tonneau covers

[Ranger Black 4x4]

just bought a new 2008 Ranger,thinking about buying a soft rollup tonneau
cover from Ford Dealership.Which is better snap rings or velcro,and what
materials are these covers made from and which do you think is better.Thanks.

[fordtough.ca]

Welcome to FordTough.ca
Contact our affiliate f150sale or blackstock
They will be able to provide you with some pricing
I will be up there in a week and we can arrange for a coffee meet to avoid shipping charges
BTW
Post some pics

[f150phule]

I'd go with a velcro type that way there is no drilling for the snap ons.

[Ranger Black 4x4]

Thank,s the Ford Dealer made me an offer i could not refuse on the tonneau cover.Think i will go
with velcro.Don,t have my Ranger yet,should take 7 long weeks coming from
Ford.Ranger Sport 4x4 with all the goodies.Can,t wait.Thanks guys.

[LayinHp]

the "ziplock" style is good aswell fits nice and snug alittle tight in the winter (shrinkage) but still usable

[BlairTruck]

i got Velcro and am very happy compared to buttons on my last one.

[gt40]

have a look at the xtang fulltilt - I won't buy another cover. It can be used with the snaps, or like a tilt-up cover. It completely removes in a matter of seconds if need be.

[Slim188]

the "ziplock" style is good aswell fits nice and snug alittle tight in the winter (shrinkage) but still usable

MAN I HATE SHRINKAGE....

[07rangersport]

the "ziplock" style is good aswell fits nice and snug alittle tight in the winter (shrinkage) but still usable

I had one of those. I liked it. It is a really heavy vinyl and closes like a ziploc bag:icon_cool:

[TaggyTagz]

another option that I liked till i started buyin more bigger tools and needed more room is the extang solidfold. its a 3 way folding tonneau that takes like 2 minutes to install, only tool required is your hand to tighten the clamps at the front... then the ones on the back are like spring loaded ones you pull down.. so if you get a lock on your tailgate its a sealed and secure bed. If you or anyone else on here is interested I have one for sale. bought it from blackstock ford in may, took it off maybe a month ago, just sittin in my garage now, its in pretty much mint condition. im only lookin for a few hundred for it.. don't wanna ship, just wanna meet someone locally and get rid of it. Im plannin to take some pics and post it up here soon too so standby for that too

[07rangersport]

Honestly, if your hauling tools get a canopy. My work is the reason I sold my tonneau. Caps are awesome for camping and hauling. Doesn't look the best but serves an awesome purpose. Just a thought

[NVR2LO]

this was my ranger that i traded in for my f150, it had a covercraft tonneau, no complaints, fit great and didnt fad much in the sun

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z39/osolow_bucket/ranger/Image054.jpg
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z39/osolow_bucket/ranger/Image052.jpg

[jdcrush]

Ive got an access roll up cover with the velcro closures. Had it two years now and have had no problems with it

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll292/jdcrush/lookindown.jpg

[Cooker]

Here is the Extang Solid Fold On My 08 Ranger:

http://www.members.shaw.ca/cook_r/IMG_1366_sm.jpg

http://www.members.shaw.ca/cook_r/IMG_1383.jpg

http://www.members.shaw.ca/cook_r/IMG_1384.jpg

http://www.members.shaw.ca/cook_r/IMG_1385.jpg

http://www.members.shaw.ca/cook_r/IMG_1386.jpg

http://www.members.shaw.ca/cook_r/IMG_1387.jpg

http://www.members.shaw.ca/cook_r/IMG_1388.jpg

http://www.members.shaw.ca/cook_r/IMG_1390.jpg

[CanadianRanger]

I have the Extang TriFold. Similar to Cooker's but in vinyl, like the velcro/snap types. Installs and removes in less then a minute, and folds up for bigger loads.

http://extang.com/docs/trifecta.html

[Beerkeg666]

I bought the snapless toneau cover, not velcro, fits into an aluminium track that mounts to the truck (Ford product) and it's great. Only down side is it does not roll-up well. But it's great. A lot better than snaps that rusk or velcro that gets full of dirt and lint.

Cheers. 2007 FX4 Level II

[Naa_Danno]

How much did you pay for your fold up cover?

[J.P. (Mount hope)]

another option that I liked till i started buyin more bigger tools and needed more room is the extang solidfold. its a 3 way folding tonneau that takes like 2 minutes to install, only tool required is your hand to tighten the clamps at the front... then the ones on the back are like spring loaded ones you pull down.. so if you get a lock on your tailgate its a sealed and secure bed. If you or anyone else on here is interested I have one for sale. bought it from blackstock ford in may, took it off maybe a month ago, just sittin in my garage now, its in pretty much mint condition. im only lookin for a few hundred for it.. don't wanna ship, just wanna meet someone locally and get rid of it. Im plannin to take some pics and post it up here soon too so standby for that too

Taggy, Looks like you're just around the corner from me. If you get no takers in the next while, let me know and we'll see what we can work out. I'll have to wait until after my truck is road worthy.
Cheers

[Snowdoogie]

With all this velcro, i'm waiting to see sheep beside one of these Rangers!:icon_razz:

[henrico_suave]

ive got the fiberglass cover... does the job well and no fear of punks and/or nature cutting holes in it!

