Alright, let’s talk about something I messed around with recently – adding a tonneau cover to my pickup truck. You know, one of those covers that go over the truck bed. I’d been thinking about it for a while, and finally decided to just do it.
First off, I had to figure out what kind of cover I wanted. There are a bunch of options out there – soft ones, hard ones, ones that roll up, ones that fold. It’s a bit overwhelming, to be honest. I spent a good chunk of time just looking at different types online and reading what other people had to say about them. I needed to measure my truck bed’s size first to make sure the cover fits.
Measuring the truck bed was the initial step. I grabbed my trusty tape measure and jotted down the length and width. It’s super important to get this right, or else you’ll end up with a cover that doesn’t fit properly. And nobody wants that.
- I started by measuring the inside length of the bed, from the bulkhead to the inside of the tailgate.
- Then, I measured the width between the bed rails.
- Just to be extra sure, I measured a couple of times. Better safe than sorry, right?
After doing some digging, I decided to go with a hard folding cover. Seemed like the best balance of security and convenience for me. I liked that it would keep my stuff safe from the weather and prying eyes, but I could also fold it up easily if I needed to haul something big. I chose a hard cover because those painted one-piece covers are very secure and they can lock.
Finding a place to buy the cover was the next hurdle. I checked out some local shops and also looked online. Prices varied quite a bit, so I had to do some comparing. Ended up ordering one online because it was a bit cheaper and they had the exact one I wanted in stock.
Installation day finally arrived. The cover came with instructions, but I’ll admit I was a bit nervous. I’m not the handiest guy in the world. But, I laid out all the parts, read through the instructions a few times, and just took it step by step.
- First, I had to attach some rails to the sides of my truck bed. This involved some clamping and a bit of adjusting to get them lined up just right.
- Next, I placed the folded cover onto the rails and started unfolding it towards the tailgate.
- There were some latches and bolts to secure, which took a bit of fiddling.
- Finally, I tested the folding mechanism a few times to make sure it worked smoothly.
Honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Took me a couple of hours, but I managed to get it installed without any major issues. Although accessing the cargo space might not be easy, it takes up some space after all. And I guess another con is that it can leak.
All Done!
Having the tonneau cover on has been pretty great. It makes the truck look a bit sleeker, and I feel better about leaving stuff in the bed. Plus, I think it might be helping with gas mileage a little bit. I did notice that it’s a little harder to just toss stuff in the back now, but that’s a small trade-off for the added security and protection. Overall, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. If you’re thinking about getting a tonneau cover, I’d say go for it. Just do your research and make sure you get one that fits your needs and your truck.
