Imagine buying a couch and realizing later that it won’t get through your apartment door. Similar issues are likely to happen if you don’t have the correct dimension for buying a tonneau cover.
Not only will it fit haphazardly over the rail, but it will also leave barely any space for loading objects in the cargo. To save everyone that trouble, this guide will briefly explain the process.
So, how to measure a truck bed for a tonneau cover? First, you need to gather the right tools before getting started with the measurements. Next, you’ll convert the metric into the required units.
You may have to do some adjustments as well. Read on to learn about the process in detail.
How to Measure Truck Bed for Tonneau Cover?
The measurements should be quite accurate, but don’t worry too much about it.
It’s alright for the truck bed to be off by a few inches since the tonneau cover is usually curved to the next round figure while commercializing.
Buckle up and get a near-perfect measurement of your truck bed to get the most fitting tonneau cover for it.
Step 1: Gather All the Tools
Required tools include a measuring tape, a pen, and a pad to write the measurements down. I would keep a health drink by me as well, as anything mathematical makes me exasperated!
Step 2: Take Measurements
You need to take the measurements, the length, and the width. This step must be performed with the tailgate up.
First, take the measuring tape and set it longitudinally from the inner surface of the bulkhead to the inner surface of the point where the tailgate of the corresponding side starts.
As you begin to measure the width, take the numbers while having the tape from the inner corner of one tailgate to that of the other. Pretty simple, isn’t it?
Step 3: Convert Them into the Right Units
All the measurements you took until now were in inches, and now convert them into feet.
Hoping that you don’t express measurements in languages like “the tailgate is two crocodiles long”, it should be easy to do this step.
Just divide the number by 12, and the remainder can be left as decimals. For example, 68 inches is 5 foot 8 inches (5’8”).
Later on, determine the surface area of the entire truck bed by multiplying the length by width. If it is an odd number, don’t round it up yet.
Area = Length * Width (in feet)
Step 4: Adjust Where Needed
Now that you are done with the basic measurements, here are a few objects that will drastically change the dimension of the tonneau cover you will need to buy.
If your truck has a toolbox, a console box, an additional rail gate, or a cargo management system, then you will need to adjust your measurements accordingly. A great way to ease this process is by knowing what kind of truck you are driving.
Did the object come built-in with your truck? Or did you have it installed later on? These facts should be able to cover this maladjustment.
What Size Tonneau Cover Do I Need?
That depends on your very own vehicle. Take measurements in the way described above, and head over to your local store.
If you don’t find the exact ones on the shelf, the salesperson will help you find the one closest to your numbers.
Are Tonneau Covers Universal?
They are not. Tonneau covers differ greatly in dimension, thickness, materials, and purpose. It’s up to you to figure out which one is the best choice for your truck.
The type of your truck, the kind of functions you want out of your tonneau cover, and the climate – are the factors that make tonneau covers worthy of customization.
