Took a chance on an ebay tri fold hard tonneau for my 2015

Review time! Sorry for the delay, it just got here yesterday. See my link above for what I ordered. Think it's out of stock, but maybe the seller has more under a different item. I think one thing I would say is look for a seller that has the correct year groups for what gen cover you want (there was someone selling a 2014-2018 cover. Maybe it would fit, but I doubt their attention to detail.)
Box opening, seemed reasonably packed, nothing fancy
Came with weather strip for the tailgate. Overall the weather stripping seems good, and I don't expect much rain to get in sans one area I'll talk about. Extra stripping is nice though.
Came with all the mounting hardware op mentioned and one extra nut/bolt. As well came with 4 extra rubber pads that were thinner than the ones installed to keep the rear section from rubbing on the front when folded.
Instructions aren't great but it's a logical setup.
INSTALLATION: took about an hour. As @j_piper previously mentioned, you need to set the hooks as high as possible and let the handles out as far as you can initially. I laid the cover on, centered it and then started putting the hooks in. Obviously getting them all placed before tightening will save you time/hassle. After tightening the hooks fully I was able to raise the handles a turn or two so there is a little slop but not much.There are hooks near the front to hold the cover when folded.
They sit a tad loose so we'll see how effective they are. And be careful of the metal clips near your window.
Only area I may add some weather seal is at the front corners. There's about a 1/4 in gap there but everywhere else seems sealed well. I even tried lifting up on all areas as someone mentioned their Extang cover had a 1/2 in gap to their tailgate when raised. I couldn't raise the cover high enough anywhere to get a gap between the weather seal and the bed. Tightening and placing it well will save you time later. The cover seems like it will provide great security.
Folded, as mentioned the hooks are there in the front. There are also rubber pads to prevent the folded sections from rubbing.
Didn't have to modify the rails. For the people asking about cleats, looks like you could use them in between the hooks you just won't have a ton of adjustment options. With a few attempts, I think you can get it on or off in 2 minutes no problem. Tailgate seal is so good it makes a funny sound like Tupperware now when I open close.

OVERALL: very happy with the cover. For $350 I don't think you can beat this for hard folding cover value. Probably not as top notch as an $850 cover but then again I read some reviews of problems it doesn't look like this one has. Any questions let me know. Hope this helps!

 

@j_piper I think these are what I ordered https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Extang/EX22440104.html

 

Looks like it has the clamps on all 3 sections. Am I seeing that right? Don't most of them only have them on two?

 

Yup! Clamps on all three. I don't know what most have, I know this keeps it secure and easy to remove as well

 

I recently purchased this same cover for my 6’ access cab. So far I am impressed with the build quality for the price. I will report issues if I run into any.

 

I bought this exact same one used, like new in box from a guy near me. He works in construction and has to access the bed a lot, so he opted for a soft cover instead. He told me this one does not open that easily. I have to agree the clamp system is cheap and does not unlock as quick and easy as you would think. I took some clear heavy silicone grease (like Vaseline) and greased up the threaded bolt area by the clamp so the plastic clamp part slides up and down easier and also put some grease around the cam action part of the plastic lever. It made a big difference.

I have to agree that the threaded bolt portion of the clamp system is too short, needs to be about 1/4" longer. For $10 extra they could have made a better product.

The other clamp system @Lunchmeant79 mentioned from Etrailer will work with this tonneau also. I have seen it and actually like it better. It's because the bolts are spaced on the outside of the clamps so the plastic tonneau cover clamp sits in the center. The thick aluminum brackets that come with this are odd because the two bolt holes are both next to each other on one end. What's up with that? The long one tilts up when you clip it because there is no distribution holding the clamp down.

@Racer95, I could not figure out where the long brackets are supposed to go, front or rear. I have mine in the front thinking maybe they were longer in case you needed to slide the cover for adjustment. But both bolts on one end? I can't see the reason for that. I may drill holes in mine to spread the bolts out so the clamps have better leverage.

From what I can tell, these are a Chinese made covers being sold under different names on Ebay. They have a white "HT083" stamped on the under side and on the box as the model for the Toyota 5 foot bed with rails.

 

It is because the side rail ends before the end of the bed. By doing this, they can extend the anchor point beyond the rail end. If you’re not using it that way - yep, drill a hole to take advantage of the full length.

 

I agree 100%. The instructions do not say where the longer brackets go, but I figured up front since you first lay it on the bed in the folded position up front to install it. On my truck it made no difference, the 3" brackets would work just fine and still provide about 1/2" wiggle room in either direction. I may drill wide holes in the brackets if I ever need to take the cover off, but for now it will stay as it is.

I also might get some threaded plastic wing nuts or knobs (if I can find some that fit) and use those to replace the levers under the plastic cam clamp part. Using the lever arms these don't unlock easy because they slide around in the slot on the board above, while unscrewing the wing nut or knob would be just as fast IMO.

I also used Velcro dots to secure the strap so it won't flap against my window when driving. My version has the metal hook while others have a plastic clip.


Here is how it looks hooks secured down;

 

Yeah, I put the long ones at the back but they weren't unnecessary. I just attached the clip closer to the bolts so it didn't flex a bunch. May cut the long ones down a tad

 

Do you have the link you used for this one? Does it work with the utility track? I've looked at a few for the 6' and they either say they don't work with the utility track, or they make no mention of how it mounts. Also, what type of mounting hardware did it come with?

 

Been looking at these for a few weeks now. Bought the one that’s got the dudes standing on it for my 18 DCSB, overall it’s decent. Made a good seal without any weatherstripping but I’m weary about the clamps to hold it down. They get snug but bend a lot it was covered in fiberglass residue right out of the box and you could see it from the inner brackets. It looks like the pictures they have that shows between the layers. Also I’m about 200 and it didn’t flex at all while I stood right in the middle so that’s a good sign.

 

I bought one from Ebay about a year ago for my 15 Tacoma, and took about an half an hour to install. It's pretty heavy duty also. It's pretty close to the one you bought. The brackets slide into the rails and you tighten the handles down.

 

Do you have any pictures? Looking to purchase one as well. Thank you

 

Anybody have a current link for these hard tri folds? All the ones that were purchased by members here are expired links.

 

Look at the seller’s current listings and search for Tacoma.... may help locate a current listing.

 

Someone with a first gen needs to buy one so I can see it.

 

How the Tonneau cover has been holding for a year?

 

Thinking of trying this one:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hard-Tri-F...T-72-Short-Bed/383026707124?fits=Model:Tacoma

I just need to know how far away the brackets install from the cab to see if it will clear my wheel chock brackets.

 

So the one I ordered is DT Moto brand. All the old links are dead on eBay so couldn’t even see the seller names so I took a chance and am really happy with the cover. Decent for the budget hard tri fold. May try those cleats from etrailer posted above as they seem cleaner. The brackets are slightly different on mine though and are painted black so that’s nice. Blends nicely when not on. Will post pictures this weekend.

 

Here are some pictures of the DT Moto hard tri-food on our DCLB.
I really like that the retention straps for when it is folded are plastic clips instead of metal. Same with the receiving end near the windows. Give me a little piece of mind incase it comes loose.

Really nice to have the bed to use as secured trunk space now when not in its open configuration. The electric tailgate lock in combination has been awesome.