Best Soft Tri-fold Tonneau Cover – Tyger Auto T3
If you are looking for the best soft tri-fold tonneau cover for the bed of your truck then you have narrowed it down and know what style of bed cover you want to buy. Maybe you even read my article on how to choose a tonneau cover, or maybe you’ve seen your friend’s and want one similar to his. Either way your search for a truck bed cover is much easier now that you don’t have to wade through the sea of options that are out there.
I recently bought a soft tri-fold bed cover off of Amazon myself for my 2012 Ram 1500 Quad Cab. It was very affordable, very highly rated by purchasers, and is a quality made tonneau cover. The one I purchased is the Tyger Auto T3 Soft Tri-Fold Truck Bed Tonneau Cover.
Personally I don’t haul much in the back of my truck but I don’t mind having an open bed, however this summer I needed to cover the contents of my truck bed. I went on a road trip with 4 people and needed to store everyone’s luggage and personal items safely in the bed of the truck. That trip has come and gone and I put about 2000 miles on my truck and the Tyger Auto T3 bed cover did great!
In this article I’m going to go over my experiences with this tri-fold tonneau which includes ordering it, installing it, and general usage. I hope you find it helpful and if you choose to buy this model for your truck I hope that it works as good for you as it has been for me. Now on to my review of the Tyger Auto T3…
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The Tyger Auto T3 Soft Tri-Fold Tonneau Cover
This is really a quality made bed cover and if you are on a bit of a budget it allows you to get the most bang for your buck. Hop on over to Amazon to check out the prices on this bed cover. As I’ve mentioned, I own this bed cover myself and am very pleased with my purchase. On to some of the reasons why this bed cover works for me and is a great deal.
Specs
- Product weight – 33 lbs
- Product dimensions – 71 x 30.4 x 4.3 inches
- Material – vinyl and aluminum with plastic and metal hardware for attaching to your truck
Features
- Dual coated marine grade vinyl that is waterproof and very durable
- Heavy duty powder coated aluminum frame
- Limited lifetime warranty by Tyger Auto, you can read on their website what constitutes voiding the warranty
- Fits a large number of different makes, models, and different sized truck beds
- Rated highly on Amazon
- Is priced very affordably
General use
This bed cover works great for its intended use, which is to protect the contents of your truck bed. I have been using it for a couple of months now and have only good things to say. It has a nice snug fit on my truck and looks very stylish. It’s also very easy to unclip the rear clips and fold it up if you need to access the rest of the bed.
I have used it for a road trip where I stored all of our luggage in the truck bed, doing this saved me about $1500 and I’ll explain how. On my recent vacation I had the option to buy plane tickets for my family to our destination then rent a car when we get there, or buy a truck bed cover and keep all of our luggage back there and drive to our vacation destination. I obviously chose the latter and with the cost of 4 round-trip plane tickets and a rental car once we got there that’s about how much I saved. Now I did lose out on some vacation time because of the long drive but it was a compromise I was willing to make.
I have also used it several times so that I can put groceries in the bed without fear of the wind blowing something out. This is very nice for me, I am currently looking for a truck bed organizer of some sort to keep grocery bags in place a little better and will update this post if I find one. Currently I’m just tying the bag handles in knots, setting the bags near the tailgate for easy removal, and driving carefully. This has worked fine so far.
Installation
It’s a no-drill installation that can easily be done by one person, just follow the instructions so you don’t have to go back and do anything over. According to Tyger they estimate the installation time at just 5 minutes, I don’t think this is realistic. Maybe 5 minutes for Tyger Auto employees who have installed a hundred bed covers, but for normal people who have to read the instructions carefully, spread out all the parts and hardware, and just generally take their time to ensure it’s done correctly. I think 30 minutes or so is more realistic for most. Which is still not bad in my opinion.
It ended up taking me more than 30 minutes because I finished and realized the two back clamps had to have the screws adjusted based on the instructions so I essentially had to start over. No biggie though, I wanted it done right.
Look and style
The T3 looks very good on my truck, especially at the low price point it’s at. No it’s probably not going to look quite as slick as a $1500 retractable bed cover or a $900 one-piece hinged tonneau, but you get what you pay for. In this case I feel like I got more than I paid for and am very happy with my purchase.
Once the tonneau is folded out and clamped on to your bed you really can’t tell that it’s a soft bed cover unless you are up close, above are a few pictures of this bed cover on my truck.
Some FAQ about the Tyger Auto T3
How do I clean and protect my Tyger Auto bed cover?
Soap and water is fine. Some people use things like Armor All but I’ve read that it’s not good for the vinyl and will dry it out. If you want to get a protectant that will really keep it looking new then consider this one on Amazon that is made by the manufacturer for just that purpose.
Can I take this bed cover through an automatic car wash?
While hard tonneau covers can go through a car wash, it’s a little more nuanced for soft tonneau covers. Automatic car washes with wax treatments are not recommended for the Tyger Auto T3 because the wax can damage the vinyl and the brushes may cause damage as well. Only touchless automatic car washes are recommended.
Is the bed cover watertight?
I’m hesitant to say water-tight, as in absolutely no water will ever enter your bed because I don’t think that’s true. Having said that it probably keeps 99% of water out assuming that you’ve installed it correctly and used the provided weather stripping where needed. I’ve ridden through some very heavy downpours with luggage in the back and it didn’t get wet at all, but you could see on the sides where just a little moisture was seeping in the cracks but didn’t even hit the bed floor. Overall your belongings will stay very dry, I wouldn’t worry about it.
Does the Tyger Auto T3 have a warranty?
Yes, this bed cover comes with a limited lifetime warranty from the manufacturer, you can read more about it here.
Is it normal for the vinyl to flap in the wind while driving?
This is normal and no cause for concern. At first I was a little worried but as I got used to driving with it on I no longer think about it. I’ve already driven thousands of interstate miles with this bed cover on and while it does flap in the wind a little bit simply because of the material, it’s in no danger of flying off unless you actually see it lifting off from the bed rails which won’t happen if you installed it correctly.
Will it increase my MPG/fuel mileage?
This is a tough one. Some people like to say they have seen increased fuel mileage, I have not. I also didn’t buy this bed cover for the fuel mileage increase. I bought it to protect the contents of my bed and it does that beautifully. For me, if there is an increase in MPG it is negligible.
Some of the Amazon reviewers claim they are getting .5 to 2 miles per gallon better but honestly I find that hard to believe. It may slightly reduce drag and make the vehicle a little bit more aerodynamic I guess, but keep in mind our trucks are built with maximum fuel efficiency in mind already. It could be any number of things making these people see a slight increase in MPG. I wouldn’t get my hopes up and just take it as an added bonus if you see a minor improvement here.
Can I use this bed cover if I have a bed liner?
Absolutely. I have a bed liner on my truck and it fit great. I did however use a piece of the provided weather stripping on the rear bed rail for a better, more even fit.
Can I drive around with the cover folded up?
According to the manufacturer this is not recommended on highways and interstates, but it should be fine around town as long as you are using the provided clips near the cab and safety clamps to the rails. Personally, I probably won’t do it often if ever.
Choosing the right Tyger Auto T3 bed cover for your truck
There are many different variations of this bed cover so the choices can be a bit overwhelming, on the manufacturer website they have over 50 variations. I recommend entering your truck into your Amazon account like I go over in this article and it will help you narrow down the one that fits your truck.
Additionally you can go to Amazon and just search “2016 Toyota Tundra Tyger Auto T3 Tonneau” or something like that. Then go into the comments and reviews and make sure it’s the right one for you. Also, Tyger Auto recommends