Around 90% of truck owners in the US think about their trusty ride at least five times a day.
I am sure you are one of them and have considered putting a tonneau cover on your truck. Why won’t you? After all, they’re a great way to protect your cargo and keep it from getting damaged.
But, are there any other benefits? You must be wondering why should I put a tonneau cover on my truck.
Tonneau cover protects the truckbed from weather elements, prevents rusting, improves the outlook, and ensures the resale value of your truck. Although not scientifically established, putting a tonneau cover may improve the gas millage. You can also haul more stuff while a tonneau covers on.
But if you’re unsure whether heavy-duty truck bed covers to suit you, read on. In this blog post, I’ll discuss some of the benefits of using a tonneau cover and why you might want to consider installing one on your truck.
Why Should I Put A Tonneau Cover On My Truck? 7 Benefits Of Having A Truck Bed Cover
There are numerous benefits of putting a tonneau cover on your truck. However, the seven benefits I have rounded up for you make the most of the difference. Let me explain each of them in detail.
Protect From Theft
Preventing potential thieves from seeing and thinking about your valuable cargo is an excellent first step in safeguarding your equipment from theft.
A truck bed cover does exactly what it says on the tin: it conceals whatever you are transporting, keeping it out of sight.
In addition to merely hiding what you’re transporting, many tonneau covers are equipped with a locking mechanism, which helps to ensure that anything you store in the bed of your truck is kept safe and secure.
Protect From Weather Elements
There are many reasons to protect your cargo, and a tonneau cover is one of the best ways. Protecting against weather elements like rain or snowstorms could damage sensitive items you must haul in the bed.
It also keeps loose articles at bay when speeding up on roadways with high winds, which might cause them to fly off into traffic!
Other road hazards like potholes could cause damage without protection (especially for delicate electronics). And truck bed covers give you the best protection against those unusual bumps.
Ensure Flexible Hauling
When you need to transport a lot of cargo but don’t have the space inside your truck bed for it all – hard tonneau covers come in handy!
Hard-top trucks allow users to store their cargo in the trunk and on top without even installing a rack. They also provide hauling flexibility with great versatility too.
Enhance Gas Mileage
Covering your truck bed with a tonneau cover will protect you from the elements and reduce fuel consumption! A great advantage is smoother movements which can save 5%-10% on gas mileage.
If you don’t have one installed, wind resistance will cause your engine to use more gas than necessary when driving without any cargo in tow!
A truck with an aerodynamic tonneau cover will take only 5% less fuel. Why? Because there’s no need for extra power from the engine to counter the wind resistance.
Since all motion can happen just through wheels alone – saving time AND money.
Improves Out Look
A tonneau cover cleans up truck lines and adds security to valuables in the vehicle bed. Some tonneau coverings may be painted, making a show vehicle more appealing.
Tonneau covers are available for full-size, mid-size, and mini-trucks. Work trucks feature secure tonneau coverings for heavy lifting. There are tonneau coverings for ordinary groceries and street custom haulers.
Protect From Rusting
A Tonneau cover is a great way to protect the truck bed from rusting. It is made of tough material to keep the rain and other elements out. This will help to keep the truck bed in good condition and retain its value.
It’s interesting how some owners of pickup trucks believe a floor mat may serve as a substitute for a truck bed. Rain will still find its way to the floor and inflict damage even though this would only partially shield the truck bed from it.
Ensure Better Resale Value
A truck bed cover will aid in rust prevention and assist in maintaining the vehicle’s actual resale value.
Which Tonneau Cover Is Right for You?
Some people think of their trucks as primarily work vehicles, while others use them just on weekends and holidays–but what do you actually do with them?
If this sounds like someone else with more than one job (or if they’re swamped all year), then there’s no better time than now to invest in some protection! Now the question in your mind must be – what kind of tonneau cover should I get?
Retractable Tonneau Covers
Consider a retractable tonneau cover for full-featured protection that is simple to operate and vanishes out of sight for a sleek appearance. According to popularity, this is one of the best waterproof truck bed cover.
With retractable covers, you can expose as much or as little of the bed as you need by rolling the new piece of the cover-up within itself toward the truck’s cab.
