A hard tonneau or retractable – which is best for you? It’s a fact that truck owner use tonneau covers to add style, cover their gear, save gas and keep junk out of the bed. But, if your main concern is to keep the stuff you store in the bed from getting stolen then you shouldn’t even consider a soft tonneau cover. Though soft tonneaus are the cheapest bed coverage option out there, hard tonneau covers and retractable tonneaus offer the protection you need and will ultimately pay for them by keeping your gear safe and sound.

When it comes to hard tonneau covers, they’re one of the most popular styles on the road. Considered to be the choice among the truck customization community and anyone who puts sleek looks above all else, hard tonneaus are more than just fortresses for your expensive equipment. What’s more, there are numerous ways to use a hard tonneau cover for utilitarian purposes and plenty of no-frills models that give you hard-tonneau-security without all of the custom-color matched pricing. Plus, hard tonneaus meld securely to your bed and wrap over the bed rails, making it so even the most cunning of thieves would need lots of time and an assortment of tools to get at your gear.

If hard tonneau covers have a drawback, it’s that they’re hard to remove when you need to haul a monster load. Unfortunately, you’ll never have full access to entire bed without taking the cover completely off. And, you’ll have to do whenever your load is taller than the edge of your bed. Because most hard tonneaus weight in at more than 100lbs., it’s not an easy or fast job. Bottom line – when it comes to security and looks, a hard tonneau cover is the way to roll, but, if you regularly haul big and/or tall loads it may be more of hassle than its worth.

So your next option would be a retractable cover. You can think of retractable tonneau covers as a rolling garage door for your truck’s bed. More often than not, these bed covers operate manually with an easy pull of the strap and lock at several positions along the bedrail and finally at the end at the tailgate. The panels of a retractable tonneau cover are most often crafted from resilient materials such as aluminum that can really take a pounding and yet keep on working right. There are even a few retractable tonneau covers that can be opened and closed using a handy remote. At the end of the day, whether you open your retractable tonneau manually or with a remote, it only takes a few seconds to get relatively unobstructed access to your truck’s bed.

For every upside there is, of course, a downside and the same is true for retractable tonneau covers. First and foremost, the installation of a retractable tonneau is quite a bit more difficult. Your bed’s rails must be shimmed to level before the cover will operate as smoothly as it is designed. The entire cover must roll into a heavy canister that sits behind your cab’s rear window. This type of canister can collect moisture and if and when it does it needs to be drained and draining requires drilling holes for the drainage lines. What’s more, that canister is pretty big, especially with longer beds and the space it encroaches on is space you’ll never be able to use for bed storage. With the exception of long, flat cargo that slides in along the bed floor, the front foot or so of your carrying capacity is for the most part lost. While a hard tonneau cover gives you back all of the bed space after some complex disconnecting of hardware and heavy lifting, a retractable tonneau cover never quite gets you back to your full bed length, unless you have the time or wherewithal to completely unscrew the canister, remove the rails, and unhook the drainage tubes – no thanks.

At the end of the day, if it’s rare that you carry loads bigger than the box of your bed and want a cover to secure expensive items that will tuck away, a hard tonneau cover is the way to go. If hauling around bulkier gear and want the fastest access to the most space more, a retractable tonneau cover is the choice. Finally, either way you go, you’re sure to be delighted that you didn’t throw away cash on a soft tonneau, only to have it be cut open and your gear no residing in the hands of the unrighteous.

For over fifteen years MBRP inc. has been delivering performance enthusiasts the most in power, the most in product quality and the most in customer responsiveness. It all began with the now famous B&B Eliminator, which soon achieved the status as the best selling performance snowmobile silencer of all time. Starting from little more than a vision and an absolute passion for all things performance MBRP inc. is now at the forefront of performance exhaust technology. Marshalling over ten decades of manufacturing and marketing expertise between them, the MBRP design team developed a line of performance diesel exhaust products that has made the rest of the industry take notice, and rush to catch up.Most recently MBRP Inc. has achieved something special for the sports truck enthusiast. The new sport line brings to the gasoline-powered vehicle the same perfect blend of style and toughness that diesel light truck owners have come to expect from MBRP. The line features a unique flow through muffler originally developed to increase the performance of thousand horsepower off shore marine engines. The result is a muffler that generates a deeper, mellow sound, improved performance numbers and cooler operating temperatures.

