Tonneau Cover Questions and Answers

Your pickup bed is undoubtedly one of the best features of your truck. It offers a great deal of space for storage or hauling. However, its open-air nature can sometimes be a problem. Your cargo is exposed to the elements and potential thieves without a cover.

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

Let's examine some common FAQs about tonneau covers.

Q: What is a Tonneau Cover?

A: 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. Your pickup bed becomes more like a traditional trunk when you have a tonneau cover.

Some tonneau covers are made of metal or hard plastic and have locking mechanisms. Others are made of 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:

• Hard tri-fold tonneau cover
• Soft tri-fold tonneau cover
• Soft roll-up tonneau cover
• Hard roll-up tonneau cover
• Retractable tonneau cover
• One-piece 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 more expensive than soft ones.

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. A tarp was commonly placed over it to protect cargo from the weather or prying eyes, becoming 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 Do You Measure a Truck Bed for a Tonneau Cover

A: To measure your truck bed for a tonneau cover, measure from the bulkhead to the inside of the tailgate. This length might be 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 Do You 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 measures 67.4 inches, which equates to a 5'7" tonneau cover. You should be fine if you are within a couple of inches of the stated length of a tonneau cover.

Q: How Do You 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 your truck's bulkhead 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: To ensure the cover is aligned, unbuckle the safety clips and unfold it 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, which must be installed before the cover.

Q: How Do You Remove a 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 the bulkhead.

Q: How Do You Clean a Tonneau Cover

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

Rinse the cleaning solution off with the hose. Instead of letting the cover dry naturally, wipe it with a microfiber towel.

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.

In the middle of the price range, an Enthuze hard folding tonneau cover for a 08-16 Ford Superduty 6.9' Bed runs about $1,300 at Action.

On the higher end of the spectrum, the Retrax PowertraxPRO XR for the 2021-2024 F150 with a 5'7" bed is $4,188.99 at Action.

Q: Where Do You 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.