Can't decide, cap or tonneau?!

I'm looking to get something to provide weather and gear protection (locked) for my crewmax. I'm really on the fence for a tri-fold or a full cap.

Anyone here bought one, and then found themselves wishing they made a different decision?

Any advice would be great!

pic for attention.

 

tonneaus look cooler IMO

 

I have the rugged 2 tri fold and absolutely love it. It is water tight and can be removed in 2 seconds by just one person. I understand the need for some to have caps but I am not a big fan of them.

 

For me the topper was/is more practical. Especially on family road trips, or when we go skiing there is plenty of room to change and stay out of the wind.

 

I have a tonneau cover and it works great securing my stuff in the bed and locking it. When I do get serious about overlanding I might get a cap that has a window right behind the cab window that opens so I can climb from the cab to the bed without getting out of the truck and sleep in there. I would save more weight technically that way instead of a rack and RTT.

 

I had a Back-Flip tri-fold tonneau on my '14 DC longbed (sold in June). It was on there when I bought the truck so I have no clue how much they run for. I found it was marginally water-tight, but secure and durable. Hope that helps.

 

Had a cap on my Tacoma and just ordered an ARE Z series for my Tundra.

I like caps because they provide roof height shelter against rain and snow in addition to a secured bed. A tonneau is a bit more versatile for higher items, but in 15 years of cap ownership its only been an issue 2 or 3 times.

With a kid, a cap wins. Throw all their stuff back there and you don’t have to worry.

 

Cap is more practical, get the bells/whistles right away, store stuff with height protected from the elements. Tonneau keeps the truck look and costs less, unless a more costly DiamondBack you haul stuff on top. Cap and regular load, you may need stronger springs to prevent sag.

 

I had both 1st a Tonneau cover I liked it since I could easily take it off and haul big items. It was a great! I have since sold the Tonneau and purchased a ARE CX cap. I wanted a cap I could sleep in the bed of the truck. I also like having a hard shell on my truck. I have Yakima racks up top for my cargo box and hauling more mountain bikes. I do miss not being able to haul big items. I can take the topper off but not really interested in doing that. I did notice a small improvement in mpg and the looks of the truck are badass. Since you have CM you have to sleep horizontal but can be done, if you want to sleep in the bed of the turck. Hard call but I vote for Cap, but in the end look at what your priorities are, caps are not cheap.

 

Does it lock?

 

The tonneau cover is secured with clamps on the inside of the bed. As long as your tailgate is locked your cargo is secured inside.

 

Had a nice tonneau but switched to a ARE topper. I can actually take it off and on by myself but person is better. I've always preferred a topper for many of the reasons already mentioned above.

 

Topper all the way. I’ve got a small utility trailer for anything big. Trucks too high to easily get anything heavy up in there anyway.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. Quite a bit of camper shell fans here. Still researching.

 

I've had a Leer 100XR on my Tacoma since 2012 and it's been awesome. Ideal for camping and as was said, perfect for a family, gear, and ski stuff. Dog rides with us, so everything goes in the back. Pop N Lock on the lift gate and integrated and protected with a security system. Thule racks and trays for the bikes. I've never taken it off and it doesn't leak. Bed rug makes it easy to crawl around, and it's pretty comfy back there.

But, if I had to buy something right now for my 2018 Tundra, it would probably be the UnderCover Ridgelander with bike trays. I've gone back and forth with this decision. For me, it comes down to the sight lines. The shell will impede your ability to see back there. I alternate between trucks and the Tundra, although huge, feels smaller than it should. With another 100XR (with windoors this time), the Tundra would feel like a tank. Might be fine though. Not sure yet. I'll make the decision when I reach maximum frustration with the lack of internal storage.

 

I used to say a cap was for old men and I would never have one. Then I bought one and can say I would not go without one now. Guess I'm old now. Lol
I also think the Crew Max looks great with a cap because the bed is so stubby.

 

Tough decision. Depends on your needs. Neither one is a bad decision.
I always had ARE caps on my Silverados. You can carry a lot of larger stuff in them and keep the cap locked. They’re great if you go on family vacations. You have a lot of room to let the kiddies take their junk. I don’t constantly need all of that storage now so got a BakFlip MX4 for my 2019 Tundra. I think it looks better on the Tundra and doesn’t interfere with air flow when the cab back window is down. The BakFlip latches such that you need to lower the tailgate.
I plan to make a removeable rack using unistrut that mounts over the tonneau, then I can put a large shell roof box or rack on it just in case I ever need extra storage on long trips.
Let us know what you decide.

