Is Tonneau Cover Necessary?

[Clay]

Nothing is necessary until you need it! I like being prepared and love the looks of my hard panel tri fold.

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[eaglerugby04]

Good to know that it isn't a problem for most. It just didn't occur to me to think about this when the top is off! I have an F-150 now with no cover and as @wannajeep said, I've experienced debris flying through the rear slider window at speed.

Fact is, I should have just ordered it and paid the extra $500. I live in SoCal and wanted a soft top because I never intend to actually have the top on, but I commute early in the AM and it gets a little chilly in the morning so I want to be able to have it on in the am, but open it when I am on the way home. It's next to impossible to find a soft top around here on the dealer lot with the options I want. It was easier, and cheaper, to order my max tow loaded with options (well, except the tonneau... lol) and with a soft top.

I'll definitely be looking for one in the parts for sale section soon after delivery. Will be nice to keep out the snow and weather when I go up in the mountains this winter.

Going soft top only might make you want one, especially if you plan on removing doors. I know in my case I went with a diamondback because 8 months of the year I am without doors. Only way I had space for any cargo at all is by having a good cover on there. Diamondback was also nice for me since I can put items that would typically be hauled inside the truck bed on top and not have to worry about losing my storage space.

 

[Bellboy04]

I was told by having a bed cover it will help with MPG. Can anyone verify that?

 

[Clay]

I watched an air tunnel test and I think they said that there was better airflow over the bed when there was a tonneau cover. I think it was a 3% improvement. You wouldn't notice the gas mileage improvement if it was that little of air flow improvement.

 

[93civej1]

i like having mine, just for the fact its easy to open and close when I need room for taller items. Quick to take off if needed, and my things stay unseen and dry.
I have a tyger that I took of my colorado ZR2 I traded in. Fit great on the gladiator.

 

[brianinca]

I'm a Californian so rain/snow aren't a thing, but my wife MUCH prefers having the bed covered. It took a little lesson in listening and the factory tri-fold soft cover getting ordered from @AllMoparParts.com to solve the issue. So far, so good!

 

[Higher_Ground]

I've gotten debris in the cabin driving with the top off. If my top is off I generally park under a structure to keep debris out, so I don't know how bad it would be with a bed full of leaves. Nothing worth spending $500 for unless you have other reasons to want a bed cover.

That being said there's only so much you can stuff under the seat. I will probably shop around for one before too long, but it's not in my top 3 things to add/modify right now.

 

[mtngoat92081]

Going soft top only might make you want one, especially if you plan on removing doors. I know in my case I went with a diamondback because 8 months of the year I am without doors. Only way I had space for any cargo at all is by having a good cover on there. Diamondback was also nice for me since I can put items that would typically be hauled inside the truck bed on top and not have to worry about losing my storage space.

Yeah, I've thought about this and coming from having both a wrangler and a pickup truck, I thought I could go without one because my pickup never had one and I never wanted one, because I use my bed all the time for loads that utilize the entire bed and I didn't want to have anything on it that didn't allow for maximum access. The only cover I would consider is the roll up as it allows for this. The only reason it would be nice to have one is for out of site storage for things when I'm not with the vehicle and the top and/or doors are off. Somehow, this was never an issue with my wrangler, I guess I don't really store anything of value in my vehicles anyway. It's funny, I live in San Diego and I when I had the wrangler with top off, I never even bothered to lock the doors if I had them on. I had a tuffy lockable trunk, but even that I rarely used.

 

[Boogsnot]

For $200, its definitely been worth it....IMO

 

[eaglerugby04]

Yeah, I've thought about this and coming from having both a wrangler and a pickup truck, I thought I could go without one because my pickup never had one and I never wanted one, because I use my bed all the time for loads that utilize the entire bed and I didn't want to have anything on it that didn't allow for maximum access. The only cover I would consider is the roll up as it allows for this. The only reason it would be nice to have one is for out of site storage for things when I'm not with the vehicle and the top and/or doors are off. Somehow, this was never an issue with my wrangler, I guess I don't really store anything of value in my vehicles anyway. It's funny, I live in San Diego and I when I had the wrangler with top off, I never even bothered to lock the doors if I had them on. I had a tuffy lockable trunk, but even that I rarely used.

sounds like you are good then. I have had way to much valuable stuff in the back of mine I am not sure I could live without mine. From my laptop, to a $500 sams club run I have had my share of costly things back there.

 

[Gulf_coasterHTX]

I was told by having a bed cover it will help with MPG. Can anyone verify that?

I remember Mythbusters did an episode on driving with tailgate up or down and found that tailgate UP was more efficient than down...

Searching for that I found an article by Consumer Reports saying that a Tonneau cover dropped mileage from 22.3 to 21.4 mpg on their test run with a Dodge 1500, see link below. The difference isn't huge.. maybe within margin of error?

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2013/08/pickup-truck-tailgates-and-fuel-economy/index.htm

 

[mtngoat92081]

For $200, its definitely been worth it....IMO

I would definitely grab one for $200. Is that the factory roll up?

 

[Moe_Fugga]

I only wanted a cover to protect luggage and s**t in the bed when traveling. Otherwise I leave it rolled up to the front. Never had issues with stuff blowing into the cab.

 

[Uhasib]

Another Tyger T3. 100% worth it at the price point. On my other trucks I usually splurge in the $1000 hard tri-folds and LineX liner but decided to cheap out this time and it works just as good.

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