Selecting a Tonneau Cover Style for Your Ford F-150
Modifying your Ford F-150 pickup truck with a tonneau cover provides an assortment of benefits that start with protection of the bed and its contents. Whether it is referred to as a bed cover, tonneau cover or a more-specific style, these aftermarket products are all great investments in your hauler’s look and functionality. The different types available range from casual soft covers that are primarily rain and snow covers which prevent your tools and hard bed surfaces from rusting, all the way up to hard surfaced locking tonneau covers that add security and durability to your covered bed. The lasting build materials range from tough polymers to fiberglass, all specifically chosen to provide years of weatherproof longevity. The options available from AmericanTrucks for the exterior of the F150 lineup will help to improve gas mileage and reduce engine strain. An open bed is like a wind sail that causes drag and air resistance at high travelling speeds, and the bed covers in all these styles will improve the aerodynamics of the truck once installed. Most covers are black, blending well with most trucks’ appearances helping to provide a “finished” look.
F150 Soft Tonneau Covers
Soft tonneau covers are typically made of a heavy-duty, weather treated vinyl with a lightweight supporting aluminum frame underneath. They either come as a roll-up cover or as a folding cover. The first easily rolls up toward the cab of your F150 to access the bed when needed, but is either fully extended or fully rolled - there is no option to only leave a portion of the bed exposed. The latter, a folding variety, is usually built into two or three segments that flip up onto the preceding segment to expose the bed in sections. This is a nice convenience if you need to grab items stored in the bed but don't want or need to uncover the entire truck bed.
The majority of F150-related roll-up soft tonneau covers mount on top of the bed rails, protruding about 1/2-1" above the box. Select models are manufactured as a flush mount system, in which instead of sitting on top of the box rails, the cover mounts inside of them. The cover mounting rails are held on by clamps and require no drilling into the box itself.
Soft tonneau covers are a great choice for F150 owners that want an inexpensive cover that focuses more on weather protection versus security. There are soft covers that do lock or integrate with a locking tailgate, however, a truly determined individual would be able to cut through the cover if they really want to see what is underneath.
Quick Access Hybrid Tonnuea Cover
F150 Hard Tonneau Covers
Hard covers provide excellent weather protection with much improved security as compared to a soft cover. Hard covers either come as a one-piece, full-length cover, or currently very popular, a bi-fold or tri-fold variety. Bi-fold or tri-hold hard covers are made of thin aluminum slats that are hinged in order to fold up over the preceding section, make regional box access convenient and easy. A folding hard cover is a great choice for F150 owners that often go camping, as they are rigid and strong enough to act as a table while shuffling equipment around (some hard covers can support up to 200 lbs placed on top).
Full-length covers, made of high impact plastic or fiberglass, can often be a factory option when ordering from an F150 from a dealer. Usually painted to match, these types of hard covers do not fold or roll, and they are raised and supported by gas struts. Impact resistant plastic covers usually weigh in around 60 lbs, whereas a fiberglass version can weigh as much as 110 lbs. When painted to match the exterior of your F150, these covers blend in very nicely and look quite handsome.
From a security standpoint, hard covers can be self-locking or integrate into a locking tailgate (depending on the model, this is an additional feature of most hard covers, not a base feature), and being made of aluminum, plastic or fiberglass, are more difficult to puncture or damage.
F150 Hybrid Soft/Hard Covers
A more recent development in the world of Ford F150 tonneau covers is the introduction of hybrid soft/hard cover. These covers are roll-up type covers that offer the same ease of access as a soft roll-up cover, but with increased structural rigidity and therefore security. Entry level hybrid covers feature a weatherproofed vinyl stitched on top of many thin, underlying aluminum slats. Just a few inches in width, these slats are thin enough that the cover can still be rolled and secured at the front of the bed, but provide much better strength and security versus a vinyl-only cover.
A high end version of this type of cover uses an electric motor to automatically roll the slats into a canister mounted at the back of the cab.
Tri Fold Hybrid Tonneau Cover
Roll Up Tonneau Cover for F-150
This type of cover is one of the most popular for its ease of use, weight, and large selection in the marketplace. F-150 owners often start modifying their truck with a bed cover right away, sometimes before leaving the dealership lot. The hassle-free install that is typical of roll up tonneau covers makes it a great choice for those pickup truck owners planning to access their load from their bed on a regular basis. One trade-off that is made is that two people are often needed to quickly remove, and open, this style of cover, and the soft material will never be as durable as the hard surfaced alternatives. Some key features common among the roll up tonneau cover style are:
- Full U.V. shielding of truck bed from elements
- Retractable design
- One handed operation
- Easy installation
Many truck owners are motivated by the ease of install with this type of bed cover. Most roll up style covers are very easy to setup, without the need to drill or cut and simple hand tools can be used to be rolling with a new cover in under one hour.
Retractable Tonneau Cover for F-150
F-150 owners looking to upgrade to a higher-end bed cover will be attracted to this style of product. Many of the aftermarket retractable tonneau covers will offer some premium features not found on soft rolling covers. The streamlined profile and design are the leading benefits, along with the sliding characteristic. It is the retractable feature that will appeal to someone that accesses their bed often. One-person can easily slide open this style of tonneau. Auto-grade weatherstripping is a feature that helps to make these covers highly protective for truck beds. Some of the products even boast they can withstand the weight of a person standing on them due to their rigid, heavy-duty polycarbonate shell construction. Most of these covers have an accordion style surface that allows them to conveniently be fed into their housing, making for a very neat and easy stowing position when open. The housing, or cannister, is often angled in such a way to allow for maximum bed access while maintaining as much cargo capacity as possible.
Hard Tri Fold Tonneau Cover for F-150
The hard folding tonneau cover combines some of the best features of the two above. While it has the solid shell found in the retractable tonneau covers, it doesn’t use up any additional space inside the bed when open and stowed away. F-150 modifiers are attracted to the quick, and easy, one-person opening afforded by the hard material construction. The tri-fold design is unique among pickup truck bed covers because it also allows for partial opening and access to the contents of the bed, or full 100% open access.
How Do I Choose a Tonneau Cover for My F150?
The first thing you need to know before choosing any tonneau cover for your F150 is what style and length of bed does your truck have. There are two truck bed styles, styleside and flareside.
- Styleside F150s have the rear fender wells inside of the bed. It is the most common style of F150 and has a much flatter box appearance when looking at it from the outside.
- Flareside pickups have the fender wells on the outside of the bed, which produces a more pronounced flared look to the box of the truck.
There are three bed sizes available between 1997-2017. There is a 5'6" short box, a 6'6" regular box and an 8' long box.
With those two details known, you can then pick your tonneau cover. Things to consider are of course price, soft covers being less expensive than hard covers, durability and security, with hard tonneau covers taking the cake on those last two items. For the majority of F150 owners, a roll-up soft cover is likely to do the trick. It will provide good weather protection and adequate security, and some cost as little as $300.
Another area to consider is if you have a toolbox, bed liner or aftermarket tailgates which could interfere with a cover. As a general rule of thumb, most covers are designed to work with truck bed/tailgate accessories in mind. WIth that being said it is always a good idea to measure any potential items that you plan on keeping in your truck your bed on a long-term basis.
Finally, regarding installation, all tonneau covers of today use a clamp-on rail mounting system, eliminating any drilling or messy body work.
Popular F-150 Tonneau Cover Types: F-150 Bed Cap, F-150 Retractable Bed Cover, F-150 Roll Up Bed Cover, F-150 Hard Folding Bed Cover, F-150 Hinged Bed Cover, F-150 Snap Bed Cover, F-150 Soft Folding Bed Cover
