Toyota Tundra Tonneau Covers
Tonneau cover options for the Toyota Tundra fall into three basic categories:
- Soft tonneau covers (usually made from vinyl or canvas) that do a decent job of protecting the bed but offer little or no security.
- One-piece tonneau covers (usually made from plastic or fiberglass) that are excellent at protecting the cargo in your Tundra’s bed. Unfortunately, these covers are usually heavy and/or bulky, which makes them more difficult to remove.
- Folding tonneau covers (usually made from ABS plastic) that combine the security of a solid tonneau cover with the easy removal of a soft tonneau.
What To Consider When Buying A Tonneau For Your Tundra
Do you need to secure cargo? Some people want a tonneau because they’re trying to add some lockable storage to their truck. Others want one to protect against the occasional rainstorm and aren’t concerned about locking things up.
If you need security, you want to focus on solid tonneaus only. Either one-piece or solid-folding, and obviously you’ll want to make sure it has built-in locks.
Should the tonneau be something you can take off and put on easily? If your truck rarely hauls cargo that won’t fit under a tonneau cover, you might not want to pay for a sophisticated folding tonneau option. If, on the other hand, you find yourself hauling tall cargo all the time, you need a tonneau that either uninstalls easily or folds up out of your way.
There are lots of tonneau cover companies, and just about all of them claim their tonneau comes off easily. We’ve found that folding tonneau covers are the easiest to remove – even easier than soft tonneau covers – so that would be the option we suggest if east removal is a concern.
Do you need something painted to match your truck? If the answer to this question is yes, it’s going to be easy to find the right tonneau because your choices are going to be limited to either a solid fiberglass toneau or a specially treated plastic tonneau.
Keep in mind – if you paint a black plastic tonneau, you might not like the durability of the finish. Plastic is notoriously difficult to paint, so think twice about going with fiberglass if you’re painting. There are dozens of fiberglass tonneau covers available – your local topper/camper shell dealer can help you find the right one.
Available Tonneau Covers For The Tundra
In alphabetical order, here the are the tonnea covers we have reviewed or written about:
BakFlip solid fold tonneau cover – Folding black plastic tonneau that has a unique locked position folded up against the cab when not in use.
Duracover solid ABS tonneau – We really like this cover, but unfortunately it’s no longer available.
Extang solid fold tonneau cover – Not quite as clever as the BakFlip cover, this is a nicely made solid ABS tonneau that has 3 sections that fold up and make removal very easy. Extang also makes a lighter-duty version of this tonneau with vinyl and aluminum panels instead of ABS plastic called the Extang Trifecta.
Official Toyota Tonneau Cover – Toyota’s official painted-to-match accessory is your best bet for a quality, color-matched solid tonneau cover. Unfortunately, it’s pretty pricey when compared to other tonneau covers on this list.
Undercover Tonneau Cover – Solid, one-piece ABS plastic that turns your truck bed into a secure, water-tight compartment.
Tonneau Cover Gas Mileage Myth
There are a lot of claims about tonneau covers improving fuel economy, and the simple truth of the matter is that they DO improve gas mileage, but not enough to justify the expense of a tonneau cover all by itself. We analyzed the tonneau cover gas mileage claims and came to the conclusion that tonneau covers may help improve gas mileage, but only marginally so, and only in very specific circumstances. For most people most of the time, a tonneau cover isn’t going to improve gas mileage.
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