I want to order the soft snapless tonneau on my 2000 f150. Any input would be helpful. Do they stand up to weathering, stay tight, retain fit over time. Any other info on the frame,the bows,etc. Thanks......

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Brad 2000f150 Lariat Supercab Flareside 4X4 Black 5.4 engine Leather Captains 3.55 Limited-slip and all the goodies, just ordered,traded my 99 f250 superduty Lariat V-10 Toy:91 Softtail Classic,lowered and chromed

 

Why don't you buy a hard tonneau and you won't have to worry about any of those questions? Besides, you can have locking storage too. I love my Snuglid but any top brand will give good service.

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'99 F150 SC, 4x2, Oxford white, flareside, 5.4, 3.55 rearend,
bodyside mouldings, Snugtop hard tonneau, K&N dropin and airbox mod.
Duraliner drop-in (gave up on the Penda Nascar). Gibson Supertruck
No door cracks yet at 3K!!!

Future mods: 2/4 lowering, bra and some Roush stuff.

 

cabraco, the factory soft cover is not bad for the money. I had one on my 99 F-150 and it worked quite well. It always stayed tight, even with the amounts of snow that we get here too. The only drawback was the rear bar or bow. It could be a real #@@$^ to pull back into the lock position. The biggest advantage is being able to load anything into the box at anytime. An example would be a stove, all you have to do is roll up the cover and go. I put a soft cover on my SD F-250 for the same reason too.

 

Mine was ordered along with the truck and has been in service a year now. Looks good, stays tight, rolls up in a jiffy (best with one guy on each side), etc. I'm very happy with it and would recommend it to anyone in search of a soft tonneau. The locking bar does require some cussing, as was mentioned.

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Ben Mc.----'99 XLT 5.4 SC SB ORP Dk. Red/Dk. Grey----Fact. Cab Steps/Tonneau/Slider----Straight Duals, Superchip, Airaid/KN (non-sag), Ungo Autostart/Keyless Remote, Prime Designs Air/Bug Deflector, Weathertech Wind/Rain Deflecters----PPI 4240 Amp,McIntosh 6x9's w/crossovers front, Polk DB 5.25's rear---Tuessssdayyyy Affffternoooooon----gotta love it!

 

Have one from the factory on my XLT SC. Best 170.00 dollars spent. True when hunting and you park along a mountain road whats underneath is only a knife away. I figure out of sight out of mind. If they want it they'll get it somehow. Wife likes it for groceries etc. Snapless, plenty of cross member supports that are spring loaded at one end for easy removal. I agree with the rolling up, but it goes back on rather easy.

 

Unfortunately, I do not think that FORD offers the factory tonneau cover on the 2000 Flareside. When I ordered my truck in July, I was told that this was a fact. Now that I have my truck, I am pretty sure that I am going to order a slim top cover. It is a fiberglass, flush mounted cover that stands up well to wather and theft. I have heard nothing but good things about it.

 

ford4life, Righto, can't get it as an option on the flareside, bummer,come oooooooon ford.

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Brad 2000f150 Lariat Supercab Flareside 4X4 Black 5.4 engine Leather Captains 3.55 Limited-slip and all the goodies, just ordered,traded my 99 f250 superduty Lariat V-10. Wife drives a 98 Navigator 4X4 ......... Toy: 91 Heritage Softail Classic/lowered and chromed

 

Has anyone noticed a difference in gas mileage with a cover on the bed? I drive about 35mi each way to work and if I could get a mpg or two it would definitely be worth getting one.


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1999 F150 Lariat 4x4
SC SWB Styleside
5.4L 3.55ls
Oxford White

 

Go with a Hard-cover, I have seen even top-quality soft covers rip, and fade terribly only about 4 years old.

