I have been shopping for tonneau covers lately and think the hardshell ones are a bit out of my price range right now, which has lead me to shop soft tonneau covers.

For those of you who own a soft cover....Do they leak when it rains or do things stay dry?? I can handle a bit of leaking when I wash the truck, but I wanted something to protect my luggage and other gear from the elements when the family is on vacation.

The tops I am looking at are the Extang Full-Tilt and the Extang Platimun series. Recommendations on other soft covers would help as well.

Thanks

 

I have the Extang full tilt and it does not leak 1 drop. Very easy to install and roll up....Unfortunately i do not have pics yet. Someone just posted pics recently, might have been the 04-05 forum..

 

Heres the link. This truck has the snaps..I have the snapless..I will try to get pics in my gallery soon
https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=207275

 

I have an extang I bought when I got the truck back in 98 never had an issue with it.

 

The cover may not leak, but the bed itself leaks like a sieve. The gaps between the inner and outer bed walls, the gaps in the tailgate, and the gaps at the front of the bed all allow moisture to get in. No tonneau cover with snaps will keep 100% of the water out when it's flapping in the breeze on the freeway. It's better than nothing.

Another one that's an excellent bang for the buck is the TekStyle. I don't recall which specific model I have, but the material is still tight after 5 years. It doesn't shrink with cold weather anywhere near as much as the Extangs used to.

-Joe

 

Thats my full-tilt with snaps. It's certainly water resistant, but I wouldn't rely on it for a perfect seal. The weatherstrip along the sides is very heavy duty, but the seal along the cab is lesser quality foam (but it compressed a good bit when installed, and then never comes off again). There isn't really much of a gasket along the tailgate though. This lets you open/close the tail with the cover down.
I really like it overall. Good price too, I thought.

 

The Extang on my '99 never leaked, but my Access Cover on my '03 does.

 

Thanks for the help everyone. I think i might be going with the Extang full tilt. ....Although I can't quit looking at those fiberglass covers.


https://www.f150online.com/galleries....cfm?gnum=6298

 

The fiberglass ones are very nice , but it depends on what you haul. I had to put a wheelbarrow and one of my kids backyard toys in the bed and i could have never done that with a hard cover...
I am still working on the pics of my fulltilt

 

Have you considered the Undercover? Not as expensive as fiberglass, but light enough to remove when you need to carry larger stuff.

 

I never had a problem with either of mine leaking, I did have a problem with the shoddy workmanship/materials of the cheapo and the fact that the plastic corner of the Lund broke when a gust of wind got under it. It is true the acutal beds of these trucks (at least my 99) has more holes than a block of swiss cheese. When/If I ever get another cover I will be sealing the bed some how.

 

Well with gas prices the way they are I am thinking of getting a cover to see if it inproves my MPG I'm just wondering what to expect if i do decide to get one most of my driving is city driving with a heavy right foot.

 

I recently bought a sporttonneau and it has yet to leak a drop even while washing the truck.

 

The only fuel mileage improvements I have consistently read about came from full caps. At best, expect no more than 0.5mpg help on the highway with a bed cover (soft or hard). Any fuel mileage savings will never recoup the cost of the cover. Buy a bed cover to protect/cover your cargo, not for fuel economy.

 

Originally installed a "FORD" branded soft cover and it was a snapless zip type. Had four bows. It never leaked and the bed was almost alway dry in rainy Weather. It was OK for the first 12 months then it slowly started to shrink and became harder to keep zipped closed. A gust of wind popped it open a few times and I decided to find another. The bows lost their rubber tips and the plastic corner pieces broke, two of the four.


I decided on an Xtang Platinum all metal frame snap type. The bows are twice the size and strength of the original ones I had. I like it a lot. Very easy to install and it seems to seal well. BTW, the Xtang was half the price of the original FORD cover. I tow a trailer and its nice to throw the extra stuff in the back and cover it up. Looks nice. Can't comment on mileage as I have always had one on the back but I am sure it helps a little bit. Thats how I got it in the first place, told the wife it would be good for mileage.