For the future, MBRP inc. is determined to provide the highest fill rates in the industry, offer the most complete line of exhaust for diesel and sports truck enthusiasts and to be always pushing upward the definition of performance.

Go Industries was founded in 1978 by R.J. Orth. Mr Orth saw the need for workmen to protect the tailgates of their pickup trucks, so he began to market his first tailgate protector. The original Go Industries “tailgate guard” was chrome plated and made from 11 gauge steel. It soon became apparent to Mr Orth that pickup truck owners needed various functional accessories for their trucks. By combining this need with an ability to customize the look of a truck, Go Industries prospered. Go’s next products were bed rails and chrome headache racks.In the mid-1980’s Go moved to its current location. Several expansions later, Go now employs almost 50 people in 2 manufacturing facilities and one distribution center. Products are manufactured in state-of-the-art facilities utilizing computer controlled manufacturing equipment and robotic welding machines. All products are backed by a Go Industries warranty.

Today, Go Industries offers such products as: Big Tex – the industry leading 2′ Chrome Grille Guard; CHAR – Go Industries line of Chrome Headache Racks; Big Willie – Stainless Steel Stake pocket rails with built in tie downs; Sport Bars – Go’s Chrome, Black and Stainless Nerf Bar steps; as well as a full line of fiberglass accessories, classic grille guards, knockdown grille guards, mud flaps and accessories and chrome bed rails.

Edelbrock Today

Edelbrock, a giant in today’s performance industry, hails from humble beginnings. Started in the 1930s as a small garage in Beverly Hills, California by master mechanic Vic Edelbrock Sr., the company later evolved as a manufacturer feeding the need for speed. Still in family hands under the direction of Vic Edelbrock Jr., the Edelbrock Corporation now has over 650 employees at five locations throughout Southern California. Their designing, testing and manufacturing today represents an impressive commitment to quality.

DESIGN

The design process
One of the keys to manufacturing a great product is Research and Development. Edelbrock’s dedicated R&D team is comprised of engineers who are automotive enthusiasts. They understand what it takes to design a product that improves performance because they know how it feels when a vehicle is running at optimum power levels. Having the most up-to-date tools to design these products, such as Pro/Engineer software, gives our engineers the tools they need to achieve design goals. This three-dimensional computer software takes a project from an idea to a finished product in a shorter period of time than was previously possible. Combined with tools like the flow bench and electronic test equipment, our R&D team has what it takes to put years of hands-on experience and love of the automobile to work. At Edelbrock, this commitment to engineering and development goes into all our products, whether they’re manifolds, fuel injection, cylinder heads, carburetors, exhaust systems or IAS shocks.

TESTING

Testing delivers proven performance
Once a product has been designed and a prototype part fabricated, it is rigorously tested, both on the engine dynamometer and in the vehicle on our chassis dyno. Two computerized Super Flow dynos record 11 engine variables at speeds up to 12,000 rpm. A Heenan-Froude G490 dyno equipped with a Digalog Cellmate test program and a Testmate data acquisition system is an automated engine dyno that is fully programmable for endurance loads. A Super Flow model SF-840 chassis dyno can handle up to 1,000 hp at the wheels and speeds of 200 mph. For Edelbrock street products, our engineers use our Emissions Lab to test and certify parts. Designed specifically to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Code of Federal Regulations for vehicular emissions testing, the Edelbrock Emissions Laboratory provides vital data that is accepted by the EPA and the California Air Resources Board. A Clayton CPE-50 chassis dyno provides a precise simulation of road load and vehicle operation. Because of our Lab, we can offer street-legal products that will not void your warranty or pollute our precious environment. When all testing is completed, the results evaluated, and the part has passed all performance criteria, then, and only then, is the product deemed ready for production. These precise testing procedures are applied to the entire Edelbrock line for performance that’s guaranteed.

Road-tested where it really counts
Edelbrock test vehicles are driven by Edelbrock engineers and employees to get a “real world” feeling for the performance improvements. Our products are also tested and used by professional race car teams and drivers. Working with these talented individuals is just another extension of our research and development process so when we say “proven performance” we really mean it!

