Should I get a Tonneau?

[Paul Fithian]

I'm debating on this. Those that have them, do you find them to be useful? Or wish that you didn't have one?

From what I've seen, the best bet is to get a used OEM one with the brackets.

Any other advice?

 

[sickwilly]

Love mine. I pulled it off my old ST and it is going on my new old ST. Mine is a torza top tri-fold, Off and on in 2 minutes. Keeps the back bone dry. I have had it for at least 5 years and expect to get 3-5 more out of it.

If you find a factory one, my new old ST has brackets for one I will not need.

 

[koda2000]

I find the OE cover convenient to be able to hide and lock up stuff (not great on keeping stuff dry). I just wish it wasn't so heavy though. Anytime I want to remove it I need to have someone help me. I think a one piece fiberglass type with the struts would be easier to use and deal with.

If you do buy a used one, make sure it has both rubber lock covers. They're nearly impossible to find used and new ones are over $100 (that's correct - over one hundred dollars).

 

[429CJ-3X2]

I wondered the same thing when I bought my '02 4 years ago. There's a project on myst.com about building your own. I did that, but allowed for a toolbox across the front. Loved the toolbox, and the homemade cover even though it wasn't weatherproof since there was a gap between the cover and the toolbox - low profile toolbox put the latches at the level of the cover. Then I found a topper after a year and a half, and haven't taken it off. At the same time the topper showed up on craigslist locally, a fiberglass lid showed up 125 miles away for $100 and I bought it too, just in case I ever want to take the topper off. Probably won't ever use it. My '01 had a 1 piece aftermarket fiberglass cover on it when I bought it. Love it too, once I modified the striker bolts it latches to. This one was a poor design on that part. There were only a couple of times when I took the homemade cover off to haul something that wouldn't fit under it, but that was easy to do - and I have a trailer for the bigger stuff. So yeah, I like 'em. There are soft covers available too.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

One mod I've considered making to the lid on the '01 (which is the type with struts like koda mentioned) is to add rails like roof rails to be able to haul stuff on top of it. The truck has the tie downs, but rails would keep things centered.

 

[sickwilly]

Twist 2 levers and mine folds up against the cab, covering just under 1/3rd of the bed. Easy to load and unload stuff. Two more levers and it is off and in the garage. During ski season I keep my slalom ski, barefoot wet-suite, ropes, and other gear under there. Could it be easily compromised with with a knife -- yes. That is what insurance is for.

 

[N2FORD]

My red one has the factory cover and my son's white one has a soft one that sounds like the one sickwilly has. I like both but the factory one is secure and that is important to me.

 

[Paul Fithian]

That Torza trifold design looks like it might be a better option for me. I don't plan on storing anything of value in the bed.

 

[koda2000]

The other thing with the weight of the OE hard cover (for me anyway) is that it makes it a bit tricky to open. You have to pop the rubber cover, insert the key and twist if while at the same time lifting the cover with one hand. Then you can remove the key and I like to put the rubber cover back on, as it acts as a bumper with the cover folded over onto the other half and I don't want to take the chance of damaging or loosing one of those ridiculously expensive lock covers. If you're opening the rear half, it's twice as hard to do if the tail gate is open, because you have to stretch to lift the cover up, The hard cover is very strong. I'm pretty sure I could easily stand on it (250 pounds) without hurting it, which accounts for it's weight.

BTW, The lock retainers are prone to falling off and getting lost. I had one missing and the other was very loose, I bought new ones (OE Ford) and found they fit very loosely too. I ended up bending the spring steel a bit more to achieve a tight fit,

 

[jonothehut]

Greetings,

I just acquired my ST and I was always concerned about leaving my gear in the bed. My ST came with the factory hard top tonneau cover. I have found it to be very useful and I like being able to lock my gear. The cover looks a pain to take on an off and not sure if I could do it without an extra hand. I don't haul a lot of large stuff but for gear, day trips and long it works great.

 

[sickwilly]

If I lock my tailgate you have to cut my top to get my gear.

 

[Paul Fithian]

Found an OEM tonneau in excellent condition on Craigslist. Thanks to Richard for hooking me up with the brackets. A local locksmith was able to re-key the lock cylinders so my keys work both front and back. I need to install new cables on both ends, they are not working properly.

 

[sickwilly]

Looks great Paul!

 

[Paul Fithian]

Thanks Richard!

I was able to fix the lock cable actuators that came with the top, they work great now. Here's a link to what I did: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums...-your-tonneau-cover-cables-with-epoxy.459071/

 

[James Heidelmark]

Love mine. I pulled it off my old ST and it is going on my new old ST. Mine is a torza top tri-fold, Off and on in 2 minutes. Keeps the back bone dry. I have had it for at least 5 years and expect to get 3-5 more out of it.


If you find a factory one, my new old ST has brackets for one I will not need.

Can I see a picture of yours? How is it mounted since we don't have traditional rails? The Gator vs of this cover males you remove the tie downs