Question for folks with rolling tonneau covers

[bobbyd454]

This was the ford branded soft rollup & you can see only the clamps protrude into the bed & rolls up not blocking view, but can be pushed fairly tight if you need to use the whole bed

I had this one on my 22'. I didn't care for it much. Windy days are rough on it.

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[bobbyd454]

I know, I know. But I’ve been chewing over the hard cover or soft cover for a couple of months now. I know I want a rolling one, but that’s as far as I get. And, unfortunately, it is a several hundred dollar difference.

The soft is lighter to remove, squishes up for maximum bed space, obstructs the rear view the least, and costs like half as much. However, it also provides far less theft security and can’t be used as a table/shelf when the truck is parked. The hard cover provides much better security plus the convenience of supporting some weight. However, it also obstructs rear view more (but I’m not sure exactly how much), takes up more horizontal bed space when rolled up, weighs more during dismount, and costs twice as much.

Having never had a trucklette before, I’m not sure how those factors play out. But I can measure my usable rear window (about 10.5”), and if I can get the real world measurements of the rolls, I can at least get a solid bead on the rear view blockage and how much of my already-small bed I lose. Hence the question.

I now on my 25' have the hard roll up, which looks like one poster said, a bunch of sticks rolled up, but it is sorta high when rolled up, like six inches. It is way too cold to go out, roll it up, take a picture of it, etc., but takes about 7 inches off the sight through the glass. Not much to see that low anyway. But it is extremely better made and made to last, my opinion. Now, the worst part, it cost from ordering it when ordering the truck, some $425.

 

[Halo9x]

I’m looking for measurements as to how big around your tonneau covers are when rolled all the way up? (I’m trying to work out how much rear visibility and bed length I’d lose.) Please say what brand and model you have (or at least if it is a hard or soft rolling cover), but don’t worry about price or detaching it though.

Second question: how much bed width do you lose to the mounting rails?

Edit: Additional Question:

When you do need to roll up the cover, presumably it is because you are wanting to put something in the bed that is a bit taller. In those cases, how often does the cargo end up obstructing the rear view such that it doesn't matter how much of it is blocked by the tonneau?


Thanks

I have a retractable cover so no obstruction at all.

 

[LibDan]

I now on my 25' have the hard roll up, which looks like one poster said, a bunch of sticks rolled up, but it is sorta high when rolled up, like six inches. It is way too cold to go out, roll it up, take a picture of it, etc., but takes about 7 inches off the sight through the glass. Not much to see that low anyway. But it is extremely better made and made to last, my opinion. Now, the worst part, it cost from ordering it when ordering the truck, some $425.

Thanks. If I may, when you are rolling it up, is that because you are carrying bigger cargo and, if so, does the cargo basically block the rear view anyway?

From driving around and trying to imagine having something like the roll blocking my vision, it seemed to me like if something was blocking about 40% of the bottom of my rear window, I would usually be able to see the roof of a car following me, but not much more. I would see the windshield and roof of something like an F-150 or a Ram. If I lost 8 inches though, well then I'd have about 2.5" at the very top of the window to see out of and mostly that would be sky. So it's very interesting to hear that, for you, the top of the window is where things are. I wonder if we have our mirrors adjusted very differently or something.

 

[bobbyd454]

Thanks. If I may, when you are rolling it up, is that because you are carrying bigger cargo and, if so, does the cargo basically block the rear view anyway?

From driving around and trying to imagine having something like the roll blocking my vision, it seemed to me like if something was blocking about 40% of the bottom of my rear window, I would usually be able to see the roof of a car following me, but not much more. I would see the windshield and roof of something like an F-150 or a Ram. If I lost 8 inches though, well then I'd have about 2.5" at the very top of the window to see out of and mostly that would be sky. So it's very interesting to hear that, for you, the top of the window is where things are. I wonder if we have our mirrors adjusted very differently or something.

