tonneau cover or topper?

[DRH1175]

I picked up my new f150 this weekend. I want to put something over the bed to protect my fishing and hunting stuff. For most things I can see myself using my truck for I think a tonneau would work. Esspecially for the times I want to haul the wheeler. But for a few hunting trips a topper may be nice. What to do???? The tonneau is half the price of the topper. Any suggestions?

[fishing tech]

Topper. borrow or buy a trailor for the wheeler.

What kind of F150?

[MJ1657]

I always had tonneau covers and thought that was the way to go and I would'nt like a topper. I bought my latest pick up used and it had a nice Leer topper on it. I don't think I could ever be without a topper again.

[TravP]

If all your stuff fits under a tonneau cover, then tonneau cover all the way. If I wanted a topper I would have bought a tahoe instead of a silverado.

[CAMAN]

Agree with TravP

I've got an ARE Fiberglass Toneau on my truck and love it. Just wish mine had a quick release to take it on/off easily if I needed to haul bigger things, but it gets me out of helping buddies haul their junk around, so it's not all bad.

[Ryan_V]

I have both! Only use the topper for ice fishing.... It does hurt your milage somewhat. If I had to pick one, it would be tonneau fo sho!

[TR21HP]

There is a hardtop cover out there that folds on itself to give you the best of both worlds. I saw it at the Sport Show but couldn't tell you who the manufacturer is.

[MNice]

I have an access roll up, and 95% of the time I love it. 5% I would like a topper for trips and such. No matter what, you will always have that dang 5%.

[SkunkedAgain]

I have an access roll up, and 95% of the time I love it. 5% I would like a topper for trips and such. No matter what, you will always have that dang 5%.

+1

[randerson]

I have had both for the past couple years I find with my new truck its gonna be hard to take off the topper and put my tonneau back on because off the times you need that extra hight and the security of the topper. If you do go soft cover the Access is the best on the market in my opinion and I have been in the aftermarket biz for the past 12 years

[mnguy152]

access is the best I have had mine for about 6 years and still looks as good as the day i bought it

[DRH1175]

I have a 2011 supercrew 6.5' box. It has the ecoboost. I am looking at the Access for a soft, Bak industries for a folding hard or the Leer for a topper. Do toppers cut your mileage down that much? Idealy I would like a topper. as they are so versatile and I could even sleep in the back of the truck with one on a mattress if needed. The bed is quite deep on my new truck. I should easily be able to get my fish trap, auger and all my ice fishing goodies under the tonneau. I do have a trailer for my wheeler. But I also have a travel trailer that I will be pulling on some hunting trips. If I am taking the wheeler I would need to put it in the truck.

[Eckie]

access is the best I have had mine for about 6 years and still looks as good as the day i bought it

+1

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I have a 2011 supercrew 6.5' box. It has the ecoboost. I am looking at the Access for a soft, Bak industries for a folding hard or the Leer for a topper. Do toppers cut your mileage down that much? Idealy I would like a topper. as they are so versatile and I could even sleep in the back of the truck with one on a mattress if needed. The bed is quite deep on my new truck. I should easily be able to get my fish trap, auger and all my ice fishing goodies under the tonneau. I do have a trailer for my wheeler. But I also have a travel trailer that I will be pulling on some hunting trips. If I am taking the wheeler I would need to put it in the truck.

I just put on the BakFlip G2, along with the BakBox. It is a SLICK setup! I wanted to go with a folding hard cover for the extra security. I routinely have $2-4k in "stuff" in the box. It would take a bit of time, and at least a crow bar to get in to this. I'll try to take some pictures tonight.

I had Access on my last 2 trucks, and don't really have anything bad to say. It worked great, and the price wasn't bad at $400.

[TooTallTom]

I have a topper. I really like to be able to put a lot of stuff inside, since it's both realtively secure and out of the elements.

If I need to move something big, five minutes, two wrenches and someone to lift the other side is about all it takes to get the thing off. But it's only on an S-10, so YMMV.

I get about 16 MPG in the winter, and 19 MPG in ideal (summer, highway, no big headwind) conditions with the topper on. I've never checked with it off.

[PurpleFloyd]

I have never had either before but when i bought my current truck last year I knew i needed one or the other and in the end bought the topper so i can put more tools in there when needed and also so the dogs can go in there during hunting season. So far I have yet to find a reason to take it off.

[landscaper]

for everyone who has a topper..........How is it for backing up? Seeing out the back??

ALso do they seal up good..no wind/snow swirling around and getting in??

