What can a tonneau cover do for my truck?

If you have a truck, adding a tonneau cover to your bed is an absolute must. Not only are tonneau covers useful in any situation, they provide loads of essential benefits, including:

• Organized storage for whatever you're hauling in your truck bed, plus the bonus of keeping a lid on loose items
• Coverage from potentially damaging weather conditions, like rain, snow and extreme sun
• Complete coverage of your payload that keeps your cargo out of sight from potential theft
• An immediate improvement in gas mileage with tight, aerodynamic materials covering your otherwise drag-prone open bed
• Sleek looks that range from smooth leather grain patterns to ultra-custom, color-matched style

Tonneau Cover Storage Basics

You haul everything from hardware to the occasional load of groceries in the back of your truck. A tonneau cover helps keep a lid on all of it, shielding your cargo from the blowing winds of freeway driving and all kinds of pounding wet weather. Adding a tonneau cover to your truck is an easy way to make sure nothing disappears from your bed while you're driving or parked.

A Guide to Protecting Your Gear from the Weather with a Tonneau Cover

Even simple cover over your gear can help prevent weather damage. Tonneau covers take protection a few steps further, though, with some ingenious design features. For instance, most tonneau covers employ strategically placed weather seals and carefully angled that channel water away from your cargo. And, many tonneau cover models use raised and arched support bows to encourage moisture runoff. While no truck bed cover is completely water-tight, most will do an outstanding job of keeping your gear high and dry in nasty weather.

Tonneau Security: A Quick Reference

When your cargo is out of sight, it's out of a would-be thief's mind. Tonneau covers make the contents of your truck bed a mystery, giving you confidence that your belongings will be right where you left them.

Beyond simple coverage, tonneau covers also offer higher levels of security (depending on the model). Most hinged (lift-up) tonneau covers can be fully-secured using a locking tailgate. Hard top and retractable tonneau covers generally have secure key locking systems that latch closed at the tailgate.

With a variety of security measures, a good tonneau cover makes your truck bed far more versatile than ever before — ideal for use as a hauler or hiding spot.

Gas Mileage and Tonneau Covers: The Basics

Trucks are getting taller, engines are bigger, payloads are getting deeper and the traffic is thicker than ever. You can probably hear big oil companies laughing with their fistfuls of cash every time the pump takes a big bite from your spending money. A tonneau cover helps you even the score in one of the only ways you can: by prolonging your next trip to the service station.

Open truck beds can be a huge drag on your gas mileage. As air flows over the aerodynamic front end of your vehicle, it can swirl into your bed and catch on your tailgate — stealing several miles off your latest tank.

Covering your truck bed with a tight tonneau cover — even a soft model — stops the tailgate drag. Air hits the taut surface of a hard or soft tonneau cover and continues past your vehicle with nothing to catch. And, it saves you mileage without crazy tailgate removal or potentially damaging open-gate driving, both of which have been tested and proven to be less effective than using a tonneau cover.

How much savings will you see with a tonneau cover? A 5% improvement in fuel economy is the industry-wide accepted number, though up to 10% savings is possible. Your vehicle could see bigger or smaller effects. Still, the idea is simple: a tonneau cover will save gas and eventually pay for itself.

Great Tonneau Cover Looks: a Quick Guide

A smooth tonneau cover adds custom truck style to bland uncovered truck beds. Each tonneau cover we offer sports a custom design made to the dimensions of your truck bed. The result is a special fit and exact appearance that was meant for your truck.

Tonneau covers can add any level of extra smart appearance to your truck. Soft tonneau covers stretch tight, not just for improved mileage but also for style. With a variety of lid materials, retractable tonneau covers are the kings of the low-profile smooth factor. Hard tonneau covers are the ultimate in custom looks: molded-over edges, seamless fitting and optional paint matching.

A Guide to the History of Tonneau Covers

Tonneau covers (also known as truck bed covers, bed lids or truck lids) have evolved from a number of versions designed for a variety of uses. Because many crude bed cover designs existed over the years, no one person or company can lay claim as the originator of the tonneau cover.

Soft tonneau covers gained prominence while playing an important roll on major speedways. Top-class sport truck racers used these flexible bed covers as a lightweight way to improve their aerodynamics and reduce drag. These racetrack tonneau covers sat flush with the top of the bed and employed the same heavy-duty materials used in today's soft covers.

Hard tonneau covers grew in popularity as an alternative to full-size camper shells. These highly-customized truck bed lids, most commonly made from fiberglass, have evolved into tonneaus using a variety of materials and opening mechanisms.

Every truck owner has different needs, uses and ideas for their truck bed. That's why tonneau covers are available in so many different varieties. It's easy to find one that fits your truck and all the uses you have in mind.

Heavy-Duty Soft Tonneau

Soft Tonneau Installation

Soft tonneau covers boast the easiest bed cover installation possible. Soft tonneaus clamp on with no drilling or cutting required. Many can be mounted in as little as 10 minutes!

Soft tonneau covers top your truck with the toughness of heavy-duty leather grain vinyl. This ultra-durable material is stretched tight over a metal frame (typically lightweight aluminum) for smooth looks and complete aerodynamics.

These soft tonneau covers roll up fast for full-bed access and employ a number of seal types: tough snaps, industrial-strength hook & loop (Velcro style) edges, unique "peel & seal" tongue and groove closures and more.

Soft tonneau covers are designed with ease of use in mind. That idea extends to the installation, too, as soft tonneau covers can be installed in a matter of minutes with minimal tools needed.

