How dumb am I if I buy a cheap bed cover on Amazon?

[RunDMG]

Got my TRD OR back in July, but decided to hold off a little while until getting a tri-fold hard cover. Driving from east Tennessee to Hilton Head this weekend though and it's been decided at the last minute that my truck will probably be the best option for getting there so I'm needing a quick and easy option for a bed cover to make the trip. I see some tri-fold hard covers for around $480 and some roll up covers for around $180 from generic brands. How well will these hold up if it were to rain while driving down?

Extra context: We were planning on taking my wife's tesla since it would be cheaper. We made the trip in her car last year and the 2 or 3 stops for recharging really didn't add anymore time than it would have been if we had stopped to get gas or go to the bathroom. With the path through the mountains being how it is at the moment we're taking the route through Atlanta which adds nearly 1.5-2 hours to the trip with the charging stops we'd have to make and since we're leaving after work on Thursday, we really don't want to be driving for 9 hours and get in at 2 or 3 in the morning.

These are the options I was looking at.

Soft Cover
Hard Cover 1
Hard Cover 2

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[Liquidassets]

I bought a cheap hardcover on eBay with a 3 year warranty, built in light,and 350 pound weight limit for $400. I love it.

 

[Cjbaker14]

I bought this cheap Tyger brand off of Ebay for $130.00 and its held up well for the past 6 mos.

 

[infantry317]

I've got a Tyger tonneau that I took off my 2019, it was recommended by someone at KB Voodoo. It is about 4 years old, it's been great.

 

[Meggyy]

For a quick trip like that, a roll-up cover usually does fine in rain if you make sure it’s sealed tight—tri-folds are sturdier long-term, but the generic roll-ups handle short drives okay. While waiting on a decision, I was checking pedirayudas.com just to see what kind of support and info is out there in Spain. Just make sure whatever you pick clamps down well, and you’ll be fine for the drive.

 

[4nimal]

I don’t think it’s dumb. Similarly, I picked up a TRD Sport a week ago and after looking at the current higher end options with T Slot system, I found none I was ready to spend money on because accessories seem quite limited right now. I ordered the Rough Country soft cover for $200 and it will be here this week.

 

[PNWkip]

My roll up was $80 on ebay. A lot of the companies are drop ship anyways, they just slap their brand on it.

 

[rijc99]

Do either of the two hardcovers you looked at flip up fully? They look like the third panel doesn’t lift. Also the second option doesn’t look like it is very secure and simply grabs on to the bed side cap.

I helped a friend install a hard cover from rough country and he is already thinking of getting rid of it for a flipbak or OEM rebadge of it because the third panel doesn’t flip which limits the already small bed. Also it kills the utility of accessory rail since the mounts goes on it vs the OEM which uses mounts that also relocate the rails and in turn keeps them fully clear for use.

Obviously the aftermarket options you listed could work depending on your needs but I just wanted to point out their weak points.

 

[SkinnyT]

Not dumb at all imo. These things are certainly not ~$1000 worth of materials, and as one person above mentioned the “R&D” portion is already done. Name brand companies just slap one extra “feature” on it with a sticker of their company name and think that’s deserving of a ~$700 premium. I Bought this one (even cheaper than your options), was a great fit, feels sturdy, and it hasn’t stopped raining since I put it on two weeks ago. Dry as a bone under there:

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