Just curious as to what you do to keep your personal belongings dry when you go on a trip with family luggage, etc. That's the biggest draw back to the pickup. some put flat tops over the bed, but this limits the versatility a little. I don't want a topper sitting in my yard, nor do i want to both putting it on. do you just stick all your luggage in garbage bags?

 

I have a Access toneau cover. It is a soft cover with a roll up design. When I need to carry something big, it takes just a few seconds to roll it up. It is very water resistant, but not completely waterproof. I do get some leakage when I was my truck, but usually none during rain. I also have two Rubbermaid boxes in the back that I use to haul groceries and stuff in. They are really more for keeping stuff from sliding to the front of the bed however as the tonneau cover does an excellent job of protecting my cargo.

 

Toneau covers are very versitile, you can roll them up out of the way. You also have the soft covers and the hard roll up ones. You can also look into a fiberglass toneau cover, which in my opinion protects everything inside the best, but you loose some functions with your bed which is why I have a retrax roll up cover. Good luck.

 

Another Access owner. Love the ease of rolling up and the look. Mine's leaks quite a bit, but I could probably add some more weatherstripping.

I also have a couple dedicated camping bins plus I have used the cab for storage. I haven't been camping yet with since my my daughter was born 9 months ago.

 

either don't put stuff in the bed that can't get wet, or go buy some rubbermade style tubs, or footlockers to put that stuff in.. That's what i do when i go camping... I have a couple of foot lockers that all of the linens, clothes and sleeping bags in. plus it makes it easier to store these items in the garage because you just put the tote away, the items also stay clean. and organized making it easier to pack.

 

I use a retrax roll-up cover. On my other truck I have a snuglid and on this truck I wanted something that I didn't have to remove if I needed to carry something tall etc. and also wanted something that wasn't a fabric.

 

I drive fast enough so I don't have a problem.

Actually, I just borrow a friends Es-Car-Go, instead of mounting it on the roof, I just stick it in the bed, and load luggage inside it.

 

Plastic garbage bags.

I have a regular cab.
I use a good grade black plastic bag and twist tie it.
Works great, I often travel alone and the truck is my choice vehicle for that.
I bag my luggage even in nice weather because no one would steal your garbage at a Rest Stop.
What could be simpler?

 

Yep, works great for Christmas presents when going to see the grandkids too.

 

Take my car.

 

Put me down for garbage bags. Home depot, etc sells some very large heavy duty black garbage bags. I take them out of the box, unwind 10-15 bags in one sheet and reroll that up. Slips nicely in behind the rear seat where the jack is stored (2002 model but I assume its the same for newer ones).

Works great for me but if I travelled a lot I might consider something more.

-Matt
PS: Edit. I just realized I'm in Texas but I'm not sure about you. Rain isn't much of a problem (especially lately) on many road trips so the bags are good for a worst case scenerio - if your in Seattle, disregard my comments

 

I do the same as Wandell

 

Have a rollup now. works good.

My new work truck has a hard cover. My old one was a regular cab with a tool box. Trash bags work great.

 

I never saw the use in a Tonneau cover until we bought a Sport Trac that came with the OEM Tonneau. No more worries about getting things wet in the bed or stuffing stuff in the cab of the truck.

I like the Sport Trac cover so much I put a Fold-A-Cover on my FX4. It's a hard top Tonneau that folds up when you want to use the bed. It's water tight, lockable, and can be painted if the original finish ever fades.

The tonneau is really the way to go, and with so many different style and types available, you can get one to meet your specific desires.

 

Also not a great option if you plan on staying in motels or eating in restaurants during your trip. Gets kind of hard to watch your stuff all the time and load / unload the whole mess into the motel room every night.

I put a Tri-Glas tonneau on my '01 the first week I had it - 5 years ago. I went with Tri-Glas because it is very rugged. Have made more than a dozen long distance road trips (a few cross country) spending a total of a few weeks of time on the road. Not a drop of water inside the bed, even in torrential rainstorms, and I don't have to worry about leaving stuff out overnight. It's locked up and nobody can see anything in the bed anyway with the lid on.

I was a bit concerned about limiting the function of the bed too, but in 5 years I took the tonneau off once: to go buy a queen mattress and box spring at Sam's Club. I could have just layed them on the top and tied it down real good but I went ahead and took the cover off. It was a breeze taking it off. Putting it on again was a bit of a pain because it has to be lined up EXACTLY right to keep from closing wrong and scratching paint, etc.

I have made many trips to places like Home Depot and brought back items too big to get the cover closed. No problem with a heavy duty lid like the Tri-Glas to leave up on the way home. Another trick is to put the lid and the tailgate down and have long items stick out the back.

No regrets here.