I have a tonneau on my ranger now....since the bed sides are not that tall it is kinda hard for hauling stuff. for my next truck--f150 i am kinda thinking about a LEER or ARE topper.

DRH1175

Do you have any pictures of your truck? I am thinking about getting the same thing ECOBOOST AND 6.5 but maybe in the FX4 model?

Hows ECO BOOST?

[hanson]

I've got a 10 year old Access cover on my 99 GMC Sierra. Velcro is still good and it looks and works like the day I bought it. Shoot, and I bought it dirt cheap off bayE as well. This is one of those products you wonder about why other folks promote an alternative?? IMO... it can't be topped. Most folks won't own their trucks long enough to see an Access cover fail.

[MJ1657]

for everyone who has a topper..........How is it for backing up? Seeing out the back??

ALso do they seal up good..no wind/snow swirling around and getting in??

I have a tonneau on my ranger now....since the bed sides are not that tall it is kinda hard for hauling stuff. for my next truck--f150 i am kinda thinking about a LEER or ARE topper.

I back with mirrors so a topper does not make any difference to me. I can't see where a topper would make it any more difficult as long as it has windows on all four sides.

I don't get any rain or snow coming in.

[BoxMN]

I have had toppers on last two trucks - that spans 20+ years. Current truck is 98 chev with a topper the same year. Still looks new even with tree branch scuffs from driving logging trails. I use to want the "empty truck" look, but after having topper, I now like the look of toppers better and can't honestly imagine not having one, just too convenient.

For backing, it is piece of cake. I use mirrors some, but usually turn around and look through it when backing boat down. I do open the rear window usually, mainly because the glass is tinted and it just helps to see a bit better. As far as seeing, I can parallel park in downtown St. Paul no prob, and I usually "back" into my parking spots, so no prob at all IMHO.

Regarding how tight they are - mine is 13 years old, and no moisture gets past the windows, none under the cover/over the bed rail. Only a few spaces right where the side of rear window latches by tailgate. With that said, I take it trough pressure car wash and never more than little wet area right by the tailgate afterward, but a little squeaks through. They are tight, and now they use a better seal under then than when I put mine on - my neighbor just got a nice Leer.

FWIW, here are the options to not go without:

side "contractor" window, lets you access from the side and still looks good.

flip down window - so you can clean "outside" of front topper window

carpeted inside - keeps noise down and looks good

at least one screen window if you have dogs - i have one side window and one big screen and it has worked great for my dogs to keep flow through there

LED lights for inside

As said, it "could" come off easily if needed, but I honestly have rarely felt a need, other than if you buy a queen or king sized bed. For that or other stuff, I have a trailer which I find works better. My brother likes NO topper, and that is cool, he has Backflip... but if it ever has rain in forcast or we need to bring bunch of stuff, we take my truck, as that Backflip has broken more times than I care to remember (it flipped up once on i94 and we thought someone shot out our back window, ha!), and it is not waterproof or even water resistent after a few years, but it holds up a snow load well.

Good luck, each persons take is different which is good.

edit - oh yeah, I ramble all the time, sorry for long post

[randerson]

Topper give you better mileage than no cover at all but I think I get a touch better mileage with my access cover versus my topper. Both are going to be pretty weather tight I would recommend going with a tailgate seal with both and that should keep you relatively dry. Just be glad you didn't purchase a new GM 07+ they have a lot of holes in the bed and once a cover of some sort goes on the dust is unbearable ( negative air pressure in box, making a vacuum ) with out the Access Total Bed seal but hey at least there truck box is lighter than every one else's "lol"

[TooTallTom]

Mythbusters did a segment on truck beds and gas mileage. If I remember correctly, the best mileage was with no cover, tailgate up. Apparently it creates a vortex that pushes on the back of the cab, kind of like your own little tailwind. I don't have any recollection of how the other options fared...

[randerson]

MB did do a deal on milage unfortunately they really didn't use normal speeds if i remember right I think they did there test at 35 mph

[SkunkedAgain]

Mythbusters did a segment on truck beds and gas mileage. If I remember correctly, the best mileage was with no cover, tailgate up. Apparently it creates a vortex that pushes on the back of the cab, kind of like your own little tailwind. I don't have any recollection of how the other options fared...

Agreed, I remember that one well. They tested tailgate up versus tailgate down. When the tailgate was laid down, air pushed down on the back of the truck creating drag. When the tailgate was up in the closed position, it created a circular wind ball that pushed most of the air over the vehicle and made it more aerodynamic. I don't remember them addressing toppers and covers.

[TooTallTom]

Details, details. Don't you drive everywhere at 35 mph?

I didn't remember that part of the test, thanks for the tip.