'99 Dakota - Tonneau Covers

From : ray s nayda katzaman

Q: getting ready to buy a tonneau cover for my dakota - 6.5 foot bed . i am undecided between the folding tonneau cover and the fiberglass cover price is not a factor since it will be a gift from my daughters. question is how water tight are they will be toting stuff that i dont want to be damaged by water. and last question on the folding cover - how noisy are they thanks in advance ray === .

Replies:

From : jim

ray ive used an extang tonno on my 97 dakota from 97 to just recently when i bought a used cap. the extang has the continuous seal edge not snaps. it never leaked a drop but one should not plan on rolling and unrolling it if the temp is below about 45 or 50 degrees. i still have it and may put it back in service if/when i temporaily remove and store the cap. the cap is really nice when you need it but makes safely merging to the right much more difficult in heavy traffic. im trying to figure out how to put a flat mirror on the right side of the truck. jim -- bob i ordered the folding tonneau cover this morning from my local dodge dealer. im having installed next week. my main concern as i mentioned is water getting into the cargo. i am relocating to austin tx from the dc area in about 4 weeks and every time i have taken the drive to or from i get into some heavy showers - i dont expect this trip to be any different. i may place some 1 x 4 inch planks on the bottom of the bed to keep the boxes off the bed floor and dry something akin the flooring of wwii sub. thanks for your input. ray === bob champion wrote getting ready to buy a tonneau cover for my dakota - 6.5 foot bed . i am undecided between the folding tonneau cover and the fiberglass cover price is not a factor since it will be a gift from my daughters. question is how water tight are they will be toting stuff that i dont want to be damaged by water. and last question on the folding cover - how noisy are they thanks in advance ray === well ray.... i just installed a folding cover on my dak 99 cc 4x4 a couple of weeks ago and am very happy with it. i dont know if you could say it is water tight but it survived hurricane jaun last week and the cardboard boxes that i had put in the back were still just as dry as a bone. i dont find noise is a factor...eitther rolled up or snapped down. havent gone thru a winter yet so dont know how well it will standup to snow and ice load. people tell me the vinyl is tuff to stretch and snap down in the winter when its cold unless you can take the truck inside a heated garage. i thought about getting a hard cover and decided that i wanted the convenience of being able to carry tall/bulky stuff without having to either prop the cover up or removing it every time. the only disadvantage is that you cant lock the vinyl cover. i carry around a large padlocked & hinged rubbermaid box. i got one that fits under the cover and have attached a stainless steel aircraft type cable and lock it to one of the floor cleats in the bed. cheers bob from halifax nova scotia canada ########################################################### bob champion technical supervisor audio visual & photography faculty of architecture daltech dalhousie university formerly technical univ. of n.s. halifax nova scotia robert.champion@dal.ca 494-3256 .

From : tbonetbone

that is what it sounds like. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving question for the electric guys in the group. i pull the multi-function lever to switch from lo-lites to hi-lites and the lites go off. checked the head-lites and the filaments are ok could the lever be the problem thanks in advance ray === .

From : tbone

i guess that it depends on how often and when you intend or need to remove it. i personally like my rollback cover but i have the 8 bed and the half foot it uses up is not a big killer. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving getting ready to buy a tonneau cover for my dakota - 6.5 foot bed . i am undecided between the folding tonneau cover and the fiberglass cover price is not a factor since it will be a gift from my daughters. question is how water tight are they will be toting stuff that i dont want to be damaged by water. and last question on the folding cover - how noisy are they thanks in advance ray === .

From : paul coveyiron mike

i had the same problem in my 99 durango faulty switch that had to be replaced question for the electric guys in the group. i pull the multi-function lever to switch from lo-lites to hi-lites and the lites go off. checked the head-lites and the filaments are ok could the lever be the problem thanks in advance ray === .

