Hey everyone! I'm posting another product review on the forums, as I think sharing information about actual product experience is important for a community. I found it nearly impossible to find any information anywhere on peoples ACTUAL experiences with products, so I'm sharing them here. I have a product review on here for HERC-U-LINER do it yourself bedliner, and here's another product I recently acquired:

AGRI-COVER LITE RIDER TONNEAU COVER



As with all products I purchased, I began researching my options online. I couldn't find any personal experiences anywhere regarding tonneau covers, however I found tons of informational media from a variety of different companies for tonneaus. I actually saw the agri-cover due to an advertisement here on the dodge forums. I checked it out, and it seemed quite functional. It had what I needed, appeared interesting, and looked pretty good. The price tag took me back a bit, as the lowest cost model ran around $400. I began researching alternatives and was unable to find another tonneau cover that seemed to have the features this tonneau cover has.

Other tonneau covers featured a variety of problems, that don't exist with this tonneau cover. Some were fabric pieces that you had to attach with metal snaps, which is a time consuming process, and in cold weather a real pain in the ***. They also required that pieces of metal or wood be placed accross the bed, adding even more time and hassle into the proces of taking the tonneau cover off or putting it on. The largest hasle I forsaw, was that once all of these annoying pieces were removed, they had to be stored somewhere, taking up space in the very truck bed you just sought to free up. Overall, no other product I saw compared, although those products were significantly cheaper.

The agri-cover options appeared the best to me, as they were incredibly easy to take on or off. Removal was as simple as rolling the cover up, and fastening the rolled up beundle right behind the cabin of the truck! Application was just as easy, requiring minimal work, and being something one person could easily do in under a minute of time. It's kind of funny actually, because the agri-cover webpage features big boobed women putting the cover on and taking it off, and my girlfriend laughed about how much that marketed to men. The funny part though is, as soon as installed the thing my girlfriend mimic'd the video as a joke, and still managed to put the cover on and remove it all by herself in under a minute!

I personally acquired the tonneau cover for $368, about $32 below the listed price on the agri-cover webpage. At first I was a bit pissed, as no where would even match agri-cover's webpage, and infact most places quoed me $100 more! When I told them the webpage was $100 cheaper they gave me some bull**** story about how agri-cover sells factory direct and they couldn't hope to match the price. In the end I found a sales manager's email address for one such business I contactedd, and told him I wanted the agric-cover lite rider for my truck, and I wanted it for $350. He gave me the price above in seconds, which is $132 below their original quote!

IMPORTANT NOTE: There are a lot of different models, and some are more expensive then others. The webpage is a bit cryptic about just what the differences are between the access and the literider, which is odd considering there is a $100 price difference. My question was finally answered in full when I called a customer service representative:

The access features larger dials for the cover tension, and features different placement for the cover ties. It also features an additional clamp per side to hold the side rails on. However, this doesn't influence performance, and everything on the Agri-cover lite-rider is guaranteed for life (as is the acecss model). So, choose for yourself what interested you, but allow me to say that the lite-rider model is pretty much the same exact thing, for $100 less.

Installation: Installing the cover was actually quite easy. I enlisted a bit of help from my girlfriend, andwithout even having all of the tools recommended in the directions the cover was installed perfectly, and looking great. After doing the instillation myself I definitely recommend acquiring a pair of spring clamps like the directions say, however it isn't nescessary and can be done without them!




MORE TO COME IN THE MONTHS THAT FOLLOW:

A lot of review goes into a product like this. Everyone states that you get better highway milage with a tonneau cover, and even the agri-cover webpage states that you get a milage increase. Interestingly enough Agri-covers webpage features a calcutlar for how much you'll save, however they do not directly tell you what milage difference to expect. Another important factor is durability. How will this sucker hold up after being removed time after time after time. How will it handle being in the sun for prolonged periods of time?

All these questions and more to be answered in the months that follow. Be sure to check back for a further review.

 

Okay, just a quick update!


So far I really like the product. It's exactly what I need on my truck. It offers lots of flexibility for different situations, and works great. In situations where items slightly exceed the height of the cover it actually goes right over them to accomodate them.

I do have one issue with this product, and it's that it isn't fully waterproof without purchasing additional products. There is a gap right by the cab, that lets water in. Since this is also a low pressure zone it sucks water in. Agri-cover makes an additional product to help combat this, but I gotta say that it's kind of a scam to make extra money. They sell an incomplete product for which additional purchases must be made to acheive what is considered standard functionality for such a product.

I have no report yet on a milage gain. I've been doing all city milage, so there is no accurate way to tell if this is influencing anything. I will be doing a pure highway drive to seattle and back soon though, during which I should be able to accurately determine if this product is helping or not.

 

Just a thought, but you might want to include a link or two to the web-site.

http://www.agricover.com/

Also, you have some falsehoods in your review. You said:

There are no good pics of big-boobed women. You should know better than to state something like that if the pics aren't at least 1024x768!!!

 

Just a quick note on the company. I live about 30 miles from the Agricover plant (i'm just in the next town down the interstate). I drive by it probably once a month or so at least. Anyway, just wanted to say that Agricover has a pretty good rep around here as a decent company. I can't speak from personal experience about thier service/support, but I've heard good things from family/friends that live in that neck of the woods.

But the comments you make about the incomplete product are unfortunatly true. I agree with your opinion...just another way companies feel they have to make money I guess. They certainly aren't the only ones pulling that crap for sure.

just my two cents.

 

I have one of these on my 2000 CC Dakota. It's wonderful! Well worth the money. Mine is now 3 years old, and looks really good. Of course, the truck is garaged most of the time, which helps keep vinyl looking new.

I don't have too much of an issue with the leaking, because I didn't buy it to seal the bed. I could probably seal it with some non-permanent window sealant, but I don't mind the little water that does enter the truck...which is usually contained to the very front of the bed, right where the drains are anyway.