• See the AutoAnything soft tonneau covers research guide

Hard Tonneaus

Total security, complete toughness, endless custom looks. Hard tonneau covers are the full package when it comes to your truck bed. They're custom-made from a variety of materials (most commonly fiberglass) that showcase a smooth surface sitting on your bed rails.

And, they're tough as nails. Most hard tonneaus boast dual key locks, plus an over-the-tailgate shape that provides total security. Not to mention, they're designed for excellent weather resistance.

Clean custom looks are king with hard tonneau covers, as most models can be paint-matched to blend perfectly with your vehicle's color. They're also specially shaped in a variety of race-inspired designs that expand on the traditional square cover. Wings, spoilers and more are no strangers to the hard tonneau covers on today's tricked-out trucks.

• See the AutoAnything hard tonneau covers research guide

Retractable Tonneaus

Retractable Tonneau Installation

With canister mounting, rail positioning and drainage system hookup, retractable tonneau installation can be the trickiest of all covers. It frequently takes more than 1 hour to position the rails and may require minor drilling.

From open to closed in a couple of seconds. Like a garage door for your bed, retractable tonneau covers roll closed or open for the ultimate in fast access. The retractable design has been around for decades, adding tracks flush with your bed rails for low-profile looks and a canister at the cab to hold the rolled-up cover.

With retractable tonneaus, a series of connected planks (think garage door style) pulls out as one cover to completely shield your cargo. There are smooth vinyl-covered aluminum and powder coated aluminum varieties. And, retractable tonneau covers latch or lock at the tailgate for excellent security.

Another fine retractable tonneau cover feature is smart latching positions on the rails designed for locking the cover part way open. Basic models have pre-set positions at specific distances (i.e. 12" apart) for part-open tonneau cover use; motorized or remote controlled retractable tonneau covers can be stopped at any position on the rails. Each of these stopping mechanisms is ideal for partial-bed access uses, such as fifth wheel hitches.

• See the AutoAnything retractable tonneau covers guide

Toolbox Tonneaus

Soft and retractable tonneau covers can also be made to fit your truck bed tool box. Toolbox tonneau covers accommodate most any standard size box and still function as a full-length tonneau would. They also incorporate a seal between your toolbox and your bed cover to keep the elements from ruining your cargo. And, some of our toolbox retractable tonneau covers come with a specialized box. It's the ideal setup for any tradesperson or tool nut.

There are plenty of options available when you're picking a tonneau cover for your truck. But, with a little help and guidance from AutoAnything, it's easy to narrow-down the field to the right one. When shopping for a tonneau cover, consider these:

• Your tonneau cover budget
• How frequently you need full-bed access
• How often you carry large or oversized loads
• The amount of bed security you want
• The weather conditions in your area

What is your budget for a new tonneau cover?

Along with the wide range of tonneau cover shapes, styles and functions comes an array of prices. Remember: every tonneau cover we offer is custom-made for your truck, shields your cargo from weather and thieves, looks great and helps your gas mileageregardless of the price.

• When you want the excellent basic features of a tonneau cover in a model that fits any budget, add a soft tonneau cover to your truck
  Visit the AutoAnything soft tonneau covers guide
• When color matching and custom-molded looks matter most in your tonneau cover decision, pick a hard tonneau cover
  Visit the AutoAnything hard tonneau covers guide
• For the best possible tonneau cover security, select a hard tonneau cover or retractable tonneau cover
  See the AutoAnything retractable tonneau covers research guide

How frequently do you need full-bed access?

Some truck owners use their bed on rare occasions only. Others need fast access to all corners of their payload. Also, with the multitude of truck bed organizers available that store gear all over the payload, quick access from your tonneau cover can be at a premium.

• If you need access in seconds to any section of your truck bed, select a soft tonneau cover
  
• When fast, full uncovering of your payload matters most, pick-up a retractable tonneau cover
  
• For rapid use of the storage areas near the wheel wells, back of the bed and tailgate, a hard tonneau cover will meet your needs
  

How often do you carry oversized loads?

Between work, weekend projects and other unforeseen tasks, your truck may need to be ready to carry some big stuff in a moment's notice. Not to mention your buddies who constantly need you to help them move because you're the only one who owns a truck. That's why considering how often you haul large loads is important when picking a tonneau cover.

• When you carry large loads that stack over the height of your bed rails on a regular basis (weekly to daily), select a roll-up soft tonneau cover or retractable tonneau cover
  
• When you need the most possible truck bed space at your disposal at all times, pick a soft tonneau cover
  
• When you infrequently carry large loads or don't mind complete 2-person removal of your tonneau cover for full bed access, select a hard tonneau cover
  

How much bed security do you need?

Nobody likes having their cargo swiped, but it can happen in those short seconds while you're in the bank, burger joint or convenience store. Tonneau covers offer an array of security levels, ranging from simple cover to remote-controlled and dual-locking devices.

• If security is at an absolute premium, select a hard tonneau cover or retractable tonneau cover that locks at the tailgate
  
• If a clamped-shut cover that fully conceals your cargo is enough security, grab a hinged soft tonneau cover or latch-lock retractable tonneau cover
  
• When simply covering your cargo meets your needs, go with any soft tonneau cover
  

How severe is the weather where you live?

Your truck sits outside in some of the worst weather Mother Nature has to offer: driving rain, blinding blizzards and whipping winds. All tonneau covers have some measure for keeping weather out of your cargo area. Yet, some models are tougher in extreme or prolonged bad weather situations.

• If you live where snow frequently piles in your truck bed and on your rails, select a hard tonneau cover
  
• In areas where winter isn't especially mean, a soft tonneau cover with raised cross bows and a fully-adjustable sealing system will thrive
  
• For added strength and security in moderate winter areas, select a retractable tonneau cover