Bed & Cargo
Tonneau Covers & Bed Rails in Terrell, TX
Out of the weather. Out of sight. Closed in one motion.
An open bed is a shelf that anyone can see into and the weather can get at. A cover turns it into something closer to a trunk: dry, out of sight and, depending on the style, locked. We fit roll-up, folding and retractable covers to the bed you actually have.
Folding covers
A folding cover comes in panels that fold forward toward the cab in sections. Fold one panel and you can reach into the front of the bed. Fold them all and you have most of the bed back. Hard folding panels are rigid enough to take some weight and lock down at the tailgate.
This is the style that suits most people. It is the quickest to open and close, it costs less than a retractable, and the panels come off entirely in a few minutes on the day you need the whole bed. We fit BAKFlip.
Roll-up covers
A roll-up rolls back to the cab in one piece and straps or latches there. Soft roll-ups are the cheapest way to cover a bed. Hard roll-ups use linked slats, which gives you most of the security of a solid cover with most of the convenience of a soft one.
Roll-N-Lock sits in this category and locks at intervals rather than only when fully closed, which is useful if you often run with the bed half open.
Retractable covers
A retractable slides into a sealed canister behind the cab. There is nothing to fold or store, and it locks at any position along its travel. It is the most secure of the three and the one that looks most like part of the truck.
The trade-offs are cost and about a foot of bed length taken by the canister. Retrax builds both manual and powered versions. If the truck carries tools every day and gets left in parking lots, this is the one worth the money.
Bed rails
Bed rails cap the top edge of the bed sides. They do two jobs: they stop the paint on that edge getting chipped by everything you slide over it, and they give you solid tie-down points that are not the sheet metal of the bed itself.
If you strap loads down regularly, that second point is the one that matters. Hooking a ratchet strap over a bare bed side works until it does not, and the repair is body repair. Rails also interact with covers. Some covers clamp to the rails; some need the rails gone. It is worth deciding both at once rather than fitting one and discovering the other will not go on.
What we need to know
Year, make, model and bed length. A short bed and an eight-foot bed take different covers, and there is no adjusting one to fit the other. Tell us if the truck already has a bed liner, a tool box or a gooseneck ball, because all three change which covers will fit.
Common questions
Should I get a roll-up, folding or retractable cover?
Folding covers give you the bed back fastest and cost least. Roll-up covers roll to the cab and work well if you want the bed clear often. Retractable covers slide into a canister and lock. They are the most secure and the most expensive. It comes down to how often you need the bed fully open and how much you care about locking it.
Will a tonneau cover keep water out?
A well-fitted cover keeps out weather and most of the water, but a truck bed has drain holes and is not a sealed box. Treat it as dry storage for tools and shopping, not a place to leave something that must stay perfectly dry in a Texas downpour.
Can I still use the bed with a cover fitted?
Yes. Every style opens. Folding and roll-up covers give you most or all of the bed in under a minute; a retractable slides back as far as you want and stops. What you cannot do is carry something taller than the bed rails without taking the cover off.
Will it work with my bed liner or tool box?
Usually, but the combination matters. A cover has to clamp to the bed rails, so a liner sprayed up over the rail caps or a crossover box changes what fits. Tell us what is already on the truck and we will match a cover to it rather than guessing.
Does a cover really improve fuel economy?
Some manufacturers claim a small gain. Honestly, if it exists it is small enough that you will not see it on the gauge. Buy a cover to keep your gear dry and out of sight, and treat anything else as a bonus.
How long does cover fitting take?
Most covers are fitted the same day, often while you wait. Retractable covers take longer because the canister mounts at the front of the bed and everything has to be square. Call ahead with the year, make, model and bed length.