Can a cheap tonneau cover do the job? What’s the best tonneau cover for the lowest price? You have several choices for inexpensive covers that do a great job.

Any tonneau cover can do several things. Firstly, a bed cover lets you put your cargo out of sight. Now a dishonest person can still get to the cargo, but it’s out of sight of the curious. So covered cargo attracts less attention. Secondly, covers protect cargo from weather damage. Thirdly, a cover reduces drag caused by the truck bed which may improve your fuel mileage. Fourthly, a covered bed looks good - sleek and distinctive.

The cheapest tonneau covers are the soft covers. Soft covers are heavy duty vinyl. The materials for these covers are weather resistant and long lasting.

Within the soft covers are several different designs. The most common are the roll up type. Roll up tonneau covers roll to the front of the truck bed for storage. A big advantage of these covers over hard lids is that you can completely open up the bed to haul any cargo, no matter how tall or bulky. Attachment to the bed rails is with snap, Velcro or with zip designs.

Other soft designs are made over frames usually in three pieces so you can fold forward the cover in sections. That way you can open one third, two thirds or all of the bed at once.

If you want a hinged cover to convert your truck bed to a big trunk, you can get that too. You get a frame hinged from the front and covered with vinyl that tilts forward and then lowers to lock in place. This cover, like the tilting hard covers, limits your cargo height to less than the height of the bed sides.

For just a couple hundred dollars you can get a soft cover for your truck that will give your truck most of the advantages of a much more expensive model. In some cases, like hauling bulky cargo, a less expensive design may be just the ticket for your pickup.