Toyota Tundra Tonneau Covers

Toyota Tundra tonneau cover options and advice

Tonneau cover options for the Toyota Tundra fall into three basic categories:

  1. Soft tonneau covers (usually made from vinyl or canvas) that do a decent job of protecting the bed but offer little or no security.
  2. One-piece tonneau covers (usually made from plastic or fiberglass) that are excellent at protecting the cargo in your Tundra’s bed. Unfortunately, these covers are usually heavy and/or bulky, which makes them more difficult to remove.
  3. Folding tonneau covers (usually made from ABS plastic) that combine the security of a solid tonneau cover with the easy removal of a soft tonneau.

What To Consider When Buying A Tonneau For Your Tundra

Do you need to secure cargo? Some people want a tonneau because they’re trying to add some lockable storage to their truck. Others want one to protect against the occasional rainstorm and aren’t concerned about locking things up.

If you need security, you want to focus on solid tonneaus only. Either one-piece or solid-folding, and obviously you’ll want to make sure it has built-in locks.

Should the tonneau be something you can take off and put on easily? If your truck rarely hauls cargo that won’t fit under a tonneau cover, you might not want to pay for a sophisticated folding tonneau option. If, on the other hand, you find yourself hauling tall cargo all the time, you need a tonneau that either uninstalls easily or folds up out of your way.

There are lots of tonneau cover companies, and just about all of them claim their tonneau comes off easily. We’ve found that folding tonneau covers are the easiest to remove – even easier than soft tonneau covers – so that would be the option we suggest if east removal is a concern.

Do you need something painted to match your truck? If the answer to this question is yes, it’s going to be easy to find the right tonneau because your choices are going to be limited to either a solid fiberglass toneau or a specially treated plastic tonneau.

Keep in mind – if you paint a black plastic tonneau, you might not like the durability of the finish. Plastic is notoriously difficult to paint, so think twice about going with fiberglass if you’re painting. There are dozens of fiberglass tonneau covers available – your local topper/camper shell dealer can help you find the right one.

Available Tonneau Covers For The Tundra

In alphabetical order, here the are the tonnea covers we have reviewed or written about:

BakFlip solid fold tonneau cover – Folding black plastic tonneau that has a unique locked position folded up against the cab when not in use.

Duracover solid ABS tonneau – We really like this cover, but unfortunately it’s no longer available.

Extang solid fold tonneau cover – Not quite as clever as the BakFlip cover, this is a nicely made solid ABS tonneau that has 3 sections that fold up and make removal very easy. Extang also makes a lighter-duty version of this tonneau with vinyl and aluminum panels instead of ABS plastic called the Extang Trifecta.

Official Toyota Tonneau Cover – Toyota’s official painted-to-match accessory is your best bet for a quality, color-matched solid tonneau cover. Unfortunately, it’s pretty pricey when compared to other tonneau covers on this list.

Undercover Tonneau Cover – Solid, one-piece ABS plastic that turns your truck bed into a secure, water-tight compartment.

Tonneau Cover Gas Mileage Myth

There are a lot of claims about tonneau covers improving fuel economy, and the simple truth of the matter is that they DO improve gas mileage, but not enough to justify the expense of a tonneau cover all by itself. We analyzed the tonneau cover gas mileage claims and came to the conclusion that tonneau covers may help improve gas mileage, but only marginally so, and only in very specific circumstances. For most people most of the time, a tonneau cover isn’t going to improve gas mileage.

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  1. Danny says:

    Just installed the G2 Bakflip about a week ago on my 2010 DC Tundra. Installation was easy and took about 15 minutes. No drilling required. It uses rails that are clamped to each of the bed rails amd the cover itself is clamped to the supplied rails. Each rail has drain channel that lead into a fairly large drain tube that you will need to route through your bed knockouts to exit the water. There are 2 generations of the G2. Generation 1 has laminated panels and Generation 2 had painted aluminum panels. Also, panel number 2 from the tailgate does not have a locking latch and its not completely waterproof as stated. i think the water came in around the tailgate area but as of right now, i am not exactly sure. Eventhough its rated at 250 pounds spreadout over the cover, i sure as heck would not stand or sit on it like the demo video shows. I do like the bed cover and it functions as they say it does. Make sure you properly secure all clamps and bolts, because i didnt and it shifted on a bumpy road and slightly canted itself making it impossibe to close because it no longer lined up with the bedrails. Mine was delivered with a defect that i fixed so quality control was on break when it was made. It is a nice, functional cover but i dont think it was worth the $665 dollars I paid for it. I hope someone finds this review helpful. Oh, you must shut the tailgate first, then close the tailgate and you can not open the cover without opening the tailgate first.

