Usually we use truck bed covers to cover up unused space in the trucks, roadsters, convertibles or cargo beds in pickup trucks. Truck bed covers are made of cloth and vinyl. You can find different types of truck bed covers available in the market that include “rolled-up” and hard roll on truck bed covers.So, lets find out are truck bed covers waterproof ?
These covers are more firm and long-lasting than regular roll-on truck bed covers; they feature a hinging or folding mechanism while regular truck bed covers open up by rolling on.
But, you must be wondering, Are truck bed cover waterproof? To be precise, truck bed covers are not waterproof. However, in this article we have discussed how you can protect your belongings dry with the help of these truck bed covers. You can also check if water is leaking from your truck bed covers and learn how to make the water leakage minimal so that their purpose could be fulfilled.
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Why Do You Need Truck bed Covers
If you own a truck bed and like to travel to different locations with all your necessary belongings in it, then you must be worried about protecting those belongings from extreme weather conditions. Truck beds have extra cargo space that you can use for carrying tools or sports material or delivering products. There are also certain risks involved in carrying things in that space.
First of all, your belongings can become highly vulnerable if left unattended, and also they are completely open to any weather conditions. Secondly, you need to protect things from bouncing out of the truck bed by securing them properly.
To solve all your travelling worries that we have discussed above, you can purchase truck bed covers, which will cover up the bed protecting your valuables. If you want to install them to keep your truck from harsh weather, you would want them to be waterproof or at least water-resistant as your belongings may get damaged by heavy rainstorms easily.
So, let us discuss some benefits of these covers.
Benefits of Truck Bed Covers
There are a few benefits of truck bed covers that we can write down here:
Protect your cargo from snow and wind
Keep heat and harmful UV rays off your gear
Stop dust and dirt from getting in your truck bed
Discourage prying eyes or even stop a potential thief
Are they really waterproof?
As we have already discussed above, truck bed covers are not completely waterproof. Do not be fooled if anyone guarantees you to give you a water proof truck bed cover. Water can come into the covers from places you don’t even know and also from the gaps that you cannot even see.
However, they do provide water resistance up to a certain extent, which sometimes fulfils your needs of keeping your belongings dry inside. Hence, being waterproof really is not always required as long as you’re getting the job done.
You can also increase the water-resistance yourself by choosing a better type of truck bed cover. A painted one-piece truck bed cover is the best one for you. This kind of truck bed cover features a single piece of fiber-glass or ABS plastic that goes all the way from front to back.
Hard roll-up or hard-folding truck bed covers also provide pretty good water resistance. Other covers like soft folding, soft roll-up, and snap covers does not provide any water resistance and we do not recommend these covers if you want to keep the water out.
How can you make them better?
Now, you must be clear that there is actually nothing that could completely make your truck bed cover waterproof. However, you can still increase its water resistance and get the job done. Most covers are made with rubbers or seals at the sides to keep water from entering, which usually does not serve the purpose. So let’s discuss about some solutions that will help increase the resistance power of truck bed covers to keep your bed protected from water.
a) Use Extra Seals
If the water that is currently leaking is not too heavy, then the process is not that demanding. Hence, in this situation you can install a few more seals to solve the minor issue. You can also approach a local hardware store and purchase the seal of required size. Remember, the seals come in numerous sizes depending upon the size of the truck bed cover. Always make sure that you purchase the right size and not just the largest size available as it may worsen the problem later.
b) Use Bed Seal Kits
In some cases, installing the bed seal kits can solve your problem once and for all. You can have everything that you need ranging from seals to foam blocks, if you buy bed seal kits. If any water enters inside your truck bed, then they have also provided a drainage system as well to get rid of it.
However, these kits are really expensive; hence do not consider buying then unless the leakage is huge or you really need to keep your valuables protected inside the bed.
c) Water Pipe Insulation Method
Water pipe insulation is inexpensive compared to other methods. Moreover, this is also popular as it involves a pretty simple process. You can also easily avail the water pipes easily. These pipes are made of rubber and do come in a slit-form, which makes them easy to fix to the gaps.
Installing these pipes is really easy; all you need to do is to fit them where the water usually enters from, mostly a gap. This method is also effective in keeping your bed safe from water even if the water is coming in from various gaps.
Ensure That Your Truck Bed Cover Is Water Resistant
There are a couple of tests that you could use to make sure that water is not dripping inside your bed, while keeping your items safe.
You can carry out these tests on a sunny day. All you need to do is to get inside the cover and close the tail-gate so that it is completely dark inside. Close the tailgate in such a way that no sunlight comes inside.
Then, it becomes convenient for you to see where the beams of lights are coming in from; those are the gaps that you need to fill to make your cover water resistant. If you do not see any light beams coming in, then you are ready to go.
The second test that you can conduct is to do a water test. This test is also easy. To conduct this test, isolate yourself within the cover and take someone’s help to throw water on the cover using a water hose, in the similar way it rains.
If you see any water leaking from inside your truck bed cover, you will know what to do with that portion. However, do not pressurize the water on the seals or foam as they could not stand the high pressure and water will eventually be forced in.
More Related Queries
Are truck bed covers waterproof?
Ans: No. Truck bed covers are not fully waterproof.
Is there any way that I can make truck bed covers waterproof?
Ans: No. you cannot make any modification to make them waterproof. However, you can increase their water resistance up to a great extent .
Truck bed covers keep your truck bed dry?
Ans: Yes, you can keep truck bed cover dry. However, it clearly depends upon the type of truck bed cover you are using.
Can I test whether significant water leaks inside my truck bed?
Ans: Yes, there are a few reliable tests you could perform to make sure water does not drip inside your truck bed in great amount.
Should I fully waterproof truck bed covers?
Ans: No, you do not need to fully water proof your truck bed cover as long as you keep your truck bed or the goods inside it dry; you can do this by a good level of water resistance.
Final Words
Now, you must be aware that truck bed covers can never be fully waterproof, but there are a different ways that we can follow to make them highly water-resistant, which will help keep your valuables completely dry inside.
However, make sure you have purchase the correct type of cover and use the correct type of procedure to avail the highest level of water resistance in your truck bed.
