I know it's a matter of ruggedness and quality and not simply walking on it. I said it in jest.

My Gator soft trifold has a 10-year material and lifetime frame warranty which is longer than I will hold onto the truck. Simply a privacy device to keep wandering eyes honest and keep debris out of the bed and light weight items from flying out of the bed. Cost 239 with free shipping and took one hour to install. I can't beat the price, and it serves my purpose. If I have to replace it in 4 years, I'm still good with it. You can tell by my avatar I didn't go all out on a Tacoma.

But ya never know when a stupid tree branch will break off and punch a hole in the soft cover. Fingers crossed.

 

All of the bed covers come with advantages and disadvantages. I bought the roll up one from Synetic usa and love it but the internal box it rolls up into does take up valuable space in the front of the bed. I could not have a trip fold that blocks the rear view when open. The Synetic is very strong and water tight but like any of them it could be broken into easy enough.

 

I bought the TruXedo Sentry Hard Rollup cover. It seemed the best of both worlds. Hard cover but rolled up and didn't block the rear window. I have had it for about 8 months and really like it. The only downside, and I thought this was an installation error but it isn't, is that you have to roll the tonneau slightly to close the tailgate. I have read on multiple sites that that is intended for sealing.

 

I have an access soft cover and am happy with it.

 

My TruXedo Sentry is getting delivered tomorrow. I have had several TruXedo tonneaus and they looked like new the day I traded the trucks in. That BTW was after almost 14 years on my 2011 Tundra!

I have a friend that had a similar cover on his RAM and I have wanted a hard roll up ever since. Definitely the best of both worlds IMO. I hadn't heard about rolling the tonneau to close the tailgate, thanks for that heads up!

 

Yes I thought it was an install problem but then watched several YouTube videos from installers and they said that is what you need to do. There is a flat piece of rubber that lays on the tailgate. Unfortunately, it hangs down a bit when the tailgate is open and hits. You only need to roll it up an inch or two but it is a bit of a pain (extra step). That said, I don't use my tailgate every day so it's no big deal. See this video from about the 1:45 mark. Bing Videos Found a better one. Watch this from about the 8:10 mark. Bing Videos

 

Thanks for that info @PghTaco. I assume when you roll the tonneau back into place it latches by itself? Edit: that video answered my question, you just push down on the tonneau after the tailgate closes. That won't bother me at all.

I had noticed that rubber piece which lays on top of the tailgate, so it makes sense that would get in the way of the tailgate closing. It also seems like it would make the cover more water tight, so that is a good thing.

 

@TacoFreak Yes you roll it back down and it latches fine. Yes, it makes it more watertight. I have had mine since early summer and haven't seen any water in the bed at all.

 

My Diamondback Switchback tonniau cover automatic tailgate opens and closes just fine. I haven't notices any leaks.

 

Yeah, a friend has a diamondback and he loves it. They have the best rep for being watertight of any tonneau on the market.

 

Hello

I just got a 2024 with 5 foot bed. It has the rails just under the top edge of both sides of the bed. These came in the truck.

Can the tonneau covers be installed with those under rails in place? It seems like they would be in the way.

Any brand recommendations for a hard cover that are easy to install?

Thanks

 

Welcome @Scott4122 and congrats on getting your Tacoma! What do you think of the truck so far?

This tonneau cover install seems pretty easy.

 

I split the difference and got a hard roll-up tonneau - a Truxedo Sentry.

It installs in those bed rails but you can still put the cleats between the mounts. I assume there are other tonneaus that work that way. The factory tri-fold uses the bed rails and installs new ones lower down, so there are lots of options.

 

I looked at a lot of covers ended up going with an aluminum canopy by lax

 

I took a chance on the Z-Top hard roll-up cover offered on Amazon. It's essentially the same as the Rough Country Hard Roll-up Tonneau, but was $150 cheaper.

Rough Country: Hard Roll Up Bed Cover | 5' Bed | Toyota Tacoma 2WD/4WD (2024-2025)
Z-Top: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DHJPDBL9/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_4?smid=&psc=1

Install was pretty easy, but it helps to have another person assist with placing the rolled up cover on the rails. It seals good and I can see out the rear window when it's open. The aorta tailgate also closes perfectly when the cover if closed and locked in place.

I wanted a hard cover this go round and this was the best option at the price point I was trying to stay under. It would be nice if they made a quad-fold hard cover so when it's fully open, the flipped up cover stayed under the rearview mirror camera so you still had full visibility out the back! The Tri-fold cover and blocks the rearview camera rendering it useless.

 

I made a hard tonneau cover out of a 1993 Dakota snuglid I've had stored for 33 years. I only used the skin, trimmed it to fit

and rebuilt everything from scratch.