tonneau cover alternative

Hi all! I'm leaving to signal BOLC in a few weeks and it's going to be an 18 hour drive from Texas to Ft Gordon and I doubt I'm going to make it in one shot so I'll most likely spend at least one night in a hotel or rest stop and don't care to leave my valuables and such sitting unguarded in the back of my taco while I'm catching some z's.

Needing your infinite taco knowledge, what would you guys recommend as far as an alternative to a tonneau cover as I don't care for the look and just want something for the trip to protect my belongings while I rest. If nothing else, i guess a decent, budget-friendly tonneau cover will do (preferably something around or lesser than $200 if that's at all possible). Didn't get much help in the threads as most of them were of people bragging about their brand new 1000 dollar tonneaus and that's definitely not in the budget right now, haha. Thanks in advance!

 

sorry i don’t know what you could use.

but good luck and save trip! maybe look on craigslist?

 

not a bad idea. could probable bolt it to the bed rails and not have to drill holes in the bed.

 

Just buy one used off craigslist..... I got mine.... a Toyota fibreglass tonneau for $400..... its mint... and I am in Canada

 

thanks for the input guys! I would build my own but I'll spare my taco from any collateral damage caused by my inability to build things, haha. I'll check craigslist, san antonio is big enough to where SOMEONE has to be selling one. I found some tonneau covers online for around 200 bucks. they're no-name brands though. :/

 

I bought one off ebay. It didn't list the brand on the listing, but it's a TonneauPro that are usually $280, got it for about $230.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/20066230102...NX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_2915wt_962

 

I did a plywood box cover, it works pretty well actually.

Using 4 L brackets, 16 bolts/washer/nuts, and 2 sheets of ply you can make a pretty quick and cheap cover. The L brackets just bolt into the track rails, drill holes in the ply, bolt together, and cheap and easy cover. Throw some black paint on it and no one is the wiser.

I built mine as a protype for when I build something out of tubing down the road.

If you want some info let me know.

 

im driving from OK to NY next week for my job and was in the same boat you are in, i made this yesterday :





total cost was $40
for cable, cable clamps, turnbuckles, eye bolts, foam weather stripping, wood. had the paint laying around

 

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1059509-homemade-tonneau-cover-pics.html

 

For something quick, cheap, easy and lockable, I'd go this route with a popnlock tailgate lock. For one time use, you can't beat it.

 

Not very secure, but you could do something like this to hide things. http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/102674-homemade-tonneau-cover-pics-how.html

 

yeah thats the only downfall is the tailgate still isnt locked. i only plan on using this for a week then its toast

 

i would suggest a trifold and a pop n lock, u can try to find a trifold on craigslist, but a new one on ebay is about 200, and a pop n lock is 48 on Amazon, u can't open the trifold from the outside unless u damage it, so we're just hoping they're not willing to try that

 

thanks. and if i care i could sand the edges and maybe do some cleaning up and it would look even better for the same cost, im lazy and just dont care though lol. ill be adding 2 more mounting points (2 J bolts in the middle attaching to cleats) pics on that tomorrow prolly.

 

damn! these are all good ideas but nut, i'm really liking yours. I just need something to keep all my valuables from being a giant beacon for all dirtbags looking for pawning stuff and yours is probably the most cost effective way to go about it because as soon as this trip is over, i plan on dumping it too.

 

nice! You know, you put in a little extra work and you might have something permanent and attractive.

If you use high quality plywood, a couple of 2x2 cross supports, take a router to the edges, and a nice solid prime and paint.

 

i would personally just rent a small uhaul trailer.