cant decide myself on tonneau covers: #44

[Realtruck]

The RealTruck BAKFlip MX4 (GEN 3) Hard Folding Tonneau Cover is designed to withstand extreme cold and heat. You can secure it in the 2/3 position when you've got gear in the truck bed, or fully opened. It's the still the most popular hard folding tonneau cover on the market.

Here's a detailed installation video that Todd put together so you can see exactly how it fits and works on the F150 truck bed. MX4 Gen 3 Install on a 2024 Ford F150

Feel free to drop me a DM if you're interested in a quote or have any questions!

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[Rayden]

Someone made a hard one that accordioned up and could be pushed up against the front wall of the bed. OR, once folded up like that, it could just be picked up out of the bed completely. Was very quickly/easily done in the video that I watched. Damned if I can remember what brand/model that was.

 

[nagyfan3]

all of them have trade off, all the expensive ones (1k+) looks nice anyway, and it seems you'd want to use them for a month before you know if it fits your use cases haha.

i used to have a cap on a t100 so no range problem or space problems, but on the lightning im afraid it cuts the range too much.

i need it to work in the winter (low 20s, not the coldest), but im a bit concerned about trifolds being annoying when you need to leave them fully open, or when you want to have stuff sticking out of the bed (long skis, boards, 2x4's, etc). ideally, doesnt take much bed space and isnt too heavy since it reduces range and load capacity fairly quickly.

These are two thing most reviewers barely ever talk about. curious if anyone have one they love that function well with these parameters.

i wonder about truck caps and some reviews on those. The Bak4 costing over 1100 is a bit disconcerting for me, but it appears to have great reviews and 5 yr warranty

 

[Mal106]

For many years, I used a cap or nothing on 4 trucks. When I got my '23 F150 powerboost, I decided to try a tonneau. I bought the cheapest roll up soft tonneau just to see if I liked it. It transferred easily to the Lightning and I do indeed like it.

The advantages: cheap, easy to roll up, takes virtually no bed space nor rear visibility rolled up and surprisingly weatherproof. Disadvantages: not very secure, and my biggest is looks. Looks great just sitting but shudders going down the road. Most traffic can't see that but I can.

 

[Rayden]

Peragon.

YES! That was the one I had seen! Thanks for finding that!

 

[MBM]

The problem for me with this type of cover is that if you have some gear loaded in the bed, you cannot fold up the accordion style cover without first removing your gear. I hope I am correct and saying that.

I have the backflip MX4 now and I believe that is my best one so far. Had the soft roll up as well as the revolver hard rollup and they were OK but didn’t like the way they bounced at highway speeds.

 

[RickLightning]

YES! That was the one I had seen! Thanks for finding that!

I bought a Peragon and ended up returning it at their expense.

When folded, it rattles at every bump or pothole. Same when partially folded, and the closed section moved back and forth.

It does NOT come in and out easily despite what they say.

When closing it the last section often missed the runners.

Takes up too much bed space when folded.

And the sun makes it really hot to touch

My Diamondback HD doesn't easily come off, but I can put anything on top and tie it down to the many cleats. Coated with bed liner. Looks fantastic, and more secure than any other tonneau.

 

[Randys Lightning]

all of them have trade off, all the expensive ones (1k+) looks nice anyway, and it seems you'd want to use them for a month before you know if it fits your use cases haha.

i used to have a cap on a t100 so no range problem or space problems, but on the lightning im afraid it cuts the range too much.

i need it to work in the winter (low 20s, not the coldest), but im a bit concerned about trifolds being annoying when you need to leave them fully open, or when you want to have stuff sticking out of the bed (long skis, boards, 2x4's, etc). ideally, doesnt take much bed space and isnt too heavy since it reduces range and load capacity fairly quickly.

These are two thing most reviewers barely ever talk about. curious if anyone have one they love that function well with these parameters.

Think mine was $300 Real Truck has about the best Price, Love my soft cover has cross polls

 

[lightningwill]

My used truck actually came with another variant of the T3 (its rebranded a bit everywhere). its.. functional. But it is not safe (you can slash it easily), its not a great mechanism (you have to remove 2 clamps to move it) and the fabric moves at speed, which im sure isnt great for range. Also, dont climb on it of course..

With that said as much as i'd love a hard rolling cover, i suspect these just dont really fit my needs, and thus there's the tri fold. I dislike that the trifold blocks the view - and I know the peragon one doesnt (but it seems brittle, and sucks in other ways, as explained already in this thread - i think its a very niche item in it's current implementation - i want to like it, but I can't lol).

 

[RickLightning]

The problem for me with this type of cover is that if you have some gear loaded in the bed, you cannot fold up the accordion style cover without first removing your gear. I hope I am correct and saying that.

Correct. And when open and you load bed, you have to leave clearance for the panel to move forward and up. With our 5.5' beds, losing over a foot is not doable. I had a 6.5' bed on my 2013.

 

[Box Cat]

Retrax RetraxPRO XR Retractable Truck Bed Tonneau Cover | T-80378 | Fits 2021 - 2026 Ford F-150 (coupled with Dual Liner, perfect fit!), works beautifully if installed properly, but NOT cheap ....

 

[Rayden]

Retrax RetraxPRO XR Retractable Truck Bed Tonneau Cover | T-80378 | Fits 2021 - 2026 Ford F-150 (coupled with Dual Liner, perfect fit!), works beautifully if installed properly, but NOT cheap ....

Looks good. How's the weather proofness of it?

 

[Box Cat]

Looks good. How's the weather proofness of it?

Dry but not 100% (at least for me). Under heavy rain I have noticed wet patches on the sides, although I should have probably done a better job with the seal.

 

[Albern]

I've gone through a tri-fold then a roll-top and considered a few other options before finally landing on a topper.

With the tri-fold - it benefits from opening in several positions while keeping other portions covered.

Roll-top - must be either fully open or completely closed.

Retractable - canister takes up too much space in the bed (which is already a short-bed) and can be very expensive.

Regardless of what you choose, I would recommend that you at least have t-track on your cover so that you'll always have options.

I have an Alu Cab Contour Canopy now and am happy with it as it doubles my sealed bed volume by 2x and it can carry my other upfittings like my roof-top-tent, 270 awning, and shower awning. The only thing I don't like about it so far is that the rear-view is compromised and as for energy impact, I'm still making observations.

It's hard to immediately know what you don't yet know, depending on your use case(s).

 

[Realtruck]

Retrax RetraxPRO XR Retractable Truck Bed Tonneau Cover | T-80378 | Fits 2021 - 2026 Ford F-150 (coupled with Dual Liner, perfect fit!), works beautifully if installed properly, but NOT cheap ....

That is a nice looking setup!

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