Just wanted to post a message to thank everyone who offered their
help and suggestions regarding which tonneau cover to choose for
my '90 Dakota. I ended up going with a Downey LTD tonneau, in black.
I thought about getting it in white to match the vinyl top, but
I figured there was almost no chance the white would be the same,
so it would just look funny. I also thought the white might not
weather as well as the black. There are a number of black features
on the truck, and the cover ties in nicely with them (bumpers, fender
flares, etc.)
On the recommendation of Andy Levy, I purchased it for $315 shipped
from BME Covers (http://www.bmecovers.com). It was a bit disconcerting
as the order sort've "dissapeared" after I placed it (i.e. no
confirmation e-mail, etc.) but an e-mail to BME covers confirmed that
it was on its way and the cover arrived about a week after I had placed
the order. That price is about $100-200 more than I was expecting to
pay for a tonneau; these things sure have gone up in price over the
years!
The install was super easy. I went real slow and it took me
20-30 mins. Now that I know what's what, I figure I could install
one in 5-10 minutes. The only part that was a bit of a pain was
snapping the tonneau onto the frame. It was TIGHT even though I
was doing it on an 80 degree day in full sun. That might be my
only complaint with the cover - come winter time, it is going to
be a bear if I have to try to snap it back on - they really could
stand to make it an eighth to a quarter inch longer and wider,
especially considering they include spacers to expand the frame
in case the cover is too loose! The latch was a bit too loose for
my liking, but the adjustment built into the cover took care of
most of that, and a little bending of the latch bars by hand took
out the rest of the slack, so it is pretty good now.
A pleasant surprise was that thanks to the design of the Downey
which hinges back from the cab slightly, I can open the tonneau
fully with the convertible top down! When down, the convertible
top does press into the cover slightly. I moved the bows back
to compensate somewhat for this, but I expect the cover will
develop a couple of impressions and rub a bit. I may look into
seeing if I can create a pair of limiting straps for the top
which will hold it slightly higher than stock to avoid this.
I haven't gotten any pics yet but I expect I will eventually,
and will put them up on my web site when I do. Or if you want
to check it out in person, I hope to drive this Dak to Carlisle
this year, and of course it will be at the BBQ as well.
Although I spent more than I would have liked, so far
I am very happy with this cover. It will provide me with the
flexibility to carry any large items I might need to, while
allowing me to use it as a hinged tonneau the other 99% of the time.
Although no soft tonneau is secure, it will keep any items that
might be in the bed out of sight and out of mind, and should help
out in the fuel economy department too.
Anyway, thanks again to everyone for their recommendations and
advice!
---Jon-
.---- Jon Steiger ------ jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com ------. | I'm the: AOPA, DoD, EAA, NMA, NRA, SPA, USUA. Rec & UL Pilot - SEL | | 70 Cuda, 90 Dak 'vert, 92 Ram 4x4, 96 Dak, 96 Intruder 1400, 96 FireFly | `------------------------------------------ http://www.jonsteiger.com ----'
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