From : bob champion

getting ready to buy a tonneau cover for my dakota - 6.5 foot bed . i am undecided between the folding tonneau cover and the fiberglass cover price is not a factor since it will be a gift from my daughters. question is how water tight are they will be toting stuff that i dont want to be damaged by water. and last question on the folding cover - how noisy are they thanks in advance ray === well ray.... i just installed a folding cover on my dak 99 cc 4x4 a couple of weeks ago and am very happy with it. i dont know if you could say it is water tight but it survived hurricane jaun last week and the cardboard boxes that i had put in the back were still just as dry as a bone. i dont find noise is a factor...eitther rolled up or snapped down. havent gone thru a winter yet so dont know how well it will standup to snow and ice load. people tell me the vinyl is tuff to stretch and snap down in the winter when its cold unless you can take the truck inside a heated garage. i thought about getting a hard cover and decided that i wanted the convenience of being able to carry tall/bulky stuff without having to either prop the cover up or removing it every time. the only disadvantage is that you cant lock the vinyl cover. i carry around a large padlocked & hinged rubbermaid box. i got one that fits under the cover and have attached a stainless steel aircraft type cable and lock it to one of the floor cleats in the bed. cheers bob from halifax nova scotia canada ########################################################### bob champion technical supervisor audio visual & photography faculty of architecture daltech dalhousie university formerly technical univ. of n.s. halifax nova scotia robert.champion@dal.ca 494-3256 .

From : ray s nayda katzaman

bob i ordered the folding tonneau cover this morning from my local dodge dealer. im having installed next week. my main concern as i mentioned is water getting into the cargo. i am relocating to austin tx from the dc area in about 4 weeks and every time i have taken the drive to or from i get into some heavy showers - i dont expect this trip to be any different. i may place some 1 x 4 inch planks on the bottom of the bed to keep the boxes off the bed floor and dry something akin the flooring of wwii sub. thanks for your input. ray === bob champion wrote getting ready to buy a tonneau cover for my dakota - 6.5 foot bed . i am undecided between the folding tonneau cover and the fiberglass cover price is not a factor since it will be a gift from my daughters. question is how water tight are they will be toting stuff that i dont want to be damaged by water. and last question on the folding cover - how noisy are they thanks in advance ray === well ray.... i just installed a folding cover on my dak 99 cc 4x4 a couple of weeks ago and am very happy with it. i dont know if you could say it is water tight but it survived hurricane jaun last week and the cardboard boxes that i had put in the back were still just as dry as a bone. i dont find noise is a factor...eitther rolled up or snapped down. havent gone thru a winter yet so dont know how well it will standup to snow and ice load. people tell me the vinyl is tuff to stretch and snap down in the winter when its cold unless you can take the truck inside a heated garage. i thought about getting a hard cover and decided that i wanted the convenience of being able to carry tall/bulky stuff without having to either prop the cover up or removing it every time. the only disadvantage is that you cant lock the vinyl cover. i carry around a large padlocked & hinged rubbermaid box. i got one that fits under the cover and have attached a stainless steel aircraft type cable and lock it to one of the floor cleats in the bed. cheers bob from halifax nova scotia canada ########################################################### bob champion technical supervisor audio visual & photography faculty of architecture daltech dalhousie university formerly technical univ. of n.s. halifax nova scotia robert.champion@dal.ca 494-3256 .

From : iron mike

i put a color matched fiberglass cover on mine and i love it. it has some nice seals to prevent the cargo from getting wet. if you buy one i recommend getting one that the frame stays on the truck when you remove the lid for easy reinstallation so your not messing around getting it lined up. i went with glasstite. the only downfall is you need two people to remove it and you have to know ahead of time to take if off. iron mike getting ready to buy a tonneau cover for my dakota - 6.5 foot bed . i am undecided between the folding tonneau cover and the fiberglass cover price is not a factor since it will be a gift from my daughters. question is how water tight are they will be toting stuff that i dont want to be damaged by water. and last question on the folding cover - how noisy are they thanks in advance ray === .

From : ray s nayda katzaman

iron mike thanks for the info on the fiberglass cover. unfortunately they dont make one in my color - amethyst. its that color that looks blue then black then like an eggplant purple. i went with the fold cover will have installed this coming wednesday. thanks ray === iron mike wrote i put a color matched fiberglass cover on mine and i love it. it has some nice seals to prevent the cargo from getting wet. if you buy one i recommend getting one that the frame stays on the truck when you remove the lid for easy reinstallation so your not messing around getting it lined up. i went with glasstite. the only downfall is you need two people to remove it and you have to know ahead of time to take if off. iron mike getting ready to buy a tonneau cover for my dakota - 6.5 foot bed . i am undecided between the folding tonneau cover and the fiberglass cover price is not a factor since it will be a gift from my daughters. question is how water tight are they will be toting stuff that i dont want to be damaged by water. and last question on the folding cover - how noisy are they thanks in advance ray === .