[i.feature]

Cooker - How much did you pay for the Extang Solid Fold Tonneau Cover? How watertight is it?

Does anyone have or have opinions of the various "hard" retractable covers like the pace-edwards full metal jack rabbit or the Peragon?

I just purchased a 2009 ranger. Want to install myself.(have a bedliner, i know that matters with some covers)

Thanks in advance.

[TOPH R]

The hard rollups usually take up a fair bit of space in the front of the box. keep that in mind.

[MississaugaRanger]

I just bought the Solid Fold on Tuesday and it will arrive this coming Monday (Installion..5 second job). I bought it from Cobra in Mississauga and I got them to drop it to $816. This may see like a fair chunk of change but all the other place in the GTA (ie. Hitch City, Truck & Van World, etc) just bumped their prices to $850 (damn Canadian $$). The advantage is that it's secure (if you pick up a pop & lock at Van & Truck World on Dixie-$52) and you have no gaskets to replace. And no heavy snow to weigh down the velcro or other methods down.

[north44]

I have a soft tonneau cover (with the snap/button tabs) by Extang and it's served its purpose well over the years.

A couple of thoughts:

A solid fiberglass cover may be more secure, but it can also be a pain to remove when you have to carry large oversize items - the one piece covers are difficult for one person to remove, and you need some place to store it - a real pain if you have an oversize item that you're moving "one-way".

The "trifold" type solid covers are a good product, quite versatile and easy to use (many times I wish I had gotten one of these), but sometimes I've had to use most of the bed to carry items that had to be kept dry (e.g. in rainy weather), yet had some long items that stuck out (e.g. lengths of pipe). In these cases, I've found that I could button down the majority of the tabs (on my cover) around the pipe, keeping most of the bed dry, with only a bit of the lengthy stuff sticking out in the rain.

A cap is most useful if you need a large covered area for storage or hauling on a constant basis - they can be expensive (relative to a cover), and too, are difficult to remove if you have to move taller or bulkier items.

If you need a smaller lockable "trunklike" area, but still need some bed area for hauling, toolboxes are the best bet.

The rigid "roll-up" covers are a good product from what I've seen, but relatively expensive.

With the soft covers, the question is: button/snap tabs or velcro. Both have their good and bad points. Velcro will wear over time, stuff gets caught in it; button tabs are a pain to connect in cold weather (as the cover shrinks and contracts). HINT: I've found that application of hot water on a soft cover in cold weather will give it enough stretch to reconnect the tabs - also I use some sort of lubricant/grease on the button tabs to make it easier to re-connect them.

The material on the soft covers is pretty durable, pretty much the same type of vinyl stuff (usually with a woven, fabric sort of underside) that they use on boat tonneau covers, etc. As with anything else, you have to look after it - keep it clean, use plenty of vinyl preservative products, etc. Take the time to keep it firmly attached (if it gets flapping in the wind, or when you're driving down the highway, it'll be toast). Keep it clean of snow and ice (and keep those crossmember/struts on as much as possible), or it will collapse on you. Also, any tears or rips pretty much need to be patched as soon as possible (I usually use rubber cement and a leather patch on the underside, with a dab of silicone on top).

I've found the soft cover to be the best fit for my purposes - versatile, easy to remove, relatively inexpensive - but not as secure, harder to maintain (than a rigid type cover). P.S. I've had people disconnect the top to see what I have in the bed (I have a tailgate lock) but I've been lucky so far - no cuts or other vandalism - and the odds and ends I keep in the bed are really no value to a thief - PITA though, and I keep thinking about what I would do if I caught someone in the act . . .

You pretty well have to get the cover that best fits your needs - they're great though - keeps the bed clean and neat, and probably cuts down wind resistance (helping gas mileage).

Sorry if the post seems kind of long, I've given this topic some thought over the years - hope it contains some useful information for readers.

[MississaugaRanger]

I got my Solidfold on Dec 31 and I love it...no worries about shrinkage (add joke here) and no worries of box cutters or really heavy ice/snow loads!! Worth the extra $$$ if you plan on having your pickp for many years....and since Rangers haven't really changed in the last few years...when you upgrade/trade it in for a new one....you got a good product to get some more use out of!!

[FordNut]

I've been looking for a while for something that wouldnt break the bank and worked ok. The hard folding ones were nice but i've heard mixed reviews and for $900 - it was a bit too rich for my blood. I found a local Canadian company on the net called truxmart (www.truxmart.ca). They're a pretty cool soft folding tonneau cover thats canadian made and i paid $379 - thats the cheapest one i could find and i really love it - its water tight and looks really cool on the truck - for just over $400 - i'm really happy.

Thats my .02

I'll try to post pics of it on my F150 - but they have a bunch of pics on their site.

Good luck in your search!