jferg92

My brother in law wants a cheap bed cover for his 05 dodge 1500 short bed. He asked me and I have no idea about covers. He wants an affordable one that is soft top And will be weatherproof for the most part.
What is best for this?
Brand
Style
Snap
Zip
Velcro
Roll & lock?
Input appreciated

jferg92

And what are the ones called which are semi-hard and divided into aluminum/plastic panels that retract into a self contained box?

joe mcmillan

You can get a soft snap or velcro for about $200 at one of your local box stores or online. Most of them will keep most of the water out. Some of the more expensive soft covers will keep all of the water out and are lockable. Even tho they can be locked, they are a soft cover and only keep the honest people honest.
Depending on where you live and what you will carry in the back, it may be necessary to get a hard cover as they provide better security.
I have had soft covers for over 20 years and never had anything stolen. Corrently have an Extang Trifecta - soft cover with 3 sections that folds to the front of the bed. It closes and latches from the inside so the tailgate provides the lock.
This cover does not let any water into the bed. It can be removed completely in less than 1 minute and will fit into the back seat if I need to haul something.
I am very happy with it.
Take a look on Amazon for pricing and reviews of the different covers. They begin about $200 and go up to over $1000.

biff420

All I can add is go velcro. Have a couple friends with snap style covers and they hate them. I rarely see them unsnap them anymore. Its because as the cover shrinks, it gets harder to get it to line up with the snaps. They fight it for 15 minutes to get it all snapped in. Mine is velcro and I have no issues with uncovering and recovering. Love it, love it, love it

dipschnit

I hated my snap cover, but it served its purpose for a while. Just a royal pain. I have a vinyl tri fold on it now and i like it alot better except for the lockdown latch took a BIG chunk out of my finger the other day. I somehow locked my finger between the lockdown and the bed rail(what a dummy). Anyway, they are fairly cheap as far as price and it works best for my needs as i go in there all the time.

joe mcmillan

You didn't have to confess tho!

dipschnit

I only told on myself to keep others from doing it,lol...damn that sounded good

PJB

I also switched from a snap cover (Extang Blackmax) to a trifold and also took a chunk out of my finger with the lock thing a while back.


The trifold is so easy to take on and off compared to the snap cover. Theres no way the snap cover would go back on with the cold weather we've had this winter. I used to have to heat it with a portable heater or hairdryer when it got below 40*.


I paid $80 for the trifold (no brand on it) off Craigslist. I paid $80 for the snap cover 4 years ago (also Craigslist) and sold it for $50 (CL again).

jferg92

Thanks for the comments guys. It's between a roll up Velcro and a trifold. He needs "semi-dry" storage since a baby is on the way. I would like to find him something under $250. I'll post the links of what I've found

Keepmodding

One thing that may help your buddy decide is the added bit of security you get from the trifold. If he has a locking tailgate the trifold can't be opened until the tailgate is unlocked and opened. This helps to keep your honest people out that aren't willing to run up and cut your cover. Either way I highly recommend sticking with extang, they offer a great warranty and their customer service is great as well.