Truck Bed Covers/Caps?
 

Ok, traded in the Explorer today and picked up the new F150 extended cab/short bed, with a small V-8. Seems to be quite a number and range of bed covers available and am curious what are the pro's & con's. From what I'm see, I'm think cheep $250 snap on just to keep things dry or a full blown cap which I can remove when I need to for landscaping supplies etc. I'm leaning towards the cap, but how quickly do the newer ones come off, two man job? Is there a distinct advantage on the cap for mileage, due to less air drag etc?

Bob - very nice truck - I had the 98 F150 OffRoad Extended cab with the 4.6 and a 5 speed - great truck that I ordered from the factory the way I wanted it (til my wife made me get a "Family Car")...

If you get the bedliner, the fit well under the rail caps that Ford puts on the XLTs and better, very slick and unobtrusive layout. You should at minimum get that and if the install it correctly, it will not scratch the bed below.

A cap would be nice but get it if you plan to use it. Now for surf fishing, you could roll a sleeping bag on an air matress and make long surfcasting trips peasurable :kewl: . For surf rods, you hang internal rod holders and run the tips through the rear slider - can manage 10' rods easily inside the truck which really is easier than external.

They are kind of pain to remove solo but you can make up a jig to help you do that if you need to.

the snap on covers are nice if you dont mind...snapping and unsnapping and PULLING and tugging in cold weather and pulling it all off to get big items in there and........:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

they arent bad if you arent going to be using the back of the pick up a lot......but I dont recommend the snap on kind....they are a PAIN........................

.........my 2 cents

I have an Extang Black Max on my Chevy eztended cab, short bed. You can see it here: http://www.extang.com/blackmaxindex.html

It has snaps on all 4 sides so it can be completely removed as opposed to the kind that just roll up. It was about $200 and it was very easy to install.

If I had to do it again I might go for the Extang Full Tilt cover which is around $350 or one of the folding covers but I think they are around $500.

Do the cap + liner - like John mentioned - more versitile + more options for you to take. I have an Extang bed cover on my 98 Ranger, had it rolled up for a while, not surprisingly, I had to sit it in the sun yesterday so I could fasten it around 3 sides - a pain - like Jenn said.
Good luck

I got the 2001 F150 SuperCrewcab (four door) don't know if it's the same as yours, but I got the Tonneau cover for the back. It doesn't have snaps, but rather it's more a tongue-in-groove deal where a hard rubber lip on the top fits inside a groove fits inside a plastic runner attached to the top edge of the bed along the sides. It keeps the bed bone dry, except for a little space where the tailgate meets the gasket on the cover in back (it had to do with the way they installed it and I wasn't wasting time going back to Ford for them to make it right. It's not that neat to roll back because of that rubber lip, and tougher to put back in cold weather, but I have found it worth the money. My rods are two piece so they fit broken down, but I have found with a piece of pipe insulation around the rods I can close the gate on them (carefully and slowly) and have the tips sticking out the back. Only problem then is people walking into the tips which is why I'm looking into a rooftop rack solution (another thread) only Ford doesn't make a permanent roof rack. I will say it is pretty durable, as one day I found my six year old using it like a trampoline and nothing got bent or broken. Hope this helped.

In my F150, Xcab, I leave my bed open cause' I don't care about crap getting in there. I actually use it as a 6' trash can.

But, I do have a underrail bedliner (a Duraliner I put in myself).

The covers I like the best are those hard ones with the
pneumatic pistons to hold it open. The bed stays totally dry, and the gate can open without lifting the cover.

They can color match perfectly, but I'll bet they are REAL expensive.

perfect time for this post. a week ago i bought a new f150 ext cab short bed lariat. i love it. i am getting the duraliner put in and was debating to get that tongue and groove system for the back. i am thinking about the hard top that van mentioned and i am going to look into how much they will be . i will let you know how much when i get a price on them.

I'm leaning towards the Access Roll-Up cover, no snaps, has side locks to keep them somewhat honest with the locking tail-gate, has tubular bows so it's nice and tight, adjustable tension, velco along the entire length both sides which is so tight you'd have to have pencil arms to reach in. What I like is that I can roll it up in seconds so I can use the bed and it's in the middle of the price range at $450 or so installed. I really like the looks of both the hard cover or a nice cap, but both are twice the money and can't be easily removed to go get a quick load of mulch, stone or sand. Here is the link to the site, although I've not used it to see if it works www.accesscover.com

Looks like a good cover - just one thing FYI - the Extang I have has velcro straps to hold cover is in its rolled state, and after 3 years exposed to the sun, that part of the velcro (the "catchy" side - not the "fuzzy" side) deteriorated from exposure to the elements. Extang's warranty did not cover. :af:
I'm looking at the velcro on your cover and wondering --- if you might have a similar problem down the road if yours are left exposed to the elements for lengths of time.
Also look into cover shrinkage during colder weather, which may/may not affect it being user friendly during the winter.
I always dread taking up the cover during the cold, knowing what i have to go through to get it back on.

Just my 2c to help you out. ;)

:topic: The Scuppers
This is a new forum for the not necessarily fishing related topics...
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