WeatherTech’s line of Made-in-USA tonneau covers come with WeatherTech’s reputation for great build quality and fit that they built on their lines of floor mats.  Will WeatherTech’s new offering be compelling enough to be chosen over existing options?

It seems that there are hundreds of tonneau manufacturers.  Some of this comes from the myriad of different styles – solid, roll up, locking, hinged etc. etc.  WeatherTech offers two covers, a Roll Up Cover and their AlloyCover.  The roll up cover is a reinforced vinyl design while the AlloyCover is a tri-fold solid cover.

We chose the AlloyCover over the Roll up because we prefer solid, tri-fold covers over soft covers overall.  Solid covers cost more, often by a lot, but they do a much better job of protecting your gear.  This is especially important if you park with valuables in your bed.  A soft cover can easily be cut open, exposing your items to theft.  Imagine working all day on the job site just to come back to your truck and discover hundreds of dollars of tools missing from your bed!

Understanding that solid covers are preferable, they do have their drawbacks.  The aforementioned cost is one thing, another is that they do not fold up all the way, you will always be covering the inside 1/3rd of your truck bed.  Sure, you can remove the cover, but solid covers are also typically very heavy, making removing the cover an unpleasant task that might require more than one person.

WeatherTech’s AlloyCover tries to solve that last problem.  Unlike most covers that are fiberglass with an aluminum skin, the AlloyCover’s structure is pure aluminum and weighs just about 50 pounds.  WeatherTech used a thick gauge of aluminum, too, to ensure the cover stays straight and does not bend or dent during normal use.  WeatherTech claims the AlloyCover can handle up to 400 pounds!  (we won’t be testing that claim)

Installation was straightforward, but the installation instructions were remarkably confusing.  We suggest throwing those out and laying everything out to determine the best course of installation.  The cover latches to the bed using side rails that must be clamped on to the bed rails.  It is a similar setup to most tri-fold or roll-up covers. 

When closed, you’ll notice how sleek the cover looks.  It sticks out very little over the bed rails, and at a distance it is impossible to tell that there is anything on the truck.  There is a gasket molded onto the outside edge to seal the cover to the bed rails, but, it is only a simple single layer gasket versus multiple layers we’ve seen on other covers.  We’ll have to see how well the cover keeps the elements out.

The cover unlocks using a simple pull-string latch.  There is no external locking or unlocking functionality, so you’ll need to open your bed to open the cover.  Pulling on the string is easy and the latch opens up with little effort.

The cover tri-folds up towards the cab and out of the way.  To help the cover sit even and to prevent damaging the outside of the cover, the underside of the cover has two padded feet.

When fully folded the cover must be secured to itself using the two bungee-cord straps.  These straps have a “T” shaped plastic anchor on them that slides into a special cut-out at the top of the bed.

If you want to remove the cover completely there is another pull release for the middle lock, just like the one at the end of the cover.  Pull the release, lift the front of the cover and pull the whole unit up and out.