I just got my first F-150 (A supercrew) and want to add a tonneau cover. I have the bed extender which is turning out to be a major consideration for the tonneau cover because of the side rails for the tonneau cover interfering with the bed extender. I intially was looking at hard roll-top tonneaus and it appears the Retrax and Rollbak are the only retractable tonneaus that will work with the factory bed extender. Any opinions on these would be appreciated.

However, I am not thrilled about the retractables taking up so much space in an already small bed and both of them require drilling holes in my bed liner for the drains. So I am now looking at soft cover roll up tonneau.

Here's what I want:

1) A tonneau that will install on my truck which has an under the rail bed liner and side/tailgate caps with minimal modification and no drilling, preferably with clamps instead of adhesives to the rail guards
2) A tonneau that will work with my bed extender
3) A tonneau that quickly rolls up and hopefully the cross braces that support the tonneau roll up with it.

Does anyone have a soft tonneau that does this?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

It sounds like what you need is a tonneau that has the gas shocks and can be lifted up. There are many brands out there. Below is a picture of mine, I like it for the fact that I can get easy access to my bed for small items, utilize my bed extender with out having to take off or role up the soft tonneau cover. The cover can still be rolled up for in the event you have to haul large items.

 

The best soft low profile roll ur cover has to be the Extange RT Hands down.
You can find these for around 250-320 on ebay they retail for 399. Your stuff will stay dry and the rails are built into the cover, and it rolls up nice.

As far as a hard roll-top tonneau cover I'm not sure how water proof any of them are. I wanted one with my new truck. So I got the Jack Rabbit it looks good and doesn't interfer with my factory bed extender but it's not water proof. I hear they all leak a little. Mine leaks around the tailgate. So if you choose one of those don't leave anything in that area. It is nice to just push it open when in a hurry and lock it when needed.

 

Yeah, I'm gathering its not weatherproof vs little security with the roll tops vs softops.

One nice comprimize that I'm seeing is the BAK Rollbak. Looks very easy to attach (just siderail clamps) and flips in 4 sections. Folds up flat against back window and removes if you want to see. It looks to be completely securable if your tailgate locks or you get a lock. Will work with bed extenders too.

It does have the drainpipes.....this may be less of an issue.....at the front of my bed there is a gap between my rail covers on each side that I should just be able to fit an hose in. Can't find where the drainpipes are in my bed but they say you can just put them between the bed liner and the bed.....How did you install the hoses with your JackRabbit whitecrystal?

 

Chris - you've conviced me I need something that flips up w/the bed extendeder. My wife is concerned when I showed the fip-ups to her is that that would catch the wind when you have it flipped up. I would think the pistons would keep it in place........

 

Into the two plugs between the bed and cab. The only reason I didn't get a flip up is hualing stuff in the bed. Sure you can take them off when you need to but what a pain to have to due every time, then what do you due with it. If that's not an issue they are nice.

 

I'm going with an Undercover tonneau. It's very light, 58lbs. and it locks. It also comes with hooks to hang it on in the garage when not using it. And it's much cheaper than the normal hard top rollers. With the exception of the rollbak, I think it's pretty cheap. Although it's new and I haven't seen any reviews of it yet. www.undercoverinfo.com

The one thing that I didn't like about the roll tops was the fact that there is some maintenance involved. As in keeping the rails clean/greased. I want something that's little to no maintenance. But that's just me.

 

That's a valid concern, I've never had any issues with mine while lifted up... it's pretty strong. I've even taken a few short trips with it lifted up and it only wanted to force back down from the wind when I got up to higher speeds. The rails have this sponge like material which keeps it pretty dry... I've only had a few leaks around the tailgate but that was from some serious rain, other then that it's dry under there. While I am very happy with the brand I have (Downey)... I would still recommend taking a look at the extang brand. A buddy of mine has a 05' Super Crew and he went with the Extang full tilt tonneau..

 

Thanks for the input everyone.

After doing some more searching on fliptops, I think I'm going with the new BAK Bakflip. Looks like the best of both worlds. Its in three folding sections (for the 5.5 ft bed) with thick weatherstriping around the entire thing and inbetween panels that folds flat vetrically up against the rear window when hauling stuff. (They claim its a good way to prtect your rear window) Its made of a low maintanace material like the polymer around your door handles, etc. It forms a completely secure bed if your tailgate locks and it attaches through a series of bedrail clamps. Its low profile and will work with my bed extender and rails. And I can get it for $491 from an online site, shipping included.

It probably will be about twice as much and a little less attractive and weatherproof than a softtop, but I like the security. And it seems easier to install/maintain than a rolltop...and about half the price of some. It does have the drainpipes, but this is less of an issue I think......

This is a very new product, but does anyone have any experience with this product? Does BAK have a good reputation?

 

On my second to last post I meant Bakflip not Rollback. Bakflip is the one I'm interested in.

 

extang trifecta is really nice too . when i chose mine it came down to those two , both excellent . I chose the trifecta because of the rear clamping system seemed easier to operate
hope this helped a little


Larry

 

If you like Bakflip, check out Fold-A-Cover.