I recently researched tonneau covers for my '05 Dakota until I was blue in the face. I'm curious to hear about everyone else's experience with them, and what the preference is for Dodge trucks. Initially, I desired SnugTop's new F2 lid, however, an inquiry to the company resulted in disappointment. There currently aren't any plans to make that lid for the '05 / '06 Dakota, although, I suspect it will eventually surface.

Scott
Oakland, CA

 

Hello Scott, Welcome to DF. Should post your poll in the Dakota forum off of the main page. Will get more responses from fellow Dakota Owners.

 

Welcome to the site. My personal preference and what I will be going with when I get one is the retractable. They're hard and lockable so you can get a locking tailgate handle. Then you don't have to worry about someone stealing anything out of it. Also they're not like the vinyl ones that dry rot or some one can slash. Plus if you have to haul something higher than the bed rails all you have to do is roll it up like a garage door and you're good to go. They are a little pricey but I think its worth it. Good luck with your decision.

 

I like the soft roll type, Extang makes a cover called the Black Max... its a beauty!

take a look at their site if you haven't already..... www.extang.com

 

Thanks all for the info! Good advice / direction! Also appreciate the move of this post, made sense. ;-p

I ended up ordering the Undercover by VersaCover (www.undercoverinfo.com). I was able to find it for $649, including shipping (freight), and no tax @ www.truckaddons.com.

Reasons for my decision included:

- Hard shell (black only)
- Over the rail
- 2 locks
- ONLY 58lbs (full size truck)
- boltless installation - remove and reinstall in minutes
- Tough (check out the photo of the hockey team standing on it)

I did learn from other owners that it includes a light inside, although, they don't mention it on their web site. They also don't highlight that it may not work well with standard bed liners and to check with them --- spray in are fine though. Looks promising - especially for the price! The fact that its only 58 lbs and [sm=violent053.gif]tough as nails is what sold me. It should arrive tomorrow, so I'll let y'all know!

Scott

 

that's A LOT of money....could've gotten a tonneau EASILY for under or around $200

but hey it's your truck

 

Thanks snobrdrdan, I did see several other options in that price range, but was really impressed by this lid. The fiberglass are way too expensive ($900-$1200) for what you get, in my opinion. Their biggest plus is the paint to match, but I found this to be a nice "middle of the road" option. I do plan on beating the hell out of it, so soft top didn't seem like the way to go. Just don't tell the wife... ;-p

 

Ohh....I thought that you bought yourself a paint to match fiberglass tonneau because the price of $650 is where a fiberglass tonneau usually starts at or around

I just checked out the cover you bought....it definitely looks cool/neat, but I don't think it's worth near $650 for it

But enjoy!

 

Up here the Access soft roll-up tonneaus from Agri-Cover are very popular. It helps that the company's based out of ND. They seem to take snow and wind loading quite well.

 

I live in Oakland, CA where everything is way overpriced, unfortunatetly. Thank god for the Internet. One clown wanted $1400 for one of the higher-end fiberglass lids, where a similar place 60 miles away said $900 for the same thing. I hung up. I agree $650 is no pocket change, but given everything it seemed compatible with my vehicle/desires/needs. I grew up in Michigan, and my father-in law who works at the Chrysler proving grounds in Chelsea offered to get me a fiberglass for around $600 through Dodge (discount included), but it then had to be shipped and so forth. OK, enough rambling on my part. ;-)

I'm home now waiting for it to be delivered.