Tonneau Cover(s)

From : dr politiko

Q: hi folks i was wondering if i could get some advice/feedback/opinions on which tonneau cover is best for a dodge ram 1500 quad cab 4x4 short box. there are 3 choices as far as i can see fabric cover just doesnt do it for me 1. fibreglass cover - one large piece 2. fibreglass cover - 3-door large rear door and two small flaps on either side of cab 3. folding aluminum cover. assuming money was no object which is the best of the three in terms of functionality which is the best what are the pros and cons of each id love to hear some honest opinions based on experience and what other truck owners have said. each of the above is a big investment and yet all three are quite different. thanks for all your opinions in advance. best regards the dr. .

Replies:

From : esee

ive got a pace edwards trac-top rolling tonneau like a big window blind http//www.truckaddons.com/catalog/subpages/paceedwards1.aspgtse=goog&gtkw=pace+edwards its great closes quickly and locks shut like a huge trunk combined with my tailgate lock. only penalty is it takes up a foot of cargo space when installed but its worth it because you only miss the space when you load ridiculously large items on the upper half of the box well worth the loss for the convenience. its also relatively water tight. hi folks i was wondering if i could get some advice/feedback/opinions on which tonneau cover is best for a dodge ram 1500 quad cab 4x4 short box. there are 3 choices as far as i can see fabric cover just doesnt do it for me 1. fibreglass cover - one large piece 2. fibreglass cover - 3-door large rear door and two small flaps on either side of cab 3. folding aluminum cover. assuming money was no object which is the best of the three in terms of functionality which is the best what are the pros and cons of each id love to hear some honest opinions based on experience and what other truck owners have said. each of the above is a big investment and yet all three are quite different. thanks for all your opinions in advance. best regards the dr. .

From : yonzie

16581a3a.0311141631.1f998a5f@posting.google.com dr. politiko drpolitiko@hotmail.com wrote hi folks i was wondering if i could get some advice/feedback/opinions on which tonneau cover is best for a dodge ram 1500 quad cab 4x4 short box. there are 3 choices as far as i can see fabric cover just doesnt do it for me 1. fibreglass cover - one large piece 2. fibreglass cover - 3-door large rear door and two small flaps on either side of cab 3. folding aluminum cover. assuming money was no object which is the best of the three in terms of functionality which is the best what are the pros and cons of each id love to hear some honest opinions based on experience and what other truck owners have said. each of the above is a big investment and yet all three are quite different. thanks for all your opinions in advance. best regards the dr. get the pace edwards www.paceedwards.com its a rollup cover works great and have had no problems. dale .

From : Annonymouspaul johnson

1st off youll loose low end power. i got mine duals exiting at the stock locationlooks better to me than out the back. on fri 14 nov 2003 052046 gmt esee ectwo@shaw.ca wrote does anyone know what length exhaust tips a 2001 dakota can accept12 18 22 im looking to do a dual exhaust on my 4.7l dakota 2.5inch in dual 2.5inch out with 3 or 4 exhaust tips exiting behind the tires i still think the duals out back is cool but its starting to get old around these parts. .

From : paul johnson

16581a3a.0311141631.1f998a5f@posting.google.com dr. politiko drpolitiko@hotmail.com wrote ... i was wondering if i could get some advice/feedback/opinions on which tonneau cover is best for a dodge ram 1500 quad cab 4x4 short box. .... id love to hear some honest opinions based on experience and what other truck owners have said. each of the above is a big investment and yet all three are quite different. get the pace edwards www.paceedwards.com its a rollup cover works great and have had no problems. my experience with a pace edwards roll-top wasnt great. i had one put on in 95 on my new ram 2500. i thought it would be great to be able to have it 1/3 closed when pulling my fifth-wheel so i could have some covered carrying space. wrong! it fluttered and hammered so bad that i only drove a few miles before i gave up and opened it completely to keep from tearing it apart. i have certainly not found it to be reasonably water-tight. i could only carry things that wouldnt be hurt if they got wet. i also found that i couldnt run with my sliding back glass open because the damned roll-top made so much noise fluttering and chattering. my son finally got the thing jammed in its tracks so badly that he popped it out of the tracks. i had to basically destroy the thing to get it apart so i took it off. paul johnson .

From : jr

i have none of the above on my dakota. i just went to local auto interior guy and he got a nice piece of vinyl covered material and mounted directly to the bed with snaps. first one lasted 9.5 years on my 93 before shrinkage caused a few tears. just armor-alld it top and around the snaps. it did cause a little wear on the top of the bed on the paint. looked good being black on red truck with some spars. i have a fiberglass one my lightning and dont like it much. tends to squeak hinges and latches - needs wd40 once a month and when i have something tall to haul cant do it without removing the cover which takes two people. also where the clamps are on the top of the bed the small adhesive foam that was added is squirting out. although upside is you can lock stuff in it. it also obvisouly weights more than a piece of material if thats a problem for performance. i recommend if you do get a fiberglass one is to send ur gas fill cover out to the company to do the color match. no matter how many sample color chips i could not find a real good match. have fun jr on 14 nov 2003 163118 -0800 drpolitiko@hotmail.com dr. politiko wrote hi folks i was wondering if i could get some advice/feedback/opinions on which tonneau cover is best for a dodge ram 1500 quad cab 4x4 short box. there are 3 choices as far as i can see fabric cover just doesnt do it for me 1. fibreglass cover - one large piece 2. fibreglass cover - 3-door large rear door and two small flaps on either side of cab 3. folding aluminum cover. assuming money was no object which is the best of the three in terms of functionality which is the best what are the pros and cons of each id love to hear some honest opinions based on experience and what other truck owners have said. each of the above is a big investment and yet all three are quite different. thanks for all your opinions in advance. best regards the dr. .

From : jim

hi folks i was wondering if i could get some advice/feedback/opinions on which tonneau cover is best for a dodge ram 1500 quad cab 4x4 short box. there are 3 choices as far as i can see fabric cover just doesnt do it for me 1. fibreglass cover - one large piece 2. fibreglass cover - 3-door large rear door and two small flaps on either side of cab 3. folding aluminum cover. assuming money was no object which is the best of the three in terms of functionality which is the best what are the pros and cons of each id love to hear some honest opinions based on experience and what other truck owners have said. each of the above is a big investment and yet all three are quite different. thanks for all your opinions in advance. best regards the dr. ======= i had an extang tonno on my 97 dakota and was well satisfied with it. it had the continuous closure not individual snaps. it was not removed during cold weather but i had a hook on a stick i used to retrive boxes w/o removing the cover. i recently switched to a used cap to increase my load height and miss the nice looks and visibility of the tonno. please dont reply by email as it will just get dumped. jim .

From : iron mike

curmudgeon wrote i doubt seriously that the garage would have to be reframed for roll up door. the tracks are simply attached to joists with straping for the most part. wont cost a dime to get a garage door company to come out and give you an estimate. i think im going to call one tomorrow. i saw how they did anothers roll-up and attached with the hangers and braces to the rafters. didnt look to scary. might be safer to get another 4-6 inches of clearance with a roll up. bp .

From : iron mike

i bought a glasstite fiberglass cover and like it a lot. the biggest factor is how you use your truck. 1. if you haul a lot of big stuff furniture or bulk stuff mulch dirt etc something that removes easy is your best bet roll-up or vinyl snap type. 2. if security is an issue either the fiberglass or roll-up. the glasstite is removeable with two people. the benefit of the glasstite is the frame stays on the truck so when you put it back on it is already lined up. the downfall is you have to take it off before you leave to pick up your load i.e. think ahead otherwise your screwed. the color matched perfectly from the paint code on the truck. good luck. ironmike hi folks i was wondering if i could get some advice/feedback/opinions on which tonneau cover is best for a dodge ram 1500 quad cab 4x4 short box. there are 3 choices as far as i can see fabric cover just doesnt do it for me 1. fibreglass cover - one large piece 2. fibreglass cover - 3-door large rear door and two small flaps on either side of cab 3. folding aluminum cover. assuming money was no object which is the best of the three in terms of functionality which is the best what are the pros and cons of each id love to hear some honest opinions based on experience and what other truck owners have said. each of the above is a big investment and yet all three are quite different. thanks for all your opinions in advance. best regards the dr. .

From : dh

hi folks i was wondering if i could get some advice/feedback/opinions on which tonneau cover is best for a dodge ram 1500 quad cab 4x4 short box. there are 3 choices as far as i can see fabric cover just doesnt do it for me 1. fibreglass cover - one large piece 2. fibreglass cover - 3-door large rear door and two small flaps on either side of cab 3. folding aluminum cover. assuming money was no object which is the best of the three in terms of functionality which is the best what are the pros and cons of each id love to hear some honest opinions based on experience and what other truck owners have said. each of the above is a big investment and yet all three are quite different. thanks for all your opinions in advance. best regards the dr. i can speak from experience about the 3-door gull-wing fiberglass model i had on a 2000 dakota quad cab. great cover. its advantage was that i could store things in the front of the bed and have access with the forward gull-wing doors/flaps. the disadvantage was that each of the three covers had its own lock. when camping for example i seemed to spend endless amounts of time unlocking and locking the locks! the best looking of the tonneau covers however no doubt about it. but i soon tired of the locking and unlocking thing. recently i bought an 04 dodge ram. this time i did the more sensible thing and got the one-piece fiberglass model. not quite as snazzy looking but it will certainly serve the purpose and it looks better and is more durable than the vinyl or folding aluminum covers. whatever you do pick only the one that best serves your own particular needs. dh .

From : hood

daguy daguy@hereitis.net writes it also appears that the powertrain warranty has changed. according to the press release starting with the new engine the powertrain warranty will be 7/100. my 03 ho has the 7/100. 7/70 on the drivetrain. aw .