Ford F-150 Truck Owners: Tonneau Bed Cover Vs. Open Bed & The Reasons Why |
Posted: July 10, 2019 |
Ford F-150 Truck Owners: Tonneau Bed Cover Vs. Open Bed & The Reasons Why Ford’s F-series has been one of the highest selling trucks in America for over 15 years and it’s for a good reason: They’re reliable, durable, strong, and at the same time affordable. However, it is interesting to note when looking around on the streets how many F-series vehicles have a cover over their truck bed. For those not familiar, this truck bed cover is called a tonneau cover. As the truck industry has grown in size over the last two decades, the tonneau cover industry has followed and has now become a whopping 950-million-dollar industry. It is evident that the demand for these truck bed covers has remained strong among truck owners, but why? While it seems obvious why a truck owner would want a cover for his/her truck, we decided to get a close look at all the reasons a tonneau cover is useful other than the simple concept that it hides and protects your cargo.
In order to do so, we decided to survey 20 Ford F-150 owners in sunny Southern California and asked them their top reason for buying a truck bed cover. We gathered the results and grouped them into these 3 categories: Security, Water/Element Proof, and Physical Look & Feel. The results from the survey are shown in the pie chart below:
Analyzing the results from our survey, it was evident that the three main reasons why owners bought a cover was for security, for keeping water/elements out of the truck bed, and for the look and feel of the cover on the truck.
Moving on, we then surveyed 20 F-150 owners without a tonneau cover and asked them why they prefer to not cover their bed. The main two responses we got from every candidate was either #1: They want one but don’t want to spend the money on it or #2: They rarely use their truck bed. While these are both reasonable reasons, we decided to investigate to see the true cost of buying a cover.
After looking at a few sites such as www.tonneaucovers.com and www.truckalterations.com we found that the average cost for a soft rolling or folding cover was about $400 with hard rolling or foldup at about $750. The minimum price was about $200 while the maximum was about $2000.
Considering the cost-to-benefit ratio, it seems reasonable that buying a tonneau cover for about $500-800 seems worth it. We especially came to this conclusion after further research on a claim we heard when talking to an owner who explained the cover “increases your truck’s MPG by being making the truck more aerodynamic” – Mike, Simi Valley F150 Owner. We read some studies and found that this is indeed true. Studies, including one done by the famous Myth Busters, showed that it can increase MPG by up to 10% on the highway!
With this in mind, doesn’t that technically mean you could pay off your tonneau cover by the money you save on gas, essentially getting it for free? Let’s say you own a Ford F-150 with an average of 22 MPG. Increase that by 10% (22*1.10) and you get an average of 24.2 MPG. If this F150 held 30 gallons of gas, that means you would increase your mileage by 66 miles per fill up! If gas were, let’s say, $3.5/gallon, you would need 3 gallons of gas to travel the 66 extra miles and thus would cost you $9.5 (3 gals * $3.5/gal). Saving somewhere between $5-10 per fill-up adds up, especially if you fill your tank once a week (who doesn’t...). 54 weeks per year with an average saving of $7.5 per fill up means you can save $400 per year AND own a tonneau cover. So, using this reasoning, it DEFINITELY makes sense to buy a tonneau cover. Not only does it protect you gear, keep your truck bed dry and clean, and offer a secure way to maintain cargo, but also pays itself off within 1-4 years. Even if you were to purchase a top of the line cover, such as the RetraxPRO MX Retractable cover, with a price of $1,829, you could pay it back through your savings on gas in 4 and a half years, or 243 fill-ups. So, the answer is yes. From a long-term perspective, this seems like a great investment.
On the other hand, some truck owners just prefer the look and ease of an open bed. For drivers who don’t require the regular use of their truck bed and never store valuables in it, it is reasonable not to purchase a cover – especially if their budget is tight at the moment. The F-150 owners that we discussed this topic with seemed to not care to put in the effort to search for a cover and to spend the couple hundred dollars. Another plausible reason for not purchasing a tonneau cover is the fact that there are hundreds of other interesting truck accessories out there on the market. Spending money on these other accessories may be a better custom fit for some truck owners depending on their specific needs and demands.
Overall, it seems that if you are a truck owner and are looking for a worthy accessory that will add many bonus features to your vehicle, a tonneau cover is a great option. Everyone that we talked to raved about their covers and said how useful it has been over the time they have had it. Plus, we have to agree that many of the covers we saw added an extra fresh, sleek look to their trucks.
With the continually growing market for trucks, we don’t expect the following upwards trend of tonneau cover sales to slow down anytime soon. If you are a truck owner looking to purchase a tonneau cover, be sure to consider the pros and cons of all the different styles of covers. While soft covers are typically less expensive and still offer valuable features, hard covers offer more security and waterproof abilities.
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