Never saw a change in gas mileage fwiw. The rollup box at the head of the bed does eat up around 8-10 inches of space though. I consider the enhancement in utility to be worth the tradeoff. They are pricy though.