The hard bed cover offers more security and protection compared to the soft, vinyl or faux leather tonneau covers.  These also come with lock systems which protects your truck bed and cargo against theft.  While they may be an expensive choice for a tonneau cover, their benefits often outweigh their cost.  For starters, they are more durable and are built to last for a long time, making them a practical and eco-friendly choice.  Also, they’re low maintenance as it does not require much when it comes to cleaning and maintenance.  You can run them in a mobile carwash or you can clean them yourself with a brush, mild soap and water.

The hard tonneau cover comes in different types.  The first and the most well-known is the hinged type.  This type of tonneau covers can be opened in the middle as in the case of butterfly hinged tonneau covers or at the tailgate.  This tonneau cover may come with gas struts, to allow you to access your truck bed hand free.  However, the downside with hinged tonneau covers is that they are usually heavy and may require more than one person to install it.  Apart from that, the opening of a hinged tonneau cover will not be able to accommodate taller cargo.

Another type of hard tonneau cover is the retractable tonneau cover.  These consist of small sections which you can wind up at the back of your truck cab care of a motor.  These are usually made of aluminum.  Retractable tonneau covers allow you full access to your truck bed and let you haul taller cargo.  It also comes with a good lock system for better security.  However, the downside of retractable tonneau covers is that the motor resides in the truck bed, thus you lose a bit of storage capacity.  Apart from that, they’re usually pricier than the other types of tonneau covers.

The last type of tonneau cover is the folding tonneau cover.  This can be folded into three or four sections.  Folding tonneau covers also allow you to haul taller cargo and also come with a lock system to keep your truck bed safe.  Unlike the retractable tonneau cover, it does not come with any motor that takes up storage space, which means you have enough space on your truck bed to fill.  As most folding tonneau covers are made of aluminum, a little tenacity is required to choose the a folding tonneau cover with high-grade aluminum as well as a good lock system.

Tags: bed covers, tonneau, tonneau covers, truck bed covers