5 Of The Highest Rated Retractable Covers For Your Pickup Truck Bed

There are four main types of pickup truck bed covers: hinged, folding, roll-up, and retractable. Truck bed covers differ from camper shells in their flat design, which is limited to the top of the truck bed rails. While other bed cover types may be less expensive, it's hard to beat the style, convenience, and value of a retractable bed cover, making it one of the best truck bed mods you can DIY at home.

Retractable truck bed covers also feature a choice of hard shell or soft-top designs. They often feature spring-loaded mechanisms that allow one-handed operation from the tailgate, automatically retracting the cover below the bed rails for an uncluttered appearance when not covering the truck bed.

In addition to the year, make, model, and trim level, you'll need to know some specifics about your truck and bed style, such as if your bed is a long, standard, or short bed and if it is a flareside or a styleside truck bed. For example, the Ford F-150 Raptor truck bed is 67.1 inches long and considered a styleside short bed.

Amazon is a good place to start your search for a retractable truck bed cover. You'll find a wide variety of styles and brands, and adding the details of your truck narrows the list to those that should fit. It's still a good idea to double-check fitment before ordering to avoid return hassles.

The Leer name has been around the pickup truck accessory market for decades. The company offers a full line of truck bed covers, including the Leer Roll-It-Up lineup, designed to fit every major make and model of pickup truck with the most common bed lengths. Leer's most-reviewed retractable truck bed cover on Amazon fits full-size, crew cab, 2019 to 2023 GM trucks like the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra equipped with the short truck bed. It features aluminum construction and depends on the tailgate lock for security.

Out of the 869 customer ratings, about 83% rated Leer truck bed covers with four or five stars, and only 8% of customers gave it the lowest rating of one star. The highest ratings for the retractable bed cover mention the easy installation process and accurate fit, but note that it doesn't provide a water-tight seal. Negative reviews also focus on the water intrusion but add that the seals fall out with use. At least one user reports a mechanical failure of the retraction spring and issues getting Leer customer service to respond to requests for help.

Like Leer, RealTruck offers retractable truck bed covers for a variety of popular pickup trucks with multiple bed lengths. They also offer different models like the Roll-N-Lock M-Series, Gator MT, RetraxPRO MX, and more. One of the highest-rated examples on Amazon from RealTruck is the Gator MT retractable bed cover designed to fit mid-size GM trucks like the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon with a 74-inch truck bed. The Gator MT features aluminum construction and provides a keyed lock in addition to the security provided by locking the tailgate. The T-slot side rails allow for attaching accessories from brands like Yakima, Thule, Rhino-Rack, and others.

RealTruck's Gator truck bed covers have received 144 customer reviews on Amazon with 84% of reviews being above three stars. The positive reviews praised the easy installation after watching the install video but took issue with the printed instructions. However, like most truck bed covers, water intrusion is a problem for those who didn't expect it.

Syneticusa offers four models of retractable truck bed covers: MB, MR, AR, and ER. The top-line ER retractable truck bed cover features aluminum construction, T-slot side rails for accessories, and a remote-controlled powered retraction and lock/unlock of the mechanism. The AR model isn't remote-controlled or powered but features spring-loaded retraction while maintaining the ER's solid construction and T-slot rails. The MB and MR models retain the aluminum construction of the others but must be retracted manually and feature dual key locks. The Syneticusa MR features T-slot rails, while the base MB does not.

The Syneticusa MB retractable bed cover designed for late-model full-size GM trucks has received 333 Amazon reviews with a 4.4-star average. Positive reviews with four- and five-star ratings make up 87% of the total. One- and two-star ratings account for 8% of the total reviews. The positive reviews mention the bed cover's build quality, great looks, and value, with some saying that they've had minimal water intrusion after going through rain storms and car washes. Negative reviews relate to the company's refusal to pay return shipping, fitment issues, instructions, and difficult installation, along with the ever-present complaints about water leaks.

Onine retractable truck bed covers are available with or without electrically powered retraction. The powered model includes a remote for unlocking and retraction, while the manual-retract models use a key lock and a strap to pull the cover closed at the tailgate. Like some of the other retractable truck bed covers on this list, the Onine covers feature sturdy aluminum construction, a matte black finish, and T-slot compatible side rails. While installation doesn't require drilling, Onine recommends having the cover installed professionally.

Evidently, retractable truck bed covers are most popular among full-size GM pickup truck owners, or they're just the most prolific Amazon reviewers. That would explain why the most reviewed Onine retractable truck bed cover fits late-model full-size GM pickup trucks, although the company makes retractable bed covers for most popular truck models. The full-size GM-compatible Onine truck bed cover has received 216 customer reviews with an average rating of 4.0 stars. While 75% of the reviews were above three stars, 18% of reviewers gave them one- or two-star reviews. Positive reviews relate to the build quality and packaging of the Onine truck bed cover, while negative comments include poor customer service and faulty opening mechanisms.

Bestwyll retractable hard covers fit a variety of truck models and offer models with manual or powered retraction operation. While the manual version (capable of automatic retraction) uses a key-locked handle, the powered Bestwyll truck bed cover features a key-fob remote control. Both versions feature aluminum construction and a textured powder-coated matte-black finish. While either style cover allows retraction with the tailgate open or closed, the manual cover provides a locking mechanism override that's only accessible when the tailgate is open.

The Bestwyll retractable truck bed cover with the most user reviews on Amazon fits late-model Ford F-150 pickups, including Lightning and Raptor truck models. Overall, Amazon buyers rated Bestwyll truck bed covers at 4.4 stars, averaging over 92 reviews. The top reviews praise the retractable Bestwyll covers for their sturdy design and functionality. However, some adjustments may be required to use Ford's automatic closing tailgate feature. While the installation manual provides step-by-step instructions, users found the installation video helpful. However, some negative reviews found the instructions and video lacking, while others received a defective latch mechanism.

We limited the results to those with at least 4-star ratings and close to (or over) 100 reviews on Amazon. While the Bestwyll bed covers only have 92 reviews as of this writing, its 4.4-star rating was among the highest on our list.

Retractable truck bed covers from Retraxpro and Pace Edwards have good initial ratings but very few reviews. However, those brands offer options for long-bed pickups, unlike some other brands.

Ultimately, it's best to look at reviews subjectively and rely mainly on those associated with the model that fits your truck. Pay attention to details such as product quality, ease of installation, and fitment to make the best choice while ensuring a suitable return policy in case something goes awry.