hard tonneau cover: school me

JeeperCreeper

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My Ranger is my first truck, so I know little about the details of tonneau covers.

I love a pretty active lifestyle and like most "western" states, theft crimes is high in my area. So I want a hard cover.

I would normally want a cap, as my dad always had those growing up, but up here, they are $3000+ and honestly don't look as good as they do on full size trucks.

So hard cover it is.

I can get a hard trifold like Gator or Rough Country or Extang for just under a grand with shipping.

Or, I can go all out and get the Diamondback HD (buy once, cry once) that can literally support a dead moose on top.

What says the hive mind?

Are the cheaper trifolds junk for hard use (camping, fishing, hunting, bad weather) within their weight restrictions?

Should I just go all out and buy the pricey boy?
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Trustable

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I cant speak to the super high end ones. (I dont know what is considered high end 1k? 2k?) but I do know for a fact that at least Ford's trifold, Truck Gear (Linex, for the supercab ranger its a quadfold), and possibly more tri folds are all made by bakflip. I would keep this in mind just because parts will be more widely available if something ever breaks on it or is damaged. I really like the Truck Gear one I have that is sprayed with the Premium linex so no sun fading occurs, I think its called the stealth or something. Barely any water entry at all, and Its flush with the bed rails.
 
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JeeperCreeper

JeeperCreeper

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I am exploring the route of an auto roll up cover like the Pace Edwards Switchblade.
Yeah I've looked at those too, it's just hard to tell how well those "universal" designs work on the Ranger.

So much info on F150 and Silverado, so little with ours
 

Dr3wDrop

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JeeperCreeper

JeeperCreeper

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For reference, the Diamondback HD is about $2500 shipped to me.
 
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JeeperCreeper

JeeperCreeper

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I do not think its a universal design?
Not universal as in "I've size fits all" but it's a common design used for all trucks and just resized.

The issue with Rangers that I've been reading is our bed rails seem to be more shallow, so clamps sometimes don't work well.

So a design philosophy that's used historically for many trucks, might not fit best with our Ranger.

But again, I have no first hand knowledge
 

Kino

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I love my Diamondback on my '21 F-150. However, as a potential Ranger purchaser in the future, I probably would not go that route for a variety of reasons, including the weight and how it would figure into the weight loads. I am unsure what I would personally opt for (definitely a hard cover), so I am interested in the replies to this thread.
 
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JeeperCreeper

JeeperCreeper

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I love my Diamondback on my '21 F-150. However, as a potential Ranger purchaser in the future, I probably would not go that route for a variety of reasons, including the weight and how it would figure into the weight loads. I am unsure what I would personally opt for (definitely a hard cover), so I am interested in the replies to this thread.
Does your Diamondback do a good job with keeping out water?

Does it attach via clamps?
 

wanted33

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The only experience I have is a hard cover on a previous F-150. It was nice, insulated, and color matched. But, you couldn't load anything tall because the thing was too low at the rear. Just somethng to think about.
 
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2020XLT

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I never needed a tonneau cover on my first Ranger, a 2000 XLT, however, after I purchased a 2020 Ranger XLT, I then purchased and installed a Bakflip MX4. I am very satisfied with this cover, fits well, very little water leaks in at the tailgate area, and locks down for security. I keep some hand tools and other gear in plastic storage boxes in each rear corner and they stay in place via bungee cords using the middle and rear tie-downs. The MX4 is a trifold and works well for my uses, cost was around $950 in the summer of 2020.
 

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I've got the Retrax tonneau cover, and I would just add to your recent hesitations, that I LOVE my tonneau, but the 1' that the tonneau takes from my bed is enough to make my bike too long for tailgate carrying (Santa Cruz Megatower). The bike has a super long wheel base, and I can carry most other hard-tails on my tailgate still (Rockhopper 29" L)...

Just a thought I have had since getting the Retrax pro.... I would rather have my back window obstructed once in a while, than be forced to hitch-carry my downhill bike.

For further thought, I have had the AmericanTonneau Low profile tonneau (Soft), and I was not happy with how easily the velcro came up when the truck was at highway speeds. Also, the rattling of the soft cover made the C-clamps susceptible to coming off a bunch.

The Retrax tonneau has never had to be opened on a highway trip and I have never had a clamp come off. I live in Wyoming, and highways are frequently closed because of high wind issues. The Retrax has dealt with the wind amazingly.

Good luck picking!
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