uh oh here we go.......!!! I have a feeling this is gonna be a looonngg thread!

Hopefully due to your nice wording this will turn into a hard vs soft debate and anyone who is on the fence about getting one or the other can make a choice .....with that in mind...

I have a soft cover (brand escapes me..) it is a snap on. Have had a year and a half and I really like it. It is a $%&^$ pain to snap when it's cool (below 60 or so).I'm in Florida so I know anyone up north may have issues with that. Weather is no problem w/it as mine went through the eye of a hurricane with 70 + mph winds blowing rain with nary a leak.

In a nutshell the reasons I chose soft over hard was due to its lower cost and its easy removability just in case I was out somewhere and bought something big and needed to remove the cover to get the item in the bed. I also personally like the way the soft tonneau looks...the black contrasts with my all white truck.

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1997 Arctic White F-150 XLT Flareside SC, K&N, Magnaflow muffler, Air Box mods, Bugflector II, Soft Tonneau Cover, Chrome Westin Bars, 3" Performance Accessories Body Lift, tinted windows

Flares Rule!!!!!

 

Steve:
Can you start a "Soapbox" forum?...That way threads like this opinion piece will have a place to be listed. IMHO, of course.

 

I must agree, hard bed covers are a pain if you ever plan on actually using your pickup bed to haul anything. I however, despise soft tonneaus with snaps. If I went with a soft cover it would definitely be an ACCESS brand cover that attaches with tension and seals with velcro on the rails. However, why not get the best of both worlds and get a hard roll up...Pace/Edwards or Retrax. No drilling and a great look.

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99 XLT 5.4L Ext Cab 4x4 ORP - 3.55LS, custom grey/blue leather seats and wood accents - all the mods come tax rebate day!
1993 XLT SC 4x4 XLT 351 AT (currently for sale!)
1977 1/2 F250 4x4 "Low Boy" 400-4spd
"If I can't have all of you, just give me what you think is fair"

 

Respectfully disagree.

Advantages of hard cover:

1) Can paint them to match

2) Resale value greater (NADA)

3) Just as easy to remove and air struts to hold them up out of the way when placing materials in them.

4) Can lock em up and they can't be slit open with a knife.

5) No snaps or velcro!

6)I like em better!


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97 F-150 SC Lariat, Styleside, White over Gold, 4.6L (Windsor), Automatic, 3.55 rear end, electronic 4X4, w/ every option of Lariat and ORP packages except the 17" wheels (I even got the OR decals now!) MOD's so far: K&N air box mod, Gibson Super Truck, clear Bugflector II, Leer TSC 600 hard cover, Bridgestone Dueler OWL ATP 265/75 R-16's, TrailMaster Invader N7 shocks, Smittybilt step bars, Ford moulded mud guards, "White-white" head lamps, Cloud Rider Design's SS Grill and bumper opening, Bosch Platinum + 4's, Hayden 30K+ Tranny Cooler,Class III Reece load distributing hitch system, full wiring including trailer battery charging system, Escort Sensor II Brake controller, Superchip

 

I would have preffered a hard cover but wasn't that thrilled about shelling out the bucks. Now if I had stuff stored in the bed all the time it would have been a no brainer. Plus the added weight sure would help in the winter. But as I just wanted a cover to keep stuff cover from here to there got a soft one. I think the choice is kind made by what you need. i really didn't need the hard top so i didn't get one. As far as looks I have no preference one way or the other. Pick the right one for your truck and they both look good.

 

I perfer a soft top also, and also perfer the kind with snaps. I live in a appartment building, and if I had do take it off where would I put it. With a soft cover all you have to do is roll it up.
I have seen a lot of snapless tonneau covers that didn't look like they were shut propperly. The only down side to the soft covers is that they can be tough to snap when cold, you allmost have to pull it into a garage and heat it up.
The Extang(what I own) have reversable snaps that help releive to tension in the winter.

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1999 F150 4x4 4.6V8 regcab/shortbed
Oxford White with Wedgewood Blue two tone, with Blue Captains chairs
Bassani Cat Back, Superchip,Modified intake with modified K&N filter.
Centerline Saber rims 17x8" with Firestone GTA 275/60hr-17 tires.

 

I like the soft cover for my use My wife and I refinish furniture as a sideline/hobby and a hard cover would not work for us. I have the LeBra low profile snapless cover and so far its been great. But the hard cover really look nice.

