There's no doubt that your pickup bed is one of the best features of your truck. It offers a great amount of space for storage or hauling. However, the fact that it's open-air can sometimes be a problem. Without a cover, your cargo is exposed to the elements and potential thieves. 

That's why one of the best truck accessories is a tonneau cover. Tonneau covers are a practical solution that covers your truck's bed and protects your cargo.

Let's take a look at some common FAQs about tonneau covers.

Q: What is a Tonneau Cover?

A: Very simply, a tonneau cover is a hard or soft cover that goes over your truck bed. Unlike truck caps, a tonneau cover is flush with your pickup bed and is designed to fit perfectly. When you have a tonneau cover, your pickup bed becomes more like a traditional trunk. 

Some tonneau covers are made of metal or hard plastic and come with locking mechanisms. Other tonneau covers are basic fabric and can roll easily out of the way.

Q: What Types of Tonneau Covers Are There?

A: There are many different types of tonneau covers available, including a hard tri-fold tonneau cover, soft tri-fold tonneau cover, soft roll-up tonneau cover, hard roll-up tonneau cover, retractable tonneau cover and the hard tonneau cover. Additionally, if you own a truck tool box, manufacturers also make a toolbox tonneau cover.

The kind you need will depend on how you want to use it. Hard covers are sturdier and more secure, but they're more expensive than soft covers.

Q: How Do You Spell Tonneau Cover?

A: The spelling for tonneau cover isn't exactly intuitive, but that's because the origin of the word is French. It's pronounced tah-no kuh-ver and the original meaning was a rear seating area of a vehicle. 

Before cars, the tonneau was an open-air cargo area on a horse-drawn carriage. It was common to place a tarp over any cargo in this area to protect it from weather or prying eyes. This became known as the tonneau cover. 

But to answer the question, the correct spelling is t-o-n-n-e-a-u c-o-v-e-r but we have seen several different spellings including tonnuea, tunnel, tonnaue, tonto, tunno, tonno, tono, tauno, tonnel, tonnue, tonel and many others.

Q: How to Measure Truck Bed for Tonneau Cover

A: To measure your truck bed for a tonneau cover, you should take a measurement from the bulkhead of your truck to the inside of the tailgate. You might find that this length is slightly different from the manufacturer's number. 

For example, you might measure 5'4, which means you have a 5'5 bed. There's usually about one or two inches of wiggle room, so you should generally round up or down to the closest manufacturer size. 

Q: How to Measure for a Tonneau Cover?

A: Tonneau covers are typically listed in feet, so for example, if you measure 62.7 inches on your Chevy Colorado short bed truck, that will convert to a 5'3 tonneau cover or 63 inches. Different truck models have different bed lengths. 

A Dodge Ram short bed is 67.4 inches, which translates to a 5'7 tonneau cover. As long as you're within a couple of inches of the advertised length of a tonneau cover, you should be fine.

Q: How to Install a Tonneau Cover?

A: Tonneau covers are typically very easy to install. They're usually fully assembled and you simply mount them on your truck bed with the provided hardware. Consider the following steps for installing a typical tonneau cover.

Step 1 - Apply the weather strip if the bulkhead of your truck is lower than the bed rails. Make sure the surface is clean and dry before applying the strip.

Step 2 - Place the cover on the bulkhead against the cab and clamp it down.

Step 3 - Make sure the cover is aligned by unbuckling the safety clips and unfolding the cover toward the tailgate.

Step 4 - Secure the front clamps by reaching beneath the cover and pulling down. Repeat with the rear clamps. Close the tailgate to finish the installation.

Some types of tonneau covers require bed rails, so you'll have to install those first before the cover.

Q: How to Remove the Tonneau Cover?

A: To remove the tonneau cover and drive with it in the open position, you'll need to release the rear clamps and then fold the cover forward. It should be secured with safety buckles in the forward position against your bulkhead.

Q: How to Clean Tonneau Cover

A: You can clean a tonneau cover with car wash shampoo and gentle car wash equipment. Start by using a hose to remove any loose dirt and debris. Then, prepare your cleaning solution and scrub the cover with a car wash mitt. 

Rinse the cleaning solution away with the hose. It's best to towel off the cover with a microfiber towel rather than letting it dry naturally. 

If you have a vinyl tonneau cover, you should also use a protectant solution on the cover after it's dry.

Q: How Much is a Tonneau Cover?

A: The price for a tonneau cover will vary depending on the type of cover and your truck model. For example, an Enthuze soft roll-up cover for a 02-08 Ram 1500 6.5' Bed truck runs for about $500 at Action. 

On the higher end of the spectrum, an Enthuze hard folding tonneau cover for a 08-16 Ford Superduty 6.9' Bed runs about $1,120 at Action.

Q: Where to Buy a Tonneau Cover?

A: You can buy tonneau covers at most places where truck accessories are sold. Action Truck sells a wide variety of different tonneau covers, and you can get them installed by visiting any retail store location of Action Car & Truck in Canada.