This review is not for you hard tonneau guys but for those considering one of the various soft covers available. After much deliberation I decided to purchase a Torza Top due to it being a great concept, reasonable compared to hard covers, easy on/off, and the folding feature.

My cover arrived and inspection and installation began. The first thing noticed was sloppy installation of the seal on the bottom of the cover's frame. The seal is foam weather stripping like that you can purchase at any home improvement warehouse and noting like an automotive rubber seal as one would expect. A few feet of the weather stripping came with the cover so I made necessary repairs. The advertised 1 minute installation is not exactly true. It took a while to get the cover square atop the truck’s bed. The sides of the Ford branded cover I had on my ’00 curved matching the slight curve of the bed rails. The sides of the Torza Top are straight and thus do not follow the curve of the 04 bed. Interestingly the front of the cover’s frame (next to cab) is slightly curved on the one I got but the apex of the curve is not in the center of the bed. Naturally, the top of the bed next to the cab is not curved so the cover extends beyond the header. The cover’s frame at the rear is straight while the tailgate on the 04 (style side) is slightly curved. This results in the cover coming to edges at the rear of the bed but the center of the tailgate sticks out beyond the cover. I have wondered if my cover may have been made backwards.

The stitching on the Torza Top I received is very poor quality, There are threads sticking up all over, breaks in the sticking, and the seams are not straight. The vinyl has several large winkles in the left front quadrant of the cover. These are due to the way the cover was sewed to non-adjustable plastic strips that affix to the frame. The vinyl bulges very noticeably in two places on each side where the hinges are located. These may flatten somewhat after time but it does not appear these will ever lay flat. The bows installed to shed water are not the same height. This looks kind of funky from the side since the bow near the cab is lower than the bow near tailgate. I would have thought they would be the same.

I went ahead and installed the cover and left it on the truck while I took a little 80 mile round trip excursion. I then took the cover off and saw something that was just the cherry on the cake. The inside lip of my bed rails were noticeably bent in four places where the latches that are built into the cover were attached. I do not know if the wind whipping the cover while driving at highway speeds caused this or it was simply the tension applied by the latches to secure the cover on the bed.

I could not find a web site for the manufacture of the Torza Top so as to provide them feedback so I am venting here.

The Torza Top is certainly an excellent concept and I had very high expectations but all I have at this point is regret and bent bed rail lips.

Screwdrive

 

Screwdrive,

Thanks for the detailed review. This should be helpful now and in the future for those shopping around for tonneau covers. I'd be curious to hear if anyone else purchased one of these for a prior model year and if they had similar problems or not.

I guess I should ask 2 questions:
1) Where did you purchase the cover from?
2) Any chance they sent you the incorrect one for your truck.

I did some searching for you. The Torza Top is apparently manufactured by Advantage Truck Accessories, Inc. Their website is: http://www.torzatop.com It doesn't seem like a well designed website (surprise! ) I didn't see an e-mail address there, but they do list a #: 1-800-773-3110.

Please let us know how they respond to the problems you have with the Torza Top. Good luck.

 

Purchase the cover online from tonnocover.com. Requested for a return authorization number 01/31 - still waiting. It will probably cost me $40. to $50 to ship the darn thing back.

The part number on the cover matches the part number called out for the 04 F150 Screw 5.5ft bed.

Screwdrive

 

I was reading your posting and the difficulty you are having with the Torza Top. I am the General Manager of Advantage Truck Accessories, and invite you to supply me with your address information and any other information that you wish to disclose. Please send to jfink@torzatop.com

I will have the cover picked up, and a new one sent to you. I am very interested to see the issues with this cover so that we do not have the same issues with another customer.

Thank you for posting this information so that we are made aware of the situation.

Jeff Fink

 

Wow Jeff, I'll give you credit for joining the forum and publicly posting to respond the problems Screwdrive has with the Torza Top he purchased. Not to mention saving him the return shipping by arranging to have it picked up..that's a stand up thing to do.
I hope you can come back to post a response that addresses the design and installation problems Screwdrive encountered. Good customer service is appreciated...and often these days, a rare commodity.
I assume you've tested your covers on other '04 F150s (new model style)...if so, can you post a pic? What if Screwdrive isn't satisfied with the replacement cover?

thanks,
John

 

Got some points already in my book. I will be contacting the gentleman.

Screwdrive

 

Screwdrive,

Any follow up comments on your Torza Top? Were you able to get one that fit and didn't have quality problems?

John

 

JohnAndDar:

It is a humorous saga in some respects. Bottom line, I do not have the replacement cover as yet. In an email and phone conversation I was told, at least I thought I was, a replacement cover would be shipped straight away after they inspected the replacement cover and test fitted it on a truck at a dealership near them. In reality nothing happened until Torza Top got my old cover back and they inspected it. This took some time for it went to an intermediate location before Torza Top actually got it. After they got it, and I assume inspected it, I got an email thanking me for bringing the issues with my cover to their attention and stating that a replacement was on the way - I assumed this meant they saw the problems I described. Well, the replacement, that was sent standard ground delivery, was lost. Torza Top says they sent it, the shipper never shows it in thier system. So, another cover was sent (again no special 2 day or 3 day delivery) Monday afternoon 02/23. Maybe it will make it to me this week. Thanks for your concern.

Screwdrive

 

So, other than those issues, are you pleased with your purchase?............j/k

It sounds like the whole thing has been one aggravation after another. That's too bad. It sounded like Jeff Fink was going to be proactive in resolving your problems, but I guess he isn't being that proactive.

If you still aren't happy with the cover when you eventually receive it, are they going to refund your $$$?

I hope that when it comes it's perfect and you like it and you can put all the aggravation behind you.

Please keep us posted.

John

 

JohnADar:

I do not want to rag on Mr. Fink. I am going to take the high road and assume he is extrememly busy and may be depending on others who may not have an equal level of urgency. Having said that, if the cover does not fit correctly and has any problems at all then the vendor I actually purchased the cover from has already told they would issue a prompt refund.

Screwdrive

 

Cool. Good approach Screwdrive. The high road has a much better view than the low road. Glad to hear the vendor is working with you, too.

John

 

I recently purchased a Torza Top from Carmic Direct. I have to say that I am quite pleased with product. It is very quick to install / uninstall and seems to be a high quality product.

 

I purchased the same one for my scab and had no problems the extra foam they send you is for the front where the side rails are higher than the bedliner. The bed rails either need to be trimed so it clamps onto the metal part of the bed or you will get the bent plastic bed rail like you stated i just went ahead and trimed the 1/8th inch needed and now i know exactly where to clamp it when i take it on and off!

 

I have a 2003 Ford F150 Super crew cab and seriously considering a Torza top hard hat premier. But based on this story and at a $700 cost, I am not really keen on getting one now. Did Advantage make this right or your retailer where purchased make it right?

Thanks...Chris1

 

Screwdrive:

What was the conclusion of your torza top experience???

chris1