Thinking about a tonneau cover or cap or something to cover the 5'3" bed on my 2002 Dakota Quad cab. What are you using and do you recommend it? Pictures would be nice.

 

I have a Pace Edwards Jack Rabbit on the Ram and love it. If I could find one used for the Dak, I wouldn't hesitate to snag it.

 

I have a vinyl tri-fold, unknown brand, that I removed from mine. It was OK for keeping a load dry, but not secure and not watertight. I wound up removing it because it was usuallyin the way, and since it wasn't secure I didn't feel comfortable leaving anything in it. My dad, on the other hand, had a hard cover on his Chevy, and while he liked being able to lock things in the bed he didn't like how it made the bed useless for anything higher than the bed cover. And, it was too heavy to remove by himself. He had a second truck for carrying loads because of it.

 

That is exactly what i love about the jack rabbit cover... rolls up into the box for full bed use

 

Don't know the make of mine, but it's a vinyl cover with aluminium bars, i can rol it up to the front and secure it there to have full acces to the bed.
I prefer this style of cover for the same reason, i still have full acces if needed.

Mine's probably 20 years old, and the sides are closed with velco from front to back, this isn't sticking anymore, because what seems to me, the vinyl is hardened and crimped a little over the years.
The latch to hook it on when you roll it up to the front is touching the cab while driving and leaves some scratches, so it ain't perfect and because of the crimp and sides don't seal off like supposed to, there's a little water coming in with heavy rain.
I did made a doorlatch actuator in the tailgate so the bed will be locked when i lock my doors.

I had a chevy with a hard cover and had the same feelings like Vimes dad.

I do have a bed slide also, and than there's very little you can carry or you have to open the cover.

So al depends on the use of the bed, foldable is much easier, hard cover is better looking and probably a bit more secure.

 

I see these caps on craigslist every now and then. Personally I like my bed open and ready to have stuff thrown in.

 

Leaning toward a vinyl tonneau (roll up or folding) just because of cost but I do like the cap idea as well (If I can find a reasonably priced used one). I have a 2500 HD company truck that I drive daily and other dump trucks at my disposal so I have that option if I need to haul anything major.

 

I have the Rugged Cover Premium vinyl tri-fold on my dak and love it. However, the front third does not fold up against the cab like the aluminum tri-folds.