I’ve got the Rough Country hard tri-fold that opens all the way. Had it a couple of months now and I really like it.
I went with a retractable style. It’s nice, but I’m waiting to see how it holds up in the rain. It has drain tubes, but I just directed them to the tailgate and secured them for now. Haven’t figured out where to drill yet.
Since I live near the WeatherTech factory, I went with their cover. I’ve had it for almost two years and haven’t had any leaks.
A lot of these covers look great and would work for different uses. I use my truck bed for bikes and kayaks weekly without a cover, and it works fine. For big grocery runs with the kids, I just throw a Costco plastic tub in the bed. Makes it easier to carry stuff.
I have the Truxedo hard roll-up. It looks good and is pretty easy to use. The best part is how easy it comes on and off when I need to haul a big load. The downside is it’s not super waterproof. Rain is fine, but the car wash will cause some leaks into the bed.
I got a basic hard tri-fold cover (don’t even remember the brand, it was a random one from Amazon). I need to add some waterproofing on the sides near the cab where there’s a little gap, but it’s still pretty tight. I do get water in from the front of the cab because of the tailgate gaps.
I mainly got it just to secure things back there like bags and suitcases.
I’ve always gone with tri-fold soft covers for the last few trucks. They were cheap and worked fine for security. But now, with the small bed on my Maverick, a regular tri-fold just won’t work. It barely covers 2/3 of the bed when folded, so it limits how much I can haul with the cover on.
What hurts is the price jump for a better option. Anything that I want is 3-4 times the price of the soft covers I’ve used before. I’ve thought about soft roll-ups, but I don’t want the hassle of dealing with the velcro every time. I want something I can open and close quickly.
So, I’m leaning toward a hard roll-up like the BAK Revolver X4S. It’ll give me the open bed while still being easy to use. It’s just gonna sting when I have to buy it.
Good luck with your search!
I found one on eBay for $300 that ships. It works great and is waterproof, no need to pay more.