 

I have the ARE LSII hard fiberglass cover, and have not seen another I like better, but did not see a big change in fuel mileage after installation. I think driving habits and tire pressure affect mileage much more significantly

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2000 XLT Black Sport, Flareside, 2WD, Ext. Cab, 5.4L Auto. Other factory options: 3.55 LS, Class III tow, 6-way Captains chairs w/CD changer, Remote entry , and Slider window.
Mods: Undercoat, window tint, headlight & tail light covers, removed "Sport" decals, upgraded Triton tailgate emblem, Linex spray-in bedliner, and an ARE LSII lid.
Wish list: Flowmaster duals, K&N FIPK, and a Belltech 3/4 drop.
Check it out at: http://home.columbus.rr.com/selva1/

 

Ford4life and cabraco,
According to Ford's web site, you can order the soft bed cover on a Flareside. The http://www.fordvehicles.com/vehiclehome9.html site lets you build one on the Web with the cover, and there's nothing I can find that says otherwise. I will look further, but what's source of your info?
BEJohn

 

WOW!!! I have experienced no problem with the back bar. I just slide it in lock it...THEN... pull the cover to the corners and start at the corners snaping the cover in the grove by just running my hand along the line...wuick and easy. I'll be buying an Innovations Pro Sport hard shell lid in the next 30 days. So my top will be for sale!!! Any takers? Any idea on what price I should offer? (I'm easy). E-mail me with you ideas or interest.


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1999 F-150 XLT, Ext.Cab, 5.4L, 3:55 limited slip, 4x2, Bright Torch Red(all color matched-bumpers, mirrors) "Sport" pkg., Tonneau,285/50/17, 3" custom catback, Superchips, Airaid, Lowered 4" rear & 3" front, Herculiner bed lining(self install) AWESOME! Newest E/T at the drags 6/26/99: 14.9sec at 90.4 mph. Billet Badges, Billet Antenna, Removal of "Sport" sticker and door guards. Just added (12/16/99) Billit oval rear view mirror, billit master cylinder cover, and billet third brake light cover.For photos e-mail me at: whtstuff@aol.com OR my web page at Http://members.aol.com/whtstuff/myweb.html

 

I bought my truck off the lot and it already had the factory cover installed. I didn't want it because I intended on buying a hard cove (and probably still will later on). The only problem I have encountered with mine is the back bar tends to bow under the pressure of the cover and that causes it to not seal well against the tailgate. As long as I store stuff toward the front of the bed, they stay dry, but if I load the back end and it's raining, it gets wet. I've asked Ford about this and received the usual, both hands in the air, don't know, don't care salute! I'll probably keep it till it starts looking weathered and then go for the hard cover, but in the mean time, it serves it's purpose! As for gas mileage, couldn't tell because I've never had it off the truck.

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Paul... :-)
99 F-150 XLT SC Sport, 4.6L, Auto, Captain Chairs, Class III Towing Package, 3.55 LS, Sliding Rear Window, White, 4X2, CD, Soft Factory Tonneau Cover, K&N Filter, WMS Velocity Tube, Line-X Spray on Bed Liner...
More to come




[This message has been edited by PaulT (edited 12-21-1999).]

 

Factory cover on the back and never had any problems, It seams to keep out the rain and the dust (not much rain here,,whole lot of dust) Never had any problems with the back bar either, just pop the latches and pull.

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2000 F150 SC XLT
5.4
4-sp auto
255/70r-16
3.55 LS
Heavy Duty electric
Heavy Duty cooling
Trailer Towing Group
Keyless Entry
Soft Cover
Captains Chairs
wedg blue& silver two tone
Fog Lights
Bed Liner
Fender Flairs
Cab Steps
10 disc CD changer

(Just 892 more payments and that sucker is all mine)

 

For those who said they couldn't get the factory tonneau on their Flareside, I purchased the Ford aftermarket Tonneau w/ the snaps. Cost about $200 and is a really nice add on. I've had it nearly a year on my '99 and it hasn't faded at all and is still VERY tight (even in the summer when it expands). Also has 3 bows for support. It comes on and off very easily when I need to purchase something large and really changes the look of the truck. It is COMPLETELY weather proof by the way - never a leak. True, it may not be as secure as the hard tonneaus but whatever you have in there is out of sight so if you lock the tailgate too - the thief would have to be very desperate and pretty smart to know to go in there. You also don't have to deal with the cost of and removing of the hard tonneau.