Rough Country vs Bakflip: Which Tonneau Cover to Buy?

If you have a truck or a large vehicle that you use to transport or carry cargo, you’re definitely going to need a tonneau cover to keep them protected. They’ll keep whatever you are carrying in your vehicle safe and covered, and you can go off on your journey having to worry about nothing but the destination. 

When it comes to the best tonneau covers, two names dominate this very competitive market: Rough Country and BAKflip. Both these brands have been making tonneau covers for many years and they are both renowned for their high-quality products.

In fact, unless you are looking for something very specific, it is hard to choose between a BAKflip tonneau cover and a Rough Country tonneau cover. 

Rough Country Tonneau Covers 

Rough Country was established in 1975, and they were well-known around the world for their classic yellow-bodies shock covers. These tonneau covers are durable, user-friendly and made from high-quality materials. 

The tonneau covers from Rough Country take only a few minutes to install and the entire procedure is extremely easy. This is one of the reasons that Rough Country is popular and favored as a brand, because their tonneau covers can be used by anyone. 

Rough country tonneau covers are also affordable compared to most of the other brands in the market. The covers look and feel pretty solid once they are installed and will give you years and years of service.

Besides, these tonneau covers are completely waterproof and will keep your cargo completely safe and dry even when the weather is rough outside. Not just water, Rough Country tonneau covers will protect your truck bed and your cargo from snow, dust, air and dirt at all times. 

BAKflip Tonneau Covers 

BAKflip, on the other hand, is a manufacturer of world-class trucks and large vehicles. Tonneau covers for the same vehicles are just one of their side-products that they make in a lot of different designs, shapes and sizes. 

BAKflip has a large diversity when it comes to tonneau covers. They make not only tonneau covers for their own trucks, but ones that will fit other trucks and vehicles to cover the truck bed. Their products include hard folding, soft folding, retractable and hard rolling tonneau covers. 

BAKflip is actually one of the best manufacturers of tonneau covers that can handle rough weather and extreme forms of impact.

They can keep your cargo safe, dry and protected at all times, in any weather or land. Because the tonneau covers can handle any kind of impact, the cargo can be transported through rough terrain without any worries. 

BAKflip tonneau covers are also quite affordable compared to the other high-end tonneau covers available in the market and can also give years of service and use. 

Rough Country vs Bakflip 

While both Rough Country and BAKflip are both well-known and celebrated brand names in terms of tonneau covers, there are still some differences between them.

In fact, if you know exactly what you are looking for in a tonneau cover, there are definitely ways to choose one over the other based on their features, advantages and disadvantages. 

Materials 

The tonneau covers from Rough Country are usually made of aluminum that are of an aircraft-grade, with a strong and protective black textured finish. BAKflip tonneau covers, on the other hand, are made by standard aluminum or premium-grade aluminum, or even by a Vinyl or FRP finish over aluminum. 

Therefore, it can be said that when it comes to materials, Rough Country tonneau covers are made of a more durable and trusted form of aluminum. 

Installation Time and Process/Procedure 

Both Rough Country and BAKflip tonneau covers are easy to install, but the former brand makes tonneau covers that take less than 30 minutes to install. There’s no need for any kind of drilling or use of professional tools in installing Rough Country tonneau covers to your truck bed. 

The tonneau covers from BAKflip also do not require any drilling to install, but it takes slightly longer to install. In fact, it might take a non-professional double the time, i.e. 1 hour or more, to install a BAKflip tonneau cover to their truck bed depending on the size and the model. 

Price Range 

Rough Country and BAKflip are both affordable tonneau cover brands, but the models from BAKflip cost slightly more. Depending on the material, the size and the features, Rough Country tonneau covers might cost somewhat around $500 while those from BAKflip can start from $750 and go up to $1000. 

The price also depends on the kind of warranty you are getting on these tonneau covers. Rough Country covers come with fewer years of warranty but the ones from BAKflip come with at least 3 to 5 years of warranty, hence they cost more. 

Weight

The tonneau covers from Rough Country and BAKflip differ a lot when it comes to their weight. The former has a consistent weight of around 70 lbs but the weight of BAKflip tonneau covers differ based on their model and size. Some of them might be under 300 lbs while others might even go up to 400 lbs or 500 lbs. 

In short, most BAKflip tonneau covers weigh much more than the tonneau covers from Rough Country. 

Panel Core and Panel Finish 

When it comes to the construction, Rough Country is manufactured with a better material and they perfectly fit each other. All the parts are screwed together perfectly with just the right kind of screws, making the tonneau cover almost indestructible.

The finish of a Rough Country tonneau cover is also much better, made with aircraft-grade aluminum with a black-textured, protective finish.  

Although the tonneau covers from BAKflip are also build with good materials, the ones from Rough Country are still better. 

UV-Resistant and Water-Resistant 

Tonneau covers are primarily used to keep your cargo safe from weather and outside impact, which means that they should be UV- and water-resistant. These are features that you’ll find in both Rough Country and BAKflip tonneau covers. 

However, it is Rough Country tonneau covers that give better protection against water and sunlight compared to BAKflip. Because of the very strong aircraft-grade aluminum used in manufacturing these tonneau covers, they are completely resistant to the sun’s harmful UV rays.

Besides, since the aluminum plates are perfectly fitted together, not a single drop of water or rain can enter your tonneau cover when it is properly installed and locked. 

Security 

Rough Country tonneau covers come with a vehicle tailgate lock that protects your cargo from theft, which is also available with BAKflip tonneau covers. Besides, both these tonneau cover manufacturers use hard and strong, high-quality aluminum in their build that’s impossible to break, scratch or pry open. 

Rough Country vs BAKflip Tonneau Covers: Which One is Better? 

While both Rough Country and BAKflip makes excellent quality tonneau covers, considering every feature and characteristics, it may be concluded that Rough Country makes more durable, more affordable and a better-quality tonneau cover, and should be the smarter choice.