Bed cover/shell for 05 Tundra 8' bed

Check this out:

Everything they say on the site is true. I've had one on my Tacoma for 2 years and I like it a lot. Just one caveat: The cover has bracing strips molded into the plastic underneath. They protrude downward about 1.5", which means you lose that much storage height in the bed. Take a close look at the things you normally carry. If they come within 2" of the rails, you probably won't be able to store them there any more. You might want to call the company and see if they've changed their design over the past two years.

The covers are as light as they claim. You can remove it easily by yourself, although this will involve sliding the cover toward the tailgate so you can rest one edge on the ground, tip it up, and carry it away. Sort of like lifting a 4x8 plywood sheet alone. If you're going to try this, make sure there's no gritty dirt on the rails, or you'll scratch them. This would be true of any object you needed to slide along the rails, not just this cover.

The cover I own hinges at the front of the bed. The site now shows one that opens at more than one edge - I don't know anything about how those work.

Installation took about an hour, with a friend and I working slowly. I have a plastic bed liner, so we had to remove that and cut away just a little material to make room for the hinge brackets at the front. No cutting was needed for two more brackets which mount at the rear of the rails. Removing the bed liner was more difficult than the cutting of the plastic, which took about 5 minutes.

Doug Kanter wrote: snip

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I looked at this cover for my 2001 Tundra and was going to buy, but they didn't have it available at that time for my truck. I went with an A.R.E. and while it's more expensive, it is color-matched, comes with a key-lock or remote lock (when offered as a special, you have to get coupon from their website) and price includes install. It is heavier, I wouldn't want to try removing it by myself, but with two average guys it shouldn't be a problem. Only other thought is sometimes I haul stuff that will just fit under my lid so it wouldn't fit under the Versacover due to it protruding down into the bed. HTH, davidj92

It would be great if either of them came with a light installed. I'm about to put in a couple of marine-grade LED courtesy lights, though. Minimal drain - I left 6 of them on in my boat one night, and battery voltage only droppped by a hair 8 hours later.

Doug Kanter wrote: snip

Agree with you on this. I bought an incandesant light but didn't install it as it gets so hot I'm afraid it will melt the bed liner. Which lights did you get?

Looking at

I can't seem to find the LED courtesy lights that I saw in their store here. But, this is roughly what they look like: Haven't bought mine yet - I hope they still have the LED version. They're meant for illuminating stairways & such, just enough to provide an outline, not for reading maps or anything. I think this is about all I need in the bed of the truck.

Thanks for the info from both. Seems the 8' bed Tundra is more rare than even I thought.

On the A.R.E. - I just spoke to the dealer and they are indeed pricey. Have you been satisfied with the cover's quality and installation, etc?

I really only need it to transport some personal stuff across the US and want to have it somewhat secure and element protected. If a locking shell is less expensive I might go that route.

Thanks again, Nate

N Williamson wrote: snip

I, too, found the supply for the 8 ft. beds to be limited, that's part of the reason for the higher price I'd guess. (Most trucks sold now don't have the 8 ft. bed). I called two other dealers about 3/4 hr to 1 hr away and the local matched the $50 cheaper price from one of them plus I had a $50 off coupon (IIRC) from A.R.E.'s website. I didn't find them to be higher than any other good quality cover. Final cost, two years ago, was appx $800, don't remember the exact number. Yes, the quality is more than good, so I consider the price to be fair, I haven't had any trouble in the two years I've had it on and it's always been water-tight and no rubbing on the bed's paint. They even gave me a bottle of touch-up paint in case I needed it. I had to go to dealer and let them get the paint code so they could order it with the correct color so it matches body color exactly. The install was good as well, but the install will only be as good as your installer, so you may want to ask for references from them then check them out. Warranty is good as well, they cautioned me precisely about carrying cargo with the cover not latched down or secured. If you let the lid swing while driving it can crack it at the front hinge so you have to secure it if driving with it unlatched. Several people told me they had forgotten to do this but dealer and manufacture honored the warranty.

The A.R.E. shells are more expensive than the lids, but that's comparing the quality of one brand to itself. If you look at another brand shell, make sure the quality is good enough for your needs. Items are visible in a shell so you may need an alarm as well. One other consideration I didn't think of, if snow accumulates on the lid it's substantially heavier (duh) so it may have to be cleaned off before it can be lifted. For no more snow than we get here it's not that much of a problem but could be for high-snow areas. HTH, davidj92

Thanks for an informed reply David.

Nate