Gasser55

With 3 kids and my F150 crew cab I'm in need of some sort of extra storage. Wondering if anyone has had both a flat cover (folding cover or tonneau) and a camper/topper. I've had a truck with a topper and it was great for storage, however the folding covers are much cheaper and maybe nice to get the whole open bed factor when needed. What did or do you prefer?

Bigcat1185

iTrader: (1)

bassJAM

I've only had soft tonneau's and a solid folding, but have ridden a lot with my buddy who has a topper on his truck. My perspective:

My buddy keeps a ton of hunting equipment in his bed, and the topper is much easier access since he doesn't have to get on his back/belly to get in. However, he has had things that he can't haul because the item is too tall and it's not worth the effort to remove his topper.

The soft is nice if you regularly haul tall things, because it's easy to roll up out of the way. However, I hated snapping mine back in place after using it because it sucked to stretch back out tight, so I found I typically left mine off unless I was going on a road trip and needed a water-tight storage area. Maybe the velcro or zipper ones work better, I don't know.

Now I've got a hard tri-fold and I love it. It's much more secure than a soft cover, which gives me peace of mind when the family is out shopping and we have the bed full of purchases. It takes seconds to fold out of the way and give me access to 2/3rd's of my bed, which has worked most of the time I'm hauling tall things. And it takes about 2 minutes to completely remove and leave at home if I know I'll need access to my entire bed.

Gasser55

The soft cover is tempting but I like the hard ones as it gives a slight increase in security. Bassjam which fold cover are you happy with?

ghunt81

I've never been big on caps/shells/camper tops (whatever you call them) because they limit what you can haul and you pretty much have to crawl inside to get anything at the front of the bed. Two of my previous trucks had them when I bought them, took both off shortly after buying. I can see the appeal but don't care for them.

Also they're a big pain to remove and really difficult to get rid of if you decide you don't want it anymore. Both of mine I practically had to give away to get rid of them.

I like the idea of a locking tonneau for the bed but they are so expensive. Might just look at some kind of a toolbox instead.

HappyChappy

I used to have the Extang Solid Fold which I really liked except for the leaking issues. I went to a Leer canopy which I ended up not liking as much as I thought....changed the look of the truck, made it more difficult to see out of and limited what I could put back there. It was nice having the canopy on knowing my stuff was more secure and out of the weather. I now have a Tonno Pro hard cover which I really like aside from the back latches by the tailgate....the Extang had a much more user friendly setup.

marshallr

I've had a cap for every truck I've owned since the 1970's. I used to buy cheap aluminum and put them on and off as needed. For the last 20 years I just leave them on and buy fiberglass. You get way more dry, lockable storage that is easier to use than a tonneau cover at only slightly more cost than a hard tonneau. The soft tops aren't secure at all and don't last long either. I have a rubber bed mat and and use load bars which keeps small stuff at he back. You don't have to crawl inside to get stuff out unless you're fully loaded. Unless you use your truck as a motorized wheel barrow there is no reason to not cover the bed. 99% of us use them to carry passengers and gear, why not keep it dry and secure. Unlike a SUV, a truck with a cap is much easier to hose out if something dirty is hauled in the bed.

If I need to haul anything heavy, large or bulky my 10' utility trailer works much better anyway. I burn 2-3 cords of wood every winter. Most 1/2 tons are limited to 1700 lbs or less payload, I can haul double that in my trailer without damaging the bed. Having the trailer 2' off the ground with a ramp is a lot ease to load/unload than a truck bed anyway.

bassJAM

I have the Extang Solid Fold 2.0. I honestly would have never dreamed of spending that much on a cover, I was getting by fine with a TonnoMax soft tri-fold I scored LNIB off Craigslist for $100. But I was just lucky enough to win the Extang through a contest Factory Tonneau Outlet and Extang were doing on this site a couple years ago. Now that I have a solid tri-fold cover, I'll probably continue to buy one for whatever truck I happen to own. I feel they are well worth the money, especially since this truck is used as the family hauler more often these days than it is a "truck".

RX1Cobra

I have the Tonno Pro tri fold hard cover too. I agree back latch system could be better but it's not horrible. Overall pretty happy with it. No leaks and functions well. Plus I got it for 200 bucks from Amazon Warehouse deals...

jim2018

I ordered an A R E lid/cover in matching color. I though about the low camper shell but here in Arizona its way to hot most days ever to use it.