F150 Tonneau Covers Overview

Soft tonneau covers are typically made of a heavy-duty, weather treated vinyl with a lightweight supporting aluminum frame underneath. They either come as a roll-up cover or as a folding cover. The first easily rolls up toward the cab of your F150 to access the bed when needed, but is either fully extended or fully rolled - there is no option to only leave a portion of the bed exposed. The latter, a folding variety, is usually built into two or three segments that flip up onto the preceding segment to expose the bed in sections. This is a nice convenience if you need to grab items stored in the bed but don't want or need to uncover the entire truck bed.

The majority of F150-related roll-up soft tonneau covers mount on top of the bed rails, protruding about 1/2-1" above the box. Select models are manufactured as a flush mount system, in which instead of sitting on top of the box rails, the cover mounts inside of them. The cover mounting rails are held on by clamps and require no drilling into the box itself.

Soft tonneau covers are a great choice for F150 owners that want an inexpensive cover that focuses more on weather protection versus security. There are soft covers that do lock or integrate with a locking tailgate, however, a truly determined individual would be able to cut through the cover if they really want to see what is underneath. 

Hard covers provide excellent weather protection with much improved security as compared to a soft cover. Hard covers either come as a one-piece, full-length cover, or currently very popular, a bi-fold or tri-fold variety. Bi-fold or tri-hold hard covers are made of thin aluminum slats that are hinged in order to fold up over the preceding section, make regional box access convenient and easy. A folding hard cover is a great choice for F150 owners that often go camping, as they are rigid and strong enough to act as a table while shuffling equipment around (some hard covers can support up to 200 lbs placed on top).

Full-length covers, made of high impact plastic or fiberglass, can often be a factory option when ordering from an F150 from a dealer. Usually painted to match, these types of  hard covers do not fold or roll, and they are raised and supported by gas struts. Impact resistant plastic covers usually weigh in around 60 lbs, whereas a fiberglass version can weigh as much as 110 lbs. When painted to match the exterior of your F150, these covers blend in very nicely and look quite handsome.

From a security standpoint, hard covers can be self-locking or integrate into a locking tailgate (depending on the model, this is an additional feature of most hard covers, not a base feature), and being made of aluminum, plastic or fiberglass, are more difficult to puncture or damage. 

A more recent development in the world of Ford F150 tonneau covers is the introduction of hybrid soft/hard cover. These covers are roll-up type covers that offer the same ease of access as a soft roll-up cover, but with increased structural rigidity and therefore security. Entry level hybrid covers feature a weatherproofed vinyl stitched on top of many thin, underlying aluminum slats. Just a few inches in width, these slats are thin enough that the cover can still be rolled and secured at the front of the bed, but provide much better strength and security versus a vinyl-only cover.

A high end version of this type of cover uses an electric motor to automatically roll the slats into a canister mounted at the back of the cab.