Although most retractable tonneau covers today are driven by electricity, making them easy to use, this is typically done by hand. The cover retracts with a simple push of a button, typically on a key fob.
They are elegant and simple, and retractable tonneau covers look great. If there is a drawback, they are often constructed of soft fabric, much like a roll-up or snap-on tonneau cover.
Roll-Up Tonneau Covers
You can choose how much the truck bed is exposed as the roll-up tonneau cover rolls up toward the truck cab.
It’s excellent for moving objects of unusual shapes and providing quick and simple access to a portion of the bed for modest loads, such as bags of groceries.
When you need the entire bed to pick up your yearly Christmas tree or assist a friend with a relocation, look for roll-ups with removable crossbeam supports.
Roll-up tonneau covers have the potential to be more dependable than snap-on tonneau covers, even though they essentially serve the same purpose by just exposing the integral portion of the bed. No snaps or corners can be damaged when being stretched.
However, as most roll-ups are also composed of fabric, they won’t last as long as hard-shell tonneau covers.
Also read: How To Open Truck Bed Cover Without Key? Answered!
Snap-On Tonneau Covers
The least priced and least reliable tonneau covers are snap-on models. However, they can also be produced in bespoke sizes and are the lightest in weight.
A snap-on tonneau cover is a simple, low-cost alternative to covering your truck bed because the added weight of the cover could offset any fuel efficiency gains.
Additionally, they offer quick, simple access to all or a portion of the truck bed.
Hinged Tonneau Covers
A hinged tonneau cover, which functions as a lid for your pickup truck’s bed, is supported by hinges close to the cab and secured by struts.
They’re excellent for protecting your bed finish and lowering aerodynamic drag. They’re often composed of hard-shell composite material. However, they can also be soft fabric with an internal structure.
Hinged tonneau covers have advantages, but not everyone finds them ideal. Whether you need it or not, they open to reveal the full truck bed.
Furthermore, hard-shell tonneau covers prohibit hauling anything taller than your bed’s height. The cover will catch wind like a sail on a boat if you leave it propped open while driving, perhaps pulling the struts out of their moorings.
Folding Tonneau Covers
To expose the proper amount of the truck bed, folding coverings are often constructed of three panels that fold back toward the cab.
Folding covers are perhaps the most common type of tonneau cover, whether they are trifold or feature two, three, or even four panels.
They are more expensive than their soft equivalents but not as expensive as retractable or paint-matched hard-shell coverings. They are typically composed of hard-composite plastic with metal hinges. They remain reasonably priced as a result.
Folding coverings are much more sturdy than soft rolling or snap-on tonneau covers, and they come in handy for moving small, oddly shaped objects that protrude above the bed.
FAQs about putting tonneau covers on trucks:
1. Is it worth getting a tonneau cover?
A tonneau cover is definitely an investment worth making, from minimizing cargo loss or damage to enhancing your truck’s appearance, increasing fuel efficiency, reducing premature wear and tear, and maintaining the resale value.
2. Should you put a bed cover on your truck?
A bed cover will significantly boost your truck’s value, fuel efficiency, security, and functionality. A bed cover’s primary function is security. If you have stuff you move daily; you’ll want to keep it safe.
3. Do trucks get better gas mileage with a tonneau cover?
Your truck bed will function like a bucket while you drive, capturing any air that travels over it without a tonneau cover. Your engine has to work a bit harder because of the drag. Tonneau covers increase gas mileage by shielding the airflow from the pickup truck bed, which enhances aerodynamics.
4. Do tonneau covers keep water out?
When put correctly, a tonneau cover will prevent the bulk of water from getting into the bed of your truck. Although it would be misleading to describe a tonneau cover as 100% watertight or waterproof, the worst that typically happens is a few drops sneaking in during a downpour.
Conclusion
So, if you’re still on the fence about whether to put a tonneau cover on your truck bed, hopefully, this article has helped sway you in that direction.
Tonneau covers protect your cargo from weather and rusting, improve the look of your truck, and may even help with gas millage. And if all of that wasn’t enough, they also increased the resale value of your vehicle.
What’s not to love? If you’re ready to take the plunge and add a tonneau cover to your ride, we’ve got the right one.