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Y2K XLT F150 5.4, 3.55 LS, 4x2, tow package, Chestnut color, Lebra low profile soft top, Runs better everyday.

 

On my second soft cover now. The first one had snaps and was a pain in the rear. The one I use now is from ford. No snaps. No velcro, A breeze to take off and on in a few seconds. All you guys that say you can take your hard cover off as well, Well that may be true But I would hate to leave it laying out in the field to haul a calf back to town.
Or drive 600 miles and be given something big (without warning) to haul back home

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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)

 

Right now I have neither a hard or soft cover,but if I had to make a choice I would opt for a soft cover but try and go with a "snapless".I have friends that have both,but for me I never know what the wife may want to bring home from a yard sale or what the job may require me to do and it seems to me a soft cover is alot easier to deal with that in mind.But I have also seen the snap down type(even here in Fla) have probs getting them snapped down and also having the corners rolling up on them.I guess it one of those famous F-150 Online comments,and that is it really comes down to how YOU use your vehicle and YOUR needs.IMO.....

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2000 F-150,4x2,supercab,4.2,5 speed.Mods are only a matter of time,and money!!!

 

Truck came with the Ford soft top. Bought a hard top painted to match 1 week after buying truck. reasons:
Black did't look good enough for me with the gold color.
I didn't like the rugged "off road" look.
Due to the nature of the volunteer work I do, I need to carry valuable "stuff" in a secure , out of prying eyes area.
I like the sleek look of a hard top on a lowered truck.
My 2 cents.

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1999 Harvest Gold F-150 4x2 SuperCab XLT Styleside, 4.6, Auto, Air box Mods, Tow Pkg, Alarm, Snug-Top Hard Tonneau cover(painted to match), 6-disk Pioneer CD changer, Kenwood Tri-Band Ham radio (2m,440,220), Billet grille, Bug Deflector, Clear corner lights, tinted front windows.

Planned Mods: Cat back exhaust, Headers, Superchip, 2/3 inch lower.

 

I have a soft on my truck and my wife has one also. We both like them alot. Can't afford a hard cover, if I could most likley would get a topper.

 

I must warn you hard tonneau cover owners before you continue to read this. I am not putting down those products or yourself I just wanted to see if other people feel the same way as I do. O.K here I go. I bought a soft tonneau cover (Extang Freedom) and I don't usually take off the snaps because the stuff that I carry fits under it perfectly.

I just wanted to say publicly that I prefer the looks of the soft cover over the hard (painted body color). I believe it gives a more rugged "off-road" type of look than that of a hard cover. I don't like the looks of the hard cover because I think *IMO* it makes the box look like a car's trunk. And I don't like the fact of all that paint surface...

Again I'm NOT saying the hard tonneau covers are no good (living in quebec, I know how **%$##* it can be to snap a softy closed during the winter). So don't get mad at me if you read this (we all have different taste).

So am I alone....? and be nice!

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1997 4x4 XLT 4.2l ORP 5-speed
For more details and pics please see my site...Thanks
www.eph1fifty.cjb.net

 

As of right now I don't have a hard or soft cover but want to get a cover but am still deciding witch type to get they both have there advantages and disadvantages.

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2000 F150 XLT Reg. cab
4.6 Triton Engine
4x2 3.55 rear end gear
sliding rear window
automatic keyless entry
white styleside short box

 

I like the look of my soft tonneau. No insult, but the hard cover makes the truck look too sporty/elegant. I like the more rugged look that a soft tonneau has. Now if I could get the rest of the truck to look that rugged

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2000 F150 Black XLT "Sport", SC, SB, 4.2L, 5 Speed, 3.55LS, factory soft tonneau, keyless entry
Mods - JVC CD Player w/ Infinity and JBL Speakers, Permatech Spray in Bedliner
Coming Soon - Factory Fog Lights, Leveling Kit, Step Bars, Bug Guard, K&N, etc, etc...

 

OK guys, I had them all, first I had a Leer cap that made it look like a SUV. Hard to see thru back glass and sold it cheap. Then went with the soft Extang and the bad thing is it got slit and when stuff slide to the front you had to crawl all the way in because sometimes you don't want to unsnap it just for a few items, plus no security and you sometimes will find it unbutton or things missing in the morning. Now I got the Tri-glass lid and after spending close to 2000.00 total, this is what I wanted. Security and easy access, only drawback is need two people to take it off when needed.