Trifold vs Retractable Tonneau Cover

Hard trifold versus retractable tonneau covers. Pros and cons of each? Recommendations for each at varying price points?

Anybody use the Weathertec Alloy hard trifold?

 

I plan to go with a Bak Revolver X4S. I liked the quad fold on my previous truck but it had an 8’ box. The back window was never covered and I still had lots of bed space. In order to carry our bicycles, I need most of the Tundra’s 6’-7” bed so a tri-fold would be completely covering the rear window whenever the bikes were aboard. The X4S still covers part of the rear window but I can live with that.

 

Having used both, I recommend the retractable if you have the long bed like I do, or don't see yourself needing the 11-13 inches you lose with the canister from the retractable. While the canister takes up about a foot of length, there is still almost a foot of useable space underneath the canister. I keep a board divider in the bed slots close to the cab and stick the stuff I don't use much but want in my truck in that space. The trifold was great, but It required me to open the tailgate if I wanted access to the bed. So if I needed to grab something out of there I could just lean in and pluck out quickly, I would have to open the tailgate and fold the cover up to the point where the item was. If I needed the whole bed, I would have to fold it up all the way, blocking the rear window. With the retractable, I just pop the top latch and roll it back easily, grab the item out and roll it back, never needing to open the tail gate. I also like being able to roll the retractable back a few inches and lock in place to leave a gap in the summer while driving when I have coolers back there. It keeps the bed cooler like cracking your windows when you park. My ice seems to last longer when I do that. Being able to lock it in place at any point along the bed has been really great. I also have no leaks in the rain with mine. Only time I get water intrusion is when it's blasted at a tcouch free carwash. I can't speak to the quality and performance of any other retractables, but I have the RetraxOne XR and it was roughly $1300 with discount. My trifold was an undercover and it was great. But the only reason I used that at the time was becuase I had a shorter bed.

 

Meant to add, I like the flexibility of being able to put a rack on top of the retrax as well. I could not do that with a trifold.

 

What discount were you able to use? I’ve actually been looking at the RetraxOne XR

 

I don't remember what it was at the time, but it was because I hit the "chat with us" pop up that led to a discount. I think it was 10 or 15% off.

 

I have the weathertec and my only complaint is that if you need the whole bed it has to come out. The leaf closer to the front of the bed is solid so you can’t stand all 3 folds. You can fold 2 and they stay flat on top of the 1st one. For me it works but if you regularly would need the whole bed I would not recommend.

 

I just got the retrax one xr. Love the looks and functionality of it so far. I plan on using a rack in the future so that was my reason for going with this over the x4s I originally wanted.

 

I currently have this same BakFlip on my truck and really like it!

 

I had a trifold on my old truck and put a Truck2Go retractable on my 22. Really happy with the retractable functionality. I put my bikes over the tailgate regularly so the ability to quickly roll back is nice. I don’t miss the canister space much, lots of space underneath it.

the Truck2Go was half the price of the equivalent Retrax.

 

Do you have a link to that truck to go one?

 

https://truck2go.co/

Their mobile site is not great so i recommend computer.

I had a few questions during install and they were super responsive.

 

Any long term review of the retractable Truck2Go cover?

 

So far it’s been good and I am still happy with the purchase. Winter is just arriving here so that will be a bigger test but I don’t expect to need to open it really in winter months so it shouldn’t be an issue.

 

I will be getting a Lomax. It is a trip fold but can be completely removed instead of being folded against the cab

 

I really really wanted the Retrax but couldn’t live with the loss of bed space and the PITA when hauling dirt bikes.

I settled on the Sentry CT and elevate rails, which is the next best thing IMO.