We continue research by listening to our customers
The research and development never really stops at Edelbrock, because we continue our testing by listening to our customers. Four Edelbrock product display trailers travel across the country visiting hundreds of events throughout the year. Staffed by Edelbrock employees and our outside sales reps, these events give us invaluable feedback that helps us keep our products “on the cutting edge” of technology.

FOUNDRY

Quality is top priority
Edelbrock’s sand cast aluminum parts take shape in one of the most modern high-tech green sand aluminum foundries in the Western United States. The Edelbrock Foundry in San Jacinto, California, is a place that prides itself on quality efficiency. The 117,000- sq/ft. complex is capable of producing over 3,000 castings a day. Many of the processes have been automated, yet the critical procedure of setting the cores is still done by highly skilled technicians who carefully hand fit each piece in the intricate assembly that makes up and the mold. The computer-controlled pouring stations ensure that the molten metal is at the correct temperature and that the right amount of aluminum is used. This fully automated system ensures outstanding consistency and quality. Other equipment includes three automated molding lines, 21 core machines, including a new state-of-the-art cold set core machine, and a self-contained sand handling system that is capable of processing 100 tons of sand per hour.

Pattern shop…in-house art forms
In today’s computer age, most of our manufacturing processes revolve solely around computer technology. However, when it comes to making patterns, we combine the old with the new. Back in the ’50s, Harvey Hartman used to carve them himself out of wood. Today, Harvey’s artful talents have been passed down to the next generation through his sons, Mark and Randy Hartman. They blend their wood working skills with the latest techniques in stereo lithography to create patterns of the highest precision. Through this use of high tech, they carry on the tradition of superior quality through highly accurate pattern making using wood and epoxy resin materials.

STATE-OF-THE-ART-MANUFACTURING

Precision machining and quality control
Edelbrock uses the finest equipment for machining and quality control. With over 55 CNC machines and hundreds of dedicated men and women, the Edelbrock facilities have earned the world recognized QS-9000/ISO 9001 certifications for quality. Edelbrock manufactures more types of performance products than any other company and our employees ensure that they are the finest. All of Edelbrock’s aluminum products, which include cylinder heads, water pumps, manifolds and throttle bodies, are machined by modern multi-axis machining centers, like our cylinder head machining cell that uses three Makino A88 4-Axis machines which are all joined by an automated pallet loader. This remarkable cell is capable of machining a cylinder head from start to finish and has been a boon for production as well as quality. Our Coordinate Measuring Machines (CMM) in the Edelbrock Quality Control department check all machined product. Our other products set the industry benchmark standards in their categories. Edelbrock exhaust products are fabricated from high quality pieces that are precision bent, cut and welded on the latest CNC equipment. The world class Edelbrock IAS shocks are manufactured to the highest standards using custom-built machines. Assembly takes place in a temperature controlled clean room to maintain the highest standards of quality. We are continually reviewing and updating the equipment in our manufacturing facilities to ensure that we remain state-of-the-art. These goals have served our customers well for over 67 years and will continue into the future.

• Exhaust Systems that provide maximum performance and increased torque.
• Superior quality products.
• Innovation through research and development.
• On-time shipment from inventory.

Our research and development department utilizing cad cam software provides a constant flow of new products and innovation to meet the demand of today’s vehicles. Gibson’s new product development is a result of our commitment to performance products that deliver results. We design our products in our fully equipped R&D center with multiple engine and chassis dyno’s along with flow bench and audio test equipment. Each new component must pass both quality and performance evaluations prior to a manufacturing commitment. Our modern manufacturing factory uses computerized, numerically controlled, CNC mandrel tube benders which provide consistent accuracy and the highest quality levels. Warehouse inventory with modern computer-aided inventory control and a fully staffed shipping department ensures prompt shipment of your order.

The Gibson heritage of quality and performance sets the standard for the exhaust industry to follow. Our commitment to improve and develop new exhaust systems provides the broadest range and best-engineered systems available today.Today, Gibson performance is still a family operated business housed in an ultra-modern 100,000 square foot facility in Corona, California, with 14+ years of excellence in the exhaust aftermarket.

Gibson performance exhaust systems will give your vehicle more of what you’re looking for in a performance system.

Ron Gibson
President