Tonneau cover on a budget?

Hey all. Really enjoying my new Tacoma. I'm coming from the Rubicon life to the TRD Off-road life. That said, I have a fare amount of off-road equipment that I already had from my Jeep that I want to store in my truck from time to time. I'm thinking about a Tonneau cover to keep my gear dry (high lift, recovery gear, straps, tools,odds and ends). But at the same time I'm on a budget. (To many hobbies to fund) What have you guys found to be the best cover for the price? What other solutions have you creative folk come up with thinking outside of the box?
Thanks.

 

I have the Undercover Ultra Flex. Was about 800.00 shipped. Really like it so far.

 

If you're just looking for a way to keep your gear dry I have a great weather tight bin in the bed of my truck that fits all my recover gear except my high lift. The one I use is lockable and is a pretty inexpensive option, especially compared to a tonneau cover. That being said I also have a BakFlip MX4 MX4 tonneau mainly for security purposes that also keeps my whole bed dry, but that is also a much more expensive route to take.

 

You can typically find the Toyota tonneau for $400-500 used. For instance...https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...18-tacoma-tonneau-cover.560624/#post-18335916

 

For $50 I bolted two of these black ammo cans to the rails on top of the wheel wells (long bed) which holds all the recovery stuff and hitch/ball.




They’re great because I can access them from both sides of the bed without putting the tail gate down. Plus I can use the entire floor of the bed open between wheel wells and front to back.

https://www.quadratec.com/products/44036_0011_07.htm

And a 48” Hi Lift mounted to the back.

I’m not a fan of the covers since they have a relatively short life, most leak and they’re fairly expensive.

 

I am looking for the same thing, ie, a budget friendly cover. It doesn't have to be the permanent solution, but I keep a house full of reptiles, and buy veggies by the case, well, several cases per week. I need to block the wind when I haul them, but my new truck came with hefty payments. lol I have been looking on ebay and found this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gator-Soft...m570.l1312.R1.TR10.TRC4.A0.H0.Xbed+cover.TRS2

Here is an even cheaper one. I have no idea how good these are. https://www.ebay.com/itm/APU-2016-2...m570.l1312.R1.TR10.TRC4.A0.H0.Xbed+cover.TRS2

 

I really like your setup!! I keep coming back to these pics and thinking this could work for me. What do you use the TRD Tow straps for?

 

Craigslist is your friend. I know you’re looking for a tonneau cover but to put it into perspective I got a snugtop shell from there for $500. A buddy of mine got the same model snugtop as mine minus the carpet kit and it needs repainting for $250 delivered. Deals can be found there.

Another option is to build a drawer system utilizing the side bed notches.

 

Thanks for the input. I definitely need to look into Craigslist further.

 

tonno pro about 200 bucks

 

The tow straps are just for looks, but they could be used as a point to strap something down

 

$50 or trade me something interesting and you can have my Leer 700 tonneau that's sitting in my parent's back yard, it'd make them happy to have it gone. Pretty sure it needs a repaint at this point (it's Toyota black sand) and the struts may be getting weak but it has the clamps and keys with it.


ETA: Dammit Grossomotto- now I've found something else I need to spend money on. I want one of those flasks.

 

on a budget too, picked up this trifold Tonneau cover from EBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tonneau-Co...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Had for 2 months now in very hot Florida summer. No craks or tears yet, seems pretty strong, very easy to install.

 

I am happy with Undercover Flex Ultra. Easy to install. Reasonable weather protection and security. I paired it with the bed rug and it's a trunk like experience.

If you want waterproof or total security, you must accept that those two cannot be done on a "budget".

 

It looks like they have a rebate right now.