I am looking at fold up bed covers

[GOPAPA]

for my 83 square body, short box, regular cab, ,,any you own one that you woud recommend a brand?.
I am think price range not over $300 ..

[GOPAPA]

Surely I can't be the only one who wants or does have a truck bed cover ..After,,,, I find one I will share a photo, a brand and price ......... I will not be sharing a photo of whats under it in my truck bed though.. but I will give ya a hint .." ThunderRoad"

[Keith Seymore]

I'm afraid I'm not much help, but I did just go through the same thing for my Silverado HD.

I had a hard fold up cover. It had four sections that folded up over each other when not in use.

I'm not sure of the brand, but I did not love it:
a) It was kind of heavy, especially when all four pieces were folded up on top of each other. It made the first movement from "stowed" to "deployed" kind of awkward/difficult.
b) It required some additional content mounted on the bedside rails. There were like "tracks" screwed into the stake pocket holes.
c) It required tools to remove the bed cover completely from the tracks, when removal was necessary or desired.
d) It got whacked out of shape. I hooked it on something and that bent it up and allowed water to get inside. The composition was two aluminum sheets with an inner core of Styrofoam; the Styrofoam got waterlogged and then the whole thing kind of dissolved.

I decided to pitch that mess and start over.

The reason I'm not much help is because I "trash picked" my replacement cover at work.

The new cover is a soft foldable cover. I do like it, because it is kind of the opposite of the above:
a) It folds into three sections, rather than four
b) It is light, when folding or removing completely
c) It removes with no tools, just attaching or unattaching in the front with a threaded knob by hand, and in the rear with a spring loaded lever.
d) There are no additional fasteners or tracks permanently affixed to the truck bed.
e) It is a cleaner appearance, since it is a solid one piece rather than four hard sections with exposed piano hinge between them.

The only downside I see is that, since it folds into three sections rather than four, any tall items are forced to sit a bit farther rearward than with the hard cover. But - it's not a big deal - since it is a piece of cake to remove the soft cover completely.

Anyway - I hope that provides some food for thought. I can try to find out the brand of the cover I trash picked if you would like.

K

[TKCR]

Can’t say I would be much help either. I have the Old School roll up cover. And it’s made be a company that’s no longer around. I would say, just got to your local truck cap store. We have a few local to us. But one store in particular, has a vast variety of bed covers on display. Really, it’s just a matter of the bed size. They can measure and show you all of whats available.

[GOPAPA]

[quote=Keith Seymore;9036606]I'm afraid I'm not much help, but I did just go through the same thing for my Silverado HD.



The new cover is a soft foldable cover. I do like it, because it is kind of the opposite of the above:
a) It folds into three sections, rather than four
b) It is light, when folding or removing completely
c) It removes with no tools, just attaching or unattaching in the front with a threaded knob by hand, and in the rear with a spring loaded lever.
d) There are no additional fasteners or tracks permanently affixed to the truck bed.
e) It is a cleaner appearance, since it is a solid one piece rather than four hard sections with exposed piano hinge between them.

The only downside I see is that, since it folds into three sections rather than four, any tall items are forced to sit a bit farther rearward than with the hard cover. But - it's not a big deal - since it is a piece of cake to remove the soft cover completely.

Anyway - I hope that provides some food for thought. I can try to find out the brand of the cover I trash picked if you would like

Thx Keith Yes ,,I might be ordering off the internet and company name would be greatly liked

Originally Posted by TKCR

Can’t say I would be much help either. I have the Old School roll up cover. And it’s made be a company that’s no longer around. I would say, just got to your local truck cap store. We have a few local to us. But one store in particular, has a vast variety of bed covers on display. Really, it’s just a matter of the bed size. They can measure and show you all of whats available.

Good advice as I see a lot of the advertiements do not go back as far as 1983

thx Tina ,, My brother has me thinking I would not like a roll up one ..now, the one he had he did not like was held down by VECRO and that was the part he did not like ..