 

I wanted both, but also hated both for various reason.

Cap
Pros: tons of smaller stuff stays dry.
I don’t need “tons” to stay dry.
Cons: a lot. Can’t easily pull cap off (I’ve had many of them over the years - it sucks to remove and install no matter if you have a easy pulley system or not)
Which really limits to what you can toss in the back.

Tonneau
Pros: tons of stuff stays dry that is really short in height.
I don’t have a lot of short stuff that needs to stay dry.
Pros: somewhat easy to remove.
Cons: what happens when I load my bed with firewood, kids bikes, cornhole - fishing poles - everything that doesn’t fit under the Tonneau. Well then, I would take it off - and then everything gets wet. (I live in the PNW where rain is 5 out of 7 days a year)

My solution:
Bed rack rails (front runner) with a Yakima 16 Skybox Carbonite on top. The setup weighs like- litteraly next to nothing.
I can keep 4 duffle bags/backpacks, 4 pillows, 4 sleeping bags, and a shit ton of dry food storage if I don’t stick the dry food in storage bins. I’ll throw shoes, boots, blankets, and whatever else in along with the above mentioned.
This solved my problem. My bed can then be used for Pelican and Canyon coolers, large camp tables that protrude over the bed, cornhole setup, bikes if I don’t want to rack them, fishing rods, lots of dry-bins double-stacked, firewood - I can load the shit out of the bed!
While at the same time, have as much dry storage as I need.

Ps - the Carbonite color matches MGM almost exactly

Oh, and removing the Yakima box, is less than 3 minutes and moving the bed bars is a few minutes. I did buy a small cordless $12 mini driver that I keep in the truck to move the bed bars in like seriously as fast as you can walk around the truck.
Open bed in less than 5 minutes.

 

I’ve had both and every time I’ve had a box cover they annoy me and I end up selling. I’m in the market for a lightly used cap and that’s my vote for you too haha. I want a canvas capper to so I can easily remove it. I’m not worried about locking tho

 

Yep that’s an awesome option. I like it. Looks killer too. And if a guy really needed they could double up with two Yakimas

 

Yep - for sure.
I actually have Kayak racks for the other side! So I can run 2 Kayaks on passenger, and the box on driver. And the entire bed full of junk.
It works

ETA - there is actually an even bigger Yakima box you can use, but because I was running Kayaks I went with the 16.

 

Sweet setup!

 

Cap with a roof rack. I'm on my third truck like this. I use it working on property for tools and supplies, hunting for gear and maybe a pirogue on top, traveling for me, wife and multiple Labs, and even to go to the big box store. It's like having a large SUV that you can hose out when it's muddy and you don't smell the nasty sweaty tennis shoes and fowl weather gear from sailing in the south in August.

 

Been looking at the ARE Z series for a cap.

And the Undercover Ultra Flex or Bakflip MX for a tri fold.

Opinions on the top choices?

 

Same here! My last three trucks had canopies because I bought the trucks used and they already had canopies. I always said I'd never just buy one on my own, but I bought my Tundra brand new and here I am with a canopy again...

But OP, I think a canopy would look sweet on your rig.

 

I'm so thankful for this post as I'm going thru the exact same dilemma right now...

 

you said it


but yeah I like cap better, it looks good on the crewmax

 

Trying to decide tonneau or cap. Does anyone know if you can fit 26" bicycles standing up under a cap?

 

It depends on the height of the cap. ARE offers more than one height.
Measure the height of the bike. Then put the end of tape measure or rule on the bed of your Tunny and measure up that far. You’ll have an idea of the height of the cap that you’ll need.

 

Pros and cons for both seem to outlined well above. I ultimately went with a shell, snugtop that should be here in a few weeks. I need room for big dogs and other stuff and it makes more sense for me.

One thing to consider if you go tonneau is whether a retractable makes more sense. When I was researching and thinking of going that route, that’s where I landed. I don’t like that a trifold blocks the back window if you need to open up bed space to load taller items. USA truck covers or some of the retrax ones don’t seem to take up much space at the front of the bed and you don’t lose visibility through your window.