What's to see? You watch out the back window a lot? Just to see what is following you, seeing most of the vehicle should be enough, unless you are 5' 1", then you need a booster seat. If the cover takes half the window, so what? If you haul something that blocks the window over 75%, what is this really about? Here, take a cardboard box, place it on the rails across the bed, about 10 inches high and see what you get. I think you are worrying about something that isn't that important. The important aspect is the cost, security, warranty, sturdiness of whichever cover you get. Good luck in your choice.

 

[paneubert]

You asked a while back about if visibility when rolled up doesn't actually matter due to the cargo being taller than the rolled cover. Good question. For me, it is about 50/50. Half the time my cargo is just a bit taller than the side rails, so cant have the cover closed. Does not obstruct my vision since it is not taller than the rolled cover.

BUT.....there has been a time or 2 when I rolled the cover over something that was ALMOST short enough for it to go over, but barely too tall. In those cases, I risked what you see in the video with a "not 100% secure cover" where it sort of velcro'd down by the rear window, then humped over my item and then velcro'd back down after the item. So you could see a big bulge under the cover. Only for really short drives.

The other half the time, yes, the item is really large or tall and I cant see out my back window at all.

Edit to add: When I was younger, I moved cross country and back, with a Honda CRV. All my belongings were in there, floor to ceiling, including passenger seat. I could see NOTHING out my rear-view mirror and could barely see out my passenger mirror. Survived it.

 

[Cherokee]

I just put this one on and love it.

How much was that one ?

 

[Darthie]

How much was that one ?

$199.95 shipping included. It's really high quality.

 

[MetalsGeek]

I’m looking for measurements as to how big around your tonneau covers are when rolled all the way up?
Second question: how much bed width do you lose to the mounting rails?

I just installed the BAK Revolver X4ts hard roll-up (with T-slots for my folding ladder rack).
The height of the roll is about 7-3/4" and it blocks the first 7-1/2" of bed. I have to remove it to use my bicycle rack that sits against the front of the bed, or when I get a load of mulch, but it comes off easily with 4 "knob nuts". The mounting rails cost you 2-3/4" of bed width on each side, but that's still less than the wheel wells and does not affect things like 4x8' sheets. The slotted cover mounting plates in the front block the bed a bit more, but you can see them in the marketing photos. The locking actuator arm at the rear extends into the tailgate area a bit more on each side, so you also have to watch that when loading stuff. I think the extruded aluminum rails are a bit fragile for "truck" use but probably will do fine if you keep them in mind when loading. I had to locate my rails about 3/4" rearward from the factory position in order to get the cover to overlap the edge of the tailgate adequately. The cover and rails have to be aligned to some extent for the latch mechanism to operate properly. I do not expect this cover to keep rain out of the bed, but I have a DeeZee rubber mat in there so drips down the edges will not touch cargo.

 

[Cherokee]

$199.95 shipping included. It's really high quality.

Link please

 

[Darthie]

Link please

https://www.roughcountry.com/product/ford-soft-roll-up-bed-cover-42534600

 

[Draxo]

Here's mine...BAK

 

[lonewoof]

That's a great question! Logically, the answer should be when the cost of anything stolen/damaged fell below the dollar amount of the price difference between the cost of soft and hard covers, but I'm not sure that's the right answer psychologically. I'll need to think about it.

Have you thought about getting a tri-fold hard tonneau? They are fairly cheap on any of the ecommerce sites, almost the same price as a soft roll-up. Definitely will solve your security, durability and cost concerns. Depending on how often you need to fill your bed above the height of the sides, and if you need the entire bed, it may be a good compromise, no? I love mine, it folds easily when I need some room, it was easy to remove and put in the bed for the couple times I needed the entire bed to haul some furniture. And I don't lose any visibility through the rear window.

 

[Tvin87]

If visibility is a concern you could always replace your rear view mirror with one of those digital ones like in this thread.

https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/f...-rear-dash-cams-installed-photos-review.42787

 

[bobbyd454]

Here's mine...BAK

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