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by GOPAPA

Good advice as I see a lot of the advertisements do not go back as far as 1983

If they go back as far as '87 then you are golden (since '73 - '87 would be the same).

In either case - I don't think it matters what model it is designed for. You just need something that spans 60 inches cross car (or whatever that dimension is) by 6.5 feet long.

(EDIT - I guess that's basically what TKCR said, too).

K

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by GOPAPA

Thx Keith Yes ,,I might be ordering off the internet and company name would be greatly liked

No luck; there doesn't seem to be a name on it, and I checked our documentation and I don't see any supplier info.

Maybe that's why it was in the trash...

:shrug:

[GOPAPA]

Keith ,,this is one a guy has and says it doesnt leak water and has had it on his truck for two years out in the elements here in Idaho ,


Just wanted to know if yours buckels down like this one does ? I think the fasteners are critical for lasting and working good .. it is 3 fold one .

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by GOPAPA

thx Tina ,, My brother has me thinking I would not like a roll up one ..now, the one he had he did not like was held down by VECRO and that was the part he did not like ..

Mine has snaps, it’s not Velcro

[GOPAPA]

Originally Posted by TKCR

Mine has snaps, it’s not Velcro

I see,, If the snaps are drill bolt holes in the sides along each rail ,,then no ,,,I dont want that either,, not saying yours is no good , just not my preference ..but I do want one that is real good at clamping down and stay good at it for a few years.. thx tina for clarifying that ,,

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by GOPAPA

I see,, If the snaps are drill bolt holes in the sides along each rail ,,then no ,,,I dont want that either,, not saying yours is no good , just not my preference ..but I do want one that is real good at clamping down and stay good at it for a few years.. thx tina for clarifying that ,,

I don’t believe they are drilled bolt holes either. And this one has been on the truck for years and still looks good. I’ve had the truck for 7 years, and this cover was on there from the previous owner. I bet this cover is every bit of 20-25 years old.

[GOPAPA]

Originally Posted by TKCR

I don’t believe they are drilled bolt holes either. And this one has been on the truck for years and still looks good. I’ve had the truck for 7 years, and this cover was on there from the previous owner. I bet this cover is every bit of 20-25 years old.

Take some photos of the snaps for me if you will Tina ,,you got me curious how it is done now .. 25 years ago some things were built better , but cant get them now ..

[roboticjunky]

Here's one made by Tonno Pro and it's just over $300 because of the oversize charge.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/b.../c10/year/1986

Here's the same one on Amazon without an overcharge fee, but for some reason they have it listed as 74-83, which is strange.

https://www.amazon.com/Tonno-Pro-42-...00M4914E6?th=1

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by roboticjunky

Here's one made by Tonno Pro and it's just over $300 because of the oversize charge.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/b.../c10/year/1986

Here's the same one on Amazon without an overcharge fee, but for some reason they have it listed as 74-83, which is strange.

https://www.amazon.com/Tonno-Pro-42-...00M4914E6?th=1

That is strange on how they have the years, because the bed size would be the same 73-87. But I see that type of stuff a lot at vendors. Like there is a place that sells seat foam. Now those are different regarding the years, 73-80 & 81-87. But this particular place has them listed as 73-81 & 83-87. They totally skipped 82 lol, but if someone would go off that and order for the 73-81 and their truck is a 73-80, they are going to get the wrong foam.
But those look nice.

[GOPAPA]

[QUOTE=roboticjunky;9036994]Here's one made by Tonno Pro and it's just over $300 because of the oversize charge.

I see you came up with the same make as found ,, just a different price

I ordered one from Tonno Pro $237 and no shipping

TonnoPro TonnoFold Tri-Fold Tonneau Cover
TonnoFold Tri-Fold Tonneau Cover
1983 Chevy C/K Pickup
(Standard bed (approx. 6' 6"))
Part #: 42-110