Tonneau Covers

The primary reason that most people purchase, own, and drive a pickup truck is so that they can haul things like tools, construction equipment, musical instruments, even furniture on the back of the truck (it's bed). Often, if these things are used on a daily basis and left in the bed over night, they may get stolen. Sometimes a truck bed's items are so small that a little bit of rough driving or a sudden stop will cause them fall out. To prevent these events and others, some truck owners use what's called, a "Tonneau cover." A tonneau cover is material that is fastened over the bed of a truck to prevent spills or to protect the items under it from rain, snow, dust, dirt, or other elements.

Available in a variety of styles and colors, a tonneau cover can be hard or soft, and is designed to operate the same way that a trunk of a car operates. The more expensive hard covers are usually made of fiberglass and the less expensive soft covers are made of vinyl (also known as canvas). Hard covers can be a flush mount, top mount, retractable or multi-section tonneau cover. Soft cover tonneau covers on the other hand, can be mounted on top, (like hard covers), or they can be flushed, rolled back, or tilted upwards. The type of covers that truckers use largely depends on the purpose of their trucks.

For purposes of hauling heavy, sharp, and bulky items (like tool boxes or electrically powered items for example), a hard tonneau cover should lay on top of the bed, while small, lightweight items (like fishing equipment for example) would be well served under a soft tonneau cover. Of course, both types of items would be well protected under a hard tonneau cover.

To secure truck bed items in place and to prevent them from being stolen, truckers can lock tonneau covers provided that they're placed on an appropriate type of tailgate (one that locks). The locks on tonneau covers (two, four, or more) should be designed so that a key will not break inside of them. They should also be resistant to rust and corrosion, and able to withstand over seven hundred pounds of pressure. Most weather proof tonneau covers only weigh between fifty to a hundred and twenty five pounds, however they may support over two hundreds pounds of snow. Despite their tremendous strength, tonneau cover manufacturers strongly discourage people from standing on them.

In addition to protecting the contents inside of a truck bed, tonneau covers also improve gas mileage. Because they naturally block wind from entering the bed of a truck and thus minimize its pull on the truck, drivers can experience a gain of about two to four miles per gallon. That's a saving of over approximately a hundred dollars a year.

To find a tonneau cover for your truck, start in the truck parts and accessories section of the Yellow Pages, truck magazines, or your friends and family for references.