What is the best tonneau cover?

• It’s very easy to install
• The cover is strong and durable
• Has a simple and reliable locking system
• No drilling or extra hardware is required

• Doesn’t require additional drilling or hardware
• The included instruction is clear
• It’s strong and durable
• Fits nicely without leaving gaps

• Installing the cover is easy
• The cover, although soft, is very durable
• Looks nice and stays firm
• It’s high-quality and affordable

• It’s easy to fit
• Provides good cargo protection
• Looks elegant
• It’s made of a sturdy material

• It’s easy to fit
• Comes with simple clear instructions
• Fits perfectly without any modification
• The material and quality is good

• It’s high quality and affordable
• Installation and use is very easy
• Cleaning the cover is simple and easy
• Looks great on the pickup’s bed

• It’s easy to fit and maintain
• Suitable for several pickup trucks
• Made from a premium and long-lasting material
• It doesn’t trap dirt

• Simple and easy clamp-on installation
• High quality and affordable
• Easy to clean
• The seals are watertight

• It’s crafted from high-quality material
• Provides good protection
• Looks amazing and minimizes drag
• It rolls away easily

• It installs easily
• It’s very strong and secure
• Doesn’t requires extra skills or hardware
• It doesn’t get dirty quickly

Tonneau Cover Guide & FAQ’s

There was already a brief introduction and a summary of the different types of tonneau covers. In this section, we compare them and list their individual advantages and disadvantages. This is to guide you as to what tonneau cover is actually the best for you and your car.

Roll-up or Rolling Covers

As you may have noticed, the list of the best tonneau covers of 2020 is filled with roll-up covers. There are two reasons for this. First, they are the cheapest. Second, they are the easiest to access. Thus, they are also the easiest to recommend.

You can simply look up the internet for a good rolling cover, purchase them at a low price, and they will serve you adequately in most cases. Naturally, they have their own disadvantages.

Advantages

• Soft
• Cheapest
• Easy to install
• Easily accessible

Disadvantages

• May last shorter
• May tear
• Less secure than other types

Foldable Covers

Foldable covers are similar to roll-up tonneau covers in terms of convenience and ease of installation. Naturally, the materials used for foldable covers are much more durable to their nature. However, they can also be a lot bulkier.

Advantages

• Hard
• Durable
• Easy to install
• Offers more protection than roll-ups

Disadvantages

• Clunky
• Looks worse than other types
• Less secure than hinged and retractable ones

Retractable Covers

Retractable covers offer more protection than both roll-ups and foldable ones. It’s biggest advantage when compared to the two is its safety against thieves since it can be locked. Also, the method of opening and closing can also be less tedious since you only need to slide the shutter.

Advantages

• Offers protection from thieves
• Can be locked
• Easy to open and close
• Durable materials that look good

Disadvantages

• A bit more expensive
• Harder to install

Hinged Covers

Hinged covers are the best ones in terms of quality. However, they are also the most expensive. They offer everything that others have and more. Hinged covers are the most customized, so they look the best. They also last the longest. Typically, they will last as long as the car itself.

Advantages

• Quite versatile
• Lasts for a long time
• Customized and can match your car color
• Easy to open and close
• Looks the best
• Technically the best in quality

Disadvantages

• Extremely expensive
• Hard to remove once installed
• You will need help in installing this

You can classify tonneau covers based on their type. These types are differentiated by their different characteristics such as materials used, convenience, nature of installation, hardness, and more.

The different tonneau cover types will be discussed in more detail later in the article.

History of Tonneau Covers

In current times, cars with open passenger seats are not actually as common as completely closed ones. In contrast, automobiles in the 1900s are the opposite. It is not uncommon for them to have passenger compartments without any roofs.

In those times, covers are even more of a necessity. This is largely due to the fact that automobiles from then are more easily prone to damage. Furthermore, they are more expensive. Hence, it is only natural that owners want to protect their car by using covers.

Due to these circumstances, tonneau covers were born.

According to Wikipedia, the term ‘tonneau’ means cask or barrel in French. Tonneau or cask is the term used to describe the automobile’s compartment. Hence, tonneau covers are used to protect a car’s open compartments.

Types of Tonneau Covers

As mentioned before, tonneau covers can be classified and separated into different types. Specifically, there are four types of tonneau covers.

Rolling or Roll-up Covers

As their name implies, rolling covers can be used by simply rolling them open. Obviously, you can also close them by rolling when not in use.

Naturally, the materials used for rolling covers are soft, like cloth. After all, you are not able to roll hard materials.

Installing this type of cover in your pickup truck or convertible should be very easy and short. It should take around a quarter of an hour to finish. It may take longer but not by much.

Best for:

Rolling covers are very convenient since they are easy to open and close. Hence, they are typically used in pickup trucks if the owner frequently moves around things in and out of the compartment. This is great if you want the cheapest type of cover that still remains reliable.

Foldable Covers

If rolling covers are made soft, foldable covers are the opposite. They are made up of hard materials and are built to withstand harsher weather conditions.

Since you only need to fold them to open and close, foldable covers are quite convenient as well. In fact, they do not lose out to rolling covers in this area.

Foldable covers are separated into two, bi-folds and tri-folds, with tri-folds being the more common one.

The only downside of foldable covers in comparison to the rolling covers is that the former requires more installation time. It may take at least three-quarters of an hour to install. Fortunately, this should likely be a one-time thing.

Best for:

The best part about foldable covers is that they offer both solid protection and convenience. Hence, if you have important things in your truck bed that require more care, foldable covers are a better choice for you. At the same time, you can still move them in and out easily.

Retractable Covers

Do you know those shutters that shops use to lock up when they close in the evening? Retractable covers are basically those, except they’re used for cars.

Just like window shutters, tonneau covers of this type are used to protect the things inside the truck bed. It offers protection not only from weather conditions but also from thieves. You can use a lock at the end of the retractable cover to completely secure the items inside.

Retractable covers are not exactly inconvenient either. You can simply retract them to open the compartment and slide them instead to close it.

Furthermore, not only are retractable covers convenient, but they are also more pleasing to the eye. They are mostly made of aluminum, and their consistent gray color can be quite stylish.

Lastly, some expensive covers can even be electric and be controlled to open and close by a remote.

Best for:

Retractable covers are best for owners that have important items to put in the compartment. Furthermore, you can also just buy them for style points. After all, retractable covers are certainly more dashing than the casual rolling covers.

Hinged Covers

Hinged covers are the most expensive type of tonneau covers. However, they contain almost anything that you can ever hope for from a tonneau cover. They can only be described as ‘totally worth the price’.

First, hinged covers can be opened in a way similar to a van’s back door. A single press of the handle can open the tonneau cover using a shocking technology.

Next, they can offer protection, convenience, and style all at the same time. Installing a hinged cover in your pickup truck will really make your back compartment look like a ‘cask’, completely enclosing the truck bed away from thieves and weather conditions.

You can customize hinged covers to match your car. This makes the tonneau cover look completely natural. Even though retractable covers look nice, you will gain fewer style points with them compared to hinged covers.

As long as you can afford this type of tonneau cover, you can never go wrong by using it.

Best for:

Hinged covers should be used by basically everyone who can afford it. Once you buy hinged covers, it can follow your car until the end of its machine life.

How to Find the Right Tonneau Cover Size?

You can manually measure the dimension of your truck bed and simply pick the size of the tonneau cover accordingly.
A more reliable approach is to identify the model of your car and search for details of that particular model. You should be able to find something regarding the size of your truck bed.

Alternatively, you can even ask for information from your car dealer, the cover seller, or other owners who have the same car model as yours. This is easily overlooked but there is actually no harm in doing this.

If all else fails, you can sign up for a warranty, buy a tonneau cover, and return it if it does not work out. You should find a reliable company that will allow you to do that though.