For those of you Who have had both. Please list pros and cons of flip up bed cover and roll up bed

Hoping to make decision soon

 

You mean like a trifold vs a roll up?

 

Where you located? May have a Tri-fold for sale soon.

 

I think it's an apples and oranges comparison. It really boils down to what kinds of things you're going to haul, and how frequently, and how much a hard cover will be in your way.

 

Yes tri fold. I live in buffalo ny

 

I opted for roll up because it isn't as bulky and can roll all the way up against the glass. A tri fold loses a little space unless it's the type that can fold up against the back window. In that case you lose rear view.

 

I can speak to this, as I had a BakFlip F1 on the previous truck, and a Peragon on that truck too. I now have a hard rolling cover from Bak. My first truck had a soft rolling cover.

The tri-fold flip is is a stronger cover, meaning you could temporarily place a load on the surface if needed. I liked the cab protection it provided while flipped up, i.e. while loading brush and scrap from yard clearing, etc, however that last panel flipped up does block your rear view. I found the hinge points liked to leak, so if water tightness is a concern, then this could be an issue.
The hard rolling cover offers some of the security of the tri-fold, however since most are a solid piece of material, they tend to shed water better, except at the bedsides where some intrusion is expected. My current Bak Revolver X4 is great...aluminum construction, rolls up like a soft cover (no canister) and it's pretty secure once the tailgate is closed and locked. It only leaks in a few small places and only during a torrential downpour.

 

had both. the most beneficial thing of the hard cover (to me) is being able to set stuff on top of it for whatever reason. I couldn’t do that on my soft roll up. But I’ll be getting rid of it and getting an actual softopper soon.

 

“Extang Encore” Had mine for 2 years, trifold and you can remove it without tools.

 

Coming from a soft roll-up to the hard OEM Tacoma trifold I would be happy with either. The hard tri-fold is nice because it’s more secure. But, the soft one was nice because you could still close the cover if what you’re hauling was slightly higher than the bed rails as it would conform around it some.

 

I second the roll up cover. When you don't need it, it's not in your way at all. However the folding cover is still in the way and takes up bed space. For the folks with short beds the bed is already small enough. I only use my cover when the cap isn't on which isn't often. If you're forking the $ for a cover did you consider neither and going with a cap?

 

Buffalo? Think about snow loads and brittle vinyl at 0 degrees. Had both (on different trucks) and my trifold is the bomb. Also gives a thought to security. Although a trifold is not Fort Knox, it surely beats velcro.

 

Depends on what you are planning to do with the bed of the truck. I've hard soft and hard trifold covers and it was a pain to remove the cover to use the entire bed. Prefer the rollup (soft) because I can use the entire bed without planning ahead and having to remove the entire cover. I'm not concerned with security so I went with the cost effective solution. If I had a long bed I would have considered a hard rollup cover with a canister, but did not want to lose 6"+ in a shortbed.

 

Would there be a difference between the two going through a carwash?

 

You should always wash your truck by hand. But roller covers do fine in the car wash. A friend told me.

 

I think the hard rolling covers have a load capacity of a few hundred pounds. I have the retrax and it's a great cover. Only down side is the canister takes up about 11" of bed space. Good side is that it can be removed if need be but takes about 10 min and is a hassle. I don't find myself needing to remove it often unless I really need all the bed space for moving large pieces of furniture. There's still about 8" of usable space below the canister. The hard rolling covers are lockable and do a decent job of weather proofing.

 

Don't go through a car wash unless it is touchless.

 

I have a Bak RollX 4 years now. It locks. It’s out of the way (rolls up) when I want to carry stuff. When rolled up I can see out they rear window. Take it through the car wash with no second thoughts. Vinyl does get stiff in the winter but not enough of a negative not to recommend.

 

I have the BAK revolver x2 on my truck.. its a hard roll up as opposed to the soft roll up kind... so you can still set things on the top and it wont cause any damage as long as its not too heavy... rolls up very easy and doesnt block the back window when rolled up

 

Had both as well then went to a canopy.
Roll up
out of the way when you don’t need it
Doesn’t take up space
Leaks in downpours and hard winds
Easy to steal out of if have the Velcro ones
Tri-fold
If you don’t want it for a trip it’s a bit bulky to move around
Takes longer to remove
Locks down tight and little leakage if put on correctly.

In the end it’s what you will use it for that works. The reason I have a canopy with a prinsu rack now. Wanted a closed spot for the dog and gear but still need to haul bikes and long crap for work.