Tonneau Dilemma

[user 64117]

OK. I have the chance to purchase a fiberglass cover for $350. I originally wanted to get the bifold cover. I like the look of the fiberglass. It gives the truck a classy look, but I love the functionality of the bifold. I have a cap now and would use the cap for travel on long trips with lots of cargo. I value the opinions of all on this site. you have helped me spend my money appropriately. Please feel free to let me know what you think



thanks,

Dan G :wacko:

 

[Jake Levin]

Dan I'm with Truc Trac, The OEM one just looks right on the truck. I have the same setup you want, I have an ARE cap for winter/long trips and an OEM tonneau for summer, can't beat it.

 

[user 64117]

Heres what it looks like.

 

[Larry Phillips]

Personally, I like the looks of the fiberglass lids myself, and that one looks good based on your picture. I have a Snuglid painted to match, and I'm really happy with it. I've always been about looks and functionality, and it's a toss up in this case. While I like the functionality of the Ford split cover, I hate the looks, and it doesn't flow with the body lines, which is where the fiberglass lid comes into play. Personally, I haven't run into a problem where the lid has been in the way, but if I anticipate a large load, I can always pull the pins and take the lid off before I leave the garage. I vote for the fiberglass lid, but ultimately, you have to ask yourself what kind of work do you do with your ST, and what kind of loads do you haul, and how frequent.

 

[Dallas Starr]

If you would like a factory one I might be interested in a trade. I have been wanting a fiberglass one for awhile.

 

[user 64117]

Big D,

Email me at [email protected]

 

[Curt NA]

I think the fiberglass cover in the pic looks nice. Do the strut lifts still work ok?

 

[Yardsale]

Remember that some of the aftermarket covers have to be opened to open the tailgate.

 

[user 64117]

Good Point Yardsale. I think i prefer the folder Tonneau or the retractable one. I am waiting to get a closer look at the retractable one first though.

 

[Tim Turner]

I prefer fiberglass tonneaus for all the same reasons that Larry listed. To me, it looks better and I normally won't haul anything that's too big to fit in there with the tonneau on, but if I do have to take it off, it's simple and not too time consuming. The other reason that I like my fiberglass tonneau is because it doesn't reduce much of the rear visibility. I know there are some that are big and bulky and take up alot of the rear window, but mine is thinner than even the OEM cover.



[Broken External Image]:



[Broken External Image]:

 

[CountyMounty]

I thought long and hard before buying one and decided that funtionality was more important to me than looks. I do like the looks of the matching fiberglass tonneau a little better then the OEM but the OEM looks fine too. My wife said the OEM one looks more "manly" but I'm not sure exactly what she means. I have only had mine for a couple months now and I have already had a couple situations where I was glad I didn't have the fiberglass one, I had an item that was taller than would fit under the tonneau and not enough room to lay it down so I just simply opened half of the cover and secured in on there. Of course you can remove either tonneau fairly quickly but you may not always know when you set out shopping or on a trip that you will be bringing back a large item. You can open the tailgate without opening the cover which is a plus for quickly throwing groceries or whatever on back. I picked mine up on ebay and there are many of them on there all the time, try to find a seller that is willing to work with you on the shipping, that can get expensive, someone willing to ship it at exact cost like I found is helful. Also we found that ship via DHL was much cheaper then UPS or Fed Ex.

 

[CountyMounty]

One other point if you have to take off the factory cover it is much easier to store, you can actually put it in your back sets if you have too, you cant do that with the fiberglass one.