Hey everyone! I'm posting another product review on the forums, as I think sharing information about actual product experience is important for a community. I found it nearly impossible to find any information anywhere on peoples ACTUAL experiences with products, so I'm sharing them here. I have a product review on here for HERC-U-LINER do it yourself bedliner, and here's another product I recently acquired:
AGRI-COVER LITE RIDER TONNEAU COVER
As with all products I purchased, I began researching my options online. I couldn't find any personal experiences anywhere regarding tonneau covers, however I found tons of informational media from a variety of different companies for tonneaus. I actually saw the agri-cover due to an advertisement here on the dodge forums. I checked it out, and it seemed quite functional. It had what I needed, appeared interesting, and looked pretty good. The price tag took me back a bit, as the lowest cost model ran around $400. I began researching alternatives and was unable to find another tonneau cover that seemed to have the features this tonneau cover has.
Other tonneau covers featured a variety of problems, that don't exist with this tonneau cover. Some were fabric pieces that you had to attach with metal snaps, which is a time consuming process, and in cold weather a real pain in the ass. They also required that pieces of metal or wood be placed accross the bed, adding even more time and hassle into the proces of taking the tonneau cover off or putting it on. The largest hasle I forsaw, was that once all of these annoying pieces were removed, they had to be stored somewhere, taking up space in the very truck bed you just sought to free up. Overall, no other product I saw compared, although those products were significantly cheaper.
The agri-cover options appeared the best to me, as they were incredibly easy to take on or off. Removal was as simple as rolling the cover up, and fastening the rolled up beundle right behind the cabin of the truck! Application was just as easy, requiring minimal work, and being something one person could easily do in under a minute of time. It's kind of funny actually, because the agri-cover webpage features big boobed women putting the cover on and taking it off, and my girlfriend laughed about how much that marketed to men. The funny part though is, as soon as installed the thing my girlfriend mimic'd the video as a joke, and still managed to put the cover on and remove it all by herself in under a minute!
I personally acquired the tonneau cover for $368, about $32 below the listed price on the agri-cover webpage. At first I was a bit pissed, as no where would even match agri-cover's webpage, and infact most places quoed me $100 more! When I told them the webpage was $100 cheaper they gave me some bull**** story about how agri-cover sells factory direct and they couldn't hope to match the price. In the end I found a sales manager's email address for one such business I contactedd, and told him I wanted the agric-cover lite rider for my truck, and I wanted it for $350. He gave me the price above in seconds, which is $132 below their original quote!
IMPORTANT NOTE: There are a lot of different models, and some are more expensive then others. The webpage is a bit cryptic about just what the differences are between the access and the literider, which is odd considering there is a $100 price difference. My question was finally answered in full when I called a customer service representative:
The access features larger dials for the cover tension, and features different placement for the cover ties. It also features an additional clamp per side to hold the side rails on. However, this doesn't influence performance, and everything on the Agri-cover lite-rider is guaranteed for life (as is the acecss model). So, choose for yourself what interested you, but allow me to say that the lite-rider model is pretty much the same exact thing, for $100 less.
Installation: Installing the cover was actually quite easy. I enlisted a bit of help from my girlfriend, andwithout even having all of the tools recommended in the directions the cover was installed perfectly, and looking great. After doing the instillation myself I definitely recommend acquiring a pair of spring clamps like the directions say, however it isn't nescessary and can be done without them!
MORE TO COME IN THE MONTHS THAT FOLLOW:
A lot of review goes into a product like this. Everyone states that you get better highway milage with a tonneau cover, and even the agri-cover webpage states that you get a milage increase. Interestingly enough Agri-covers webpage features a calcutlar for how much you'll save, however they do not directly tell you what milage difference to expect. Another important factor is durability. How will this sucker hold up after being removed time after time after time. How will it handle being in the sun for prolonged periods of time?
All these questions and more to be answered in the months that follow. Be sure to check back for a further review.
PRODUCT REVIEW: Agri-cover Lite Rider Tonneau Cover
