Best Tonneau Covers for your Ford F-150

Whether you use your truck to carry luggage or heavy-duty tools, keeping the truck bed safe needs to be a priority. Sure, your truck bed is weather-resistant and durable from the factory, but nobody can hold Father Time at bay forever. What's more, harsh weather conditions will rapidly wear down the truck bed, and if you leave your belongings exposed, they can take a beating as well.

This is where Dodge Ram tonneau covers come into play. Read on to learn more about these covers and how they can help.

Hard vs Soft? That Is the Question

Before we dive into all the different types of tonneau covers for your Dodge truck, it's important to understand the difference between a hard and soft cover. The key difference is that hard covers are made with heavy-duty materials, like ABS plastic or aluminum, and soft covers are made with vinyl or other lightweight plastics.

Due to the difference in materials, you have a lot to think about. Heavy covers, on one hand, are more durable, secure, and sturdy, but they're harder to install and more expensive. On the other hand, soft covers are the most flexible and affordable, but they may not hold up as well over the long term.

Understanding these key differences will make shopping for the best tonneau cover for your truck a breeze – just had to get that out of the way first.

Getting the Right Tonneau Cover for Your Dodge Ram 1500

The best way to get the protection you need is to know what type of tonneau covers are available. In this section, we take you through the various types of tonneau covers and recommend some of the best products available from brands like Proven Ground and Barricade.

Roll-Up Covers

One of the simplest tonneau covers to install is a roll-up cover. These are covers that roll up towards the cabin when you want to access the truck bed. Typically, these covers are soft and made with vinyl or other similar pliable materials. These covers are the easiest to work with, and it's easy to open them to fully access the truck bed.

Roll-up covers are available with hard or soft materials, with soft covers being more flexible and affordable, and hard covers being more expensive but more secure. One of our favorite soft roll-up tonneau covers for your Dodge Ram is the Barricade Soft Roll Up Tonneau Cover.

Tri-Fold Tonneau Covers

Another type of tonneau cover is the tri-fold tonneau cover, which is one of the best options if you’re a fan of flexibility. These options tend to be available with hard or soft materials, so that part is completely up to you.

The most common option is a hard tri-fold cover, with one of the best choices for your Dodge Ram being the Proven Ground Low Profile Hard Tri-Fold Tonneau Cover. If you prefer a soft cover instead, Proven Ground also has you covered with a soft tri-fold cover, such as the Trushield Soft Tri-Fold.

The benefit of a tri-fold cover is that it's flexible, and you can access different parts of the truck bed as you fold it back. On the other hand, the access is a little limited because you can only access specific portions when it's folded. It's also important to note that there are other folding variations available as well, so it doesn't just have to be one that folds three ways.

Retractable Tonneau Covers

Retractable tonneau covers tend to be hard covers made with aluminum and other sturdy materials. In fact, many of them lock in different positions to help you maximize the amount of bed space you can access at a given time. We also love these covers because some of them are automatic, so you don't even have to tug at them the whole time. Retractable tonneau covers are also a great choice because they're low-profile and offer a lot of security.

That said, retractable covers do tend to be among the most expensive because of the technology and security they offer. Plus, they might be a little much for the average DIYer to install. One of our favorite choices for a retractable Dodge Ram tonneau cover is the Barricade Aluminum Retractable Locking Tonneau Cover.

Hinged Tonneau Covers

One of the best options, if you have the budget, is a hinged tonneau cover. These offer a combination of flexibility and security that other covers just don't have. This is because you can prop them up on hinges to access the entire truck bed. Plus, they're low-profile otherwise and tend to be made with some of the strongest materials, like aluminum or high-density ABS plastic.

One of the best choices for a hinged tonneau cover is the UnderCover Elite Hinged Tonneau Cover. It comes in a wide variety of colors, and you can even match it to your truck’s paint color or other exterior accessories.

Get the Dodge Ram Tonneau Cover You Need Today

Getting the right Dodge Ram tonneau cover is all about shopping based on your unique needs, and all of the options we explored today can work well. If you’re still having trouble finding the right fit for your truck, don't worry at all, because our sales techs can point you in the right direction.