  2. Jason (Admin) says:

    Danny – Thank you very much for the review.

  3. Dominic says:

    Danny, that’s a pretty good price for the G2. Just wondering where you bought it, as I’m currently shopping for one myself. Thanks a lot.

  4. Danny says:

    Dominic,
    i picked mine up on ebay. there are several sellers that sell it new on ebay. that price included shipping. i’ve had the G2 for a year now and it still works fine. i still think its over priced but its functionality is great. had to pick up new king size mattress and box springs for my brother. just folded up the G2 and loaded the cargo. just remember when you fold the g2 all the way to the front of the bed, your visibility out your back window is now zero.

  5. RIck H. says:

    Cannot put vinyl cover on in cold weather any suggestions?

    • Ross says:

      I just installed the Peragon folding cover and while it was WAY complicated to install the struts, it is a great cover. If you ask around lots of people who have them have coupons that will get you a discount.

  6. Toyrulz says:

    I have BakFlip on Gen1 DC for about 4 years and it is holding up well. Where I too thought it overprices and a bit “cheap” when I got it – it has worked well and is near as good today as it was then.

    I had to move Queen Size mat/boxspring with a full load of other stuff in rain – I put cargo under cover, closed it and put bagged mat/box flat on top and strapped into stake pockets for 3+ hours of highway – was awesome.

    I loved that it was 0-profile (my neighbour never knew I even had a cover) and that it did not block stake holes – always meant to put rail bars on and never did.

    When all up – it protects rear glass while loading – stray firewood throws don’t end up in back seat 🙂

    Kids love to play on top of cover – but at age 7 – my oldest is big enough to scare me as the panels deflect a lot.

    Water does get in a little – but I think 99% is from tailgate – has not bothered me enough to buy/install a tailgate seal – whick I recomend if you want dry cargo hold with any tonneau.

    I now have trifecta on Gen2 and miss my BackFlip’s one pull to open and then it opens all the way to get to front of box that remains covered on trifecta as last panel is fixed. Problem is – due to purchase of Gen2 Tundra – no money left to buy pricey BakFlip and Trifecta came with truck is serving the purpose so accountant will not bless the change.

  7. Steve Hain says:

    Great post, enjoyed the read. I just installed a Fold-a-Cover hard tonneau cover on my Tundra last week. I didn’t see it listed here, but it really met my needs as to what I was looking for in a tonneau cover.

  8. AKD says:

    Will the deck rail system installed in my tundra get int the way of a retractable tonneau cover?

  9. Ross says:

    The deck rail system is removed when installing the Peragon cover. I had a buddy install the rails on the floor; one each side and at the front. They get in the way a little bit so I have to be a little careful but I’m able to tie things down easily.

  10. Sara says:

    Hi, I want to say that there is another kind of solid folding tonneau cover, it is DBT Tonneau cover.

    1. You can haul tall cargo without uninstall the cover,
    2. You can paint any color as you like, because the material is same as the truck body.
    3. It is lockable,durable.

    I saw a white Tundra with this perfect DBT Tonneau cover

  11. Sara says:

    Hi George,

    Just come back from our New Year Holiday!

    The warranty period of the components is 3 years. Because the material and the production technology is same as the pickup truck body’s, the covers lifespan is supposed to be same as the pickup truck.

    If you want to know more information about this tonneau cover, please feel free to contact me.

    Best regards,
    Sara

  12. Mark says:

    It’s kind of funny how many people believe the gas mileage aerodynamic thing. Maybe if we were racing in Nascar, then it might make a huge difference. But there’s been studies disproving it has enough impact to be worthwhile.

  13. Erica says:

    I am using Premium TCD371011 Tri Fold Tonneau Cover. Tonneau cover are not waterproof but this cover can stop leakage of water because it don’t need any drilling for installation. It comes with 10 year warranty.

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