Evaluation: Access Pickup Bed Cover

When I received my new Access Tonneau Cover for my F150 I had planned on taking it to a mechanic in the next town over to get it installed. But he was busy that day so I looked at the included Installation instructions and it looked easy to install. Now, I missed out on the “mechanical savvy” gene. In fact, anyone that knows me will tell you I am not good at mechanical type tasks.

But the instructions and accompanying pictures seemed to make sense. Heck, what did I have to lose? I got a ratchet wrench and climbed into the bed of my truck. And much to the surprise of some of my friends, and myself, I had it installed in under 20 minutes. (On the web at www.agricover.com)

To be truthful about this, part of the reason things went so smoothly was that I recently had a different make of Tonneau cover on my F150 and it repeatedly had to be adjusted to keep it fitting properly (snugly). That cover was absolute junk.

A few years back I had an Access bed cover on my previous Ford pickup and it was terrific. I can’t tell you how much I looked forward to getting this new Access bed cover and have a quality cover again.

So, for starters my new Access bed cover was very easy to install and adjust so it was nice and tight.

The rollup cover is made of a heavy-duty, double coated and UV protected vinyl fabric that will not stretch in heat and is proven flexible to -40 degrees. It also resists dust and dirt.

All the necessary hardware is included and the basic setup is to clamp down the end of the cover at the cab side of the pickup and clamp on the metal Track on each side of the pickup bed. The track has industrial strength Velcro on it. To close the cover you just unroll it and clamp the end down by the tailgate.

It pops right in place and locks down securely. To unlock it pull the lever you see under my finger and it pops loose.

Then you close your tailgate and your all your stuff is protected from the weather and out of sight.

Each side of the Access cover has industrial strength Velcro on them and the last thing to do is seal the sides of the cover. Just give each side a tug in the middle and seal the Velcro with your hand.

Now the cover is nice and tight. When the cover is tight, it stays tight.

The area where I live can be very dry and dusty. The tightness of the Access cover is an asset driving around on the property, in the woods or on the county’s caliche roads. The cover cuts way down on the amount of dust that gets on your stuff in the bed of your truck.

As you know, there is a bunch of work to do with your truck on your hunting property. I have 5 game cameras and I can stick them in the bed of the truck with the stands and other stuff and get to work. Below I am putting up a SpyPoint game camera.

SpyPoint makes excellent game cameras. They take good pictures, day or night. And their cameras will take 3,000 to 4,000 pictures on a single set of batteries.

When you arrive at one of your hunting spots all you have to do is drop your tailgate.

And pull the lever on the Access cover and unlock it. Then you roll it open.

That’s easy too, and you don’t have to walk around the truck to do it, you can do it from either side. It rolls open in seconds.

Once it is out of the way all your hunting stuff is accessible to you. The Access cover is always on your truck and it’s never in your way.

Another primo feature of the Access bed cover is that after you roll it up the cover has a fastening system to keep the cover rolled up when you need it that way.

It fastens on both sides and keeps the cover from unrolling or bouncing around when the trail gets rough and your stuff is bouncing around.

When you are done roll the cover back out and close it up.

And get going again.

I travel quite a bit on Bowhunting.net’s Online Bowhunts. And frequently other people are with me. One of the unfortunate things about traveling with a lot of hunting gear in the bed of your truck is that things can, and will, come up missing.

If you drive very long you are bound to get hungry. Also, on a trip it is a good idea to get out from behind the wheel a couple of times a day and get your mind off driving.

Parking your truck in a restaurant or fast food place and going inside is good for you but might be bad for your stuff.

A relaxing stop at Braum’s for a burger and fries, plus a chocolate yogurt in a waffle cone.

When I travel I always lock my tailgate. The tailgate has to be open to unlock the Access bed cover. This is a good safety feature that keeps your hunting stuff out of the reach of thieves.

Motels are the biggest threat. You are their longer than at a restaurant and there is more time for shenanigans. Lots of people have had things get taken from the open bed of their truck while they were asleep.

Bad weather can happen when you are traveling — or even at your remote hunting site. High winds and rain will drench your clothes and gear if it gets to it. (On the junk cover that I mentioned, this was one of it’s major downfalls. It leaked like a sieve and also it came loose several times due to the wind.)

However, the Access tonneau cover locks down tight. It is water and wind proof. Just to show you, here is my pickup in a high pressure car wash getting blasted with water and cleaning stuff. The cover stays on and my stuff does not get wet.

I am completely satisfied with the Access bed cover. Agri-Cover offers 4 Tonneau covers for us pickup owners to chose from. The Access, the LiteRider, the Lorado and the Vanish. You can see them at www.AgriCover.com. Agri-Cover has an online store at shop.agricover.com. Or contact them toll free at 866-414-5422 and tell them the make and model of your truck. Just like mine did, it will ship right away and you’ll have it on your pickup in no time.

On the web at www.agricover.com