 

This is a review I found of the SyneticUSA which appears to be the exact same as the Truck2Go. It looks tempting at the price, but having the Retrax on a previous truck I am confident in its quality so I will be going with it for my new Tundra. The cost will be long forgotten if I am frustrated with the quality in a short period of time with the other. The other thing I would get annoyed with is having to unlock two locks. The Retrax is just the one side. That may seem minor, but I use mine a lot and being able to just do a quick unlock with one hand and open it to where I want it is super convenient.
https://youtu.be/AMz7Dk9XzHM

 

The Trucks2Go is a SyneticUSA one. Even comes in a Synetic box.

ya locks are personal preference. I like the idea of two. I tend to only lock one side, still have to pop both open to slide. If I have more in the box I lock both - an extra layer of inconvenience as it were.

 

I had a tono pro on my tacoma for years worked fine but now I got the tono pro tri fold hard top 519.00 on Amazon love the look hard cover quality and price.

 

The electric Truck2Go is actually cheaper than the manual Gator/Retrax/RollnLock. Anyone know if there's a significant built quality or warranty difference? If not then I'll most likely be using them, or the X4s is I decide I want bed space.

 

Just saw the Truck2Go has a built in light... That's actually pretty cool


https://youtu.be/Im_HfcMmcwI

 

I’m happy with my MX4!

 

I had my MX4 on two Tacomas. Had the latch rail fall apart twice on the second Tacoma. Might have something to do with the ruff road I live on. Was pretty easy to repair with self-tapping screws. That said, I still bought the same for my new Tundra.

 

Retrax fan here. I like the security and weather resistance although if you live in a state with heavy snow and ice I could see it being a problem freezing up. But then that could apply to any cover.
I live in TX and don't drive in those conditions so no worries.

 

I like my retrax xr with the uptop overland bed rack.

 

my busniess partner has this cover and it’s great but the last panel not folding up is a deal killer for me

 

I have a bak F1 now and will likely just get another one when my rig gets here .

it’s been a great cover

 

I've had both the Bakflip F1 and currently the Retrax XR. I've liked both, however neither are perfect.

Both keep the bed reasonably dry if fitted/installed properly. Better if you pay attention and seal gaps (especially around tailgate).

The Bakflip is easier to remove (one person can handle this) in those situations where you need the whole bed. Retrax, not so much.

Bakflip doesn't eat up space inside the bed - canister for Retrax uses about 12x12 inches or so (as a previous post pointed out).

Bakflip is lighter, but I'm not sure by how much. Every pound counts when it comes to Tundra payload!

Retrax locking mechanism seems more robust and secure - harder to defeat.

Retrax - you don't have to worry about the wind catching the folded portions and damaging them if you have bed partially filled above bedside. Or carrying bungees to secure the folded portions trying to prevent said damage. Or leaning the folded portions on the back glass when loading/using use the whole bed with top left in place.

I personally like the rollback function better than the fold function to open/access the bed. Bakflip was recommended to lift the back panel to close tailgate - to avoid damaging rear flap that sealt top to tailgate. That isn't a concern with Retrax.

Retrax does have some cool above bed cargo options that are simply not possible with a tri fold top.

Both I feel are quality units. If budget is a considerable factor, I'd not hesitate to suggest Bakflip. There are other quality tri-folds on the market as well that could be considered, I just don't have experience with them.

 

I'm torn between the Revolver and an aluminum retractable, like the e-truck2go one.

Revolver seems great because I haul equipment weekly, but I've never truly maxed out the space of the 6'5 bed of my Silverado. That said, it'd be an almost instant downgrade to a 4'5 bed with a retractable due to the canister.

But security is a concern (haul generators and expensive specialty equipment that have been stolen from truck bed campers), weatherproofing, and easy of use.

As I type this I feel I'm leaning more toward the Bakflip x4s simply due to space and ease of opening. But I'm also concerned the Phoenix sun will eventually destroy the cover. Had a truck stop in Tucson say they've seen that brand fall apart with their Phoenix customers.

 

I’ve had damn near everything over the years and all the trucks , retrax pro, soft roll, hard fiberglass GT gemtop classic, and so on

i like the trifold better than any of them. The roads kinda suck here and even the retrax pro model with the wider more substantial slats rattled.