I've decided to buy a soft tonneau cover for my 04 SCAB. Leading contender is Extang Full Tilt. Second place is Lund Genesis hinged tonneau.
I need help deciding between the snap and snapless designs. Other than price, is there any disadvantages going with the snapless? I like the look of the snapless design, and willing to pay the preimum for it, but I don't want something that will not last as long, or be difficult in the cold weather.

Anyone have a preference between the two models I've picked?

I've owned the 2004 FX4 for 6 weeks now and still TOTALLY LOVING it!

No unwanted vibs, clunks, pops, clicks or squeeks.

Only problem is that I can't get the smile off my face every time I drive it...

 

i had a extang black max (snaps) on my '01. good cover, and got a great price on it. after a few years, the snaps began to rust and run a little...

have a ford snapless on my '04 and like it a lot, but way too expensive... so far have not had to roll it up and back, so don't know how much work it will be, but am guessing it will be a challenge if it had to be done at night in freezing rain, etc... (see tbird69's post below...)

if i had it to do over, i'd look at the extang rollup model: http://extang.com/docs/extangrt.html

good luck!

 

Congrats on the new ride!!

I've had mine for nine months now and I still get a big stupid grin on my face every time I get behind the wheel.

I went with a snap style on my XLT. Got it from Ford for around $420 CDN. The drawback of the snapless covers is they tend to freeze up in cold weather. I'm a warehouse guy and as a result I load/unload alot of pickups and have seen almost every design out there. The snapless covers almost always freeze in the tracks, or the lock freezes.

Check my pics to see Ford's cover.

My Gallery

 

I had an extang full tilit with snaps on my 2002 supercrew and loved it. On my 2004 supercrew, I decided to get the snapless version thinking it would be 'cleaner' looking. Well, it does look alot better but it's also not as tight as the snap version. The snap version had two settings for the snaps to provide more tension. Overall, I really like the design of the full-tilit cover but between the snap and snapless version, there are trade-offs for each.

Troy

 

My old neighbor bought a 2004 F-150 early in the year. He went with the hinged Extang. I thought it was pretty sweet that you could open it like a trunk. I had not really considered a roll-up tonneau, but you guys got me thinking...

In the pictures, it looks like the Extang roll up mounts to the inside of the bed sides, reducing the useable width of the bed. Am I correct?

It seems like having the tonneau mounted to a removable frame would be the best, but I have not lived with either kind. Why do many folks like the roll-up models, even though they sometimes cost more. www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=133083 has the Extang hinged model for less than $300, but some of the roll up models cost more.

 

i had the same concern about the rail system taking up bed width, too.

for me, the roll ups seem to be a lot more convenient in that you can roll them up ribs and all. iow, you don't have to pull those three rails out, which can be a minor hassle....

so if your having to roll up your cover on a regular basis, paying more for that convenience would be worth it imho....

just to add to your confusion, i think a lot of guys on this forum prefer the truxedo cover, so you might want to check that out too...

 

I just installed the Lund Genesis Hinged tonneau this past week. I love it so far. Easy to install, and seems to be of high quality materials. It has been raining pretty steadily all week and it hasn't leaked any water. Also I took it through a self serve car wash and purposely pressure washed it. Barely leaked water. I try and take some pics tomorrow and post them. Any questions let me know.

 

I have the Ford snapless. I had the Ford snapless on my 99 f150 also and like them both. I personally dont like the snap ones. I dont like the look of the snaps, plus in cold weather there a pain in the butt to snap. A friend has one on his truck and he hates it. Its easy to roll up and the ribs pop out with no effort at all. I have never had a problem with mine freezing or not locking shut in cold weather. Plus for under $200 you cant go wrong. Im sure all the covers are good and bad in there own way. Find the one you like and go for it, its totally up to you (just make sure its the Ford snapless... )

 

I have an Access Roll up cover. Fantastic cover and it looks great. I have a pic of it in my gallery.

As far as losing space I don't find you do. I load my truck with 35-40 bales of hay and the rails don't interfere at all.

The cold does not affect it at all. We've(VT) had a number of 20 degree days already and the cover performs the same as it did when it's 70 degrees.

There is tension control adjustment so it always looks tight.

I paid $425 and then an extra $50 to have the dealer install. I think it is worth every cent.

I had a Truxedo cover on my last truck. Also a good cover with similar features as Access. It went with Access because I liked the looks better.

 

I had an Extang Snapless design on my 2000 Dodge Ram and loved it. My only complaint was putting it back on in the winter if it had been off a few days, as it "shrunk" a bit and was too tight to connect. It used the same design as a jeep top. You can get one for the F150 for around $250.

One my 2004 F150 Screw I got the Extang R/T. It uses industrial grade velcro and the support bars are built in to the cover. Rolling it up is super easy, quick, and putting back on is not a chore even on cold days. There is also a tension adjustment to tighten or loosen it up for changing weather. Have only had for a few weeks, so can't tell you how it holds up. I will say, however, that it looks great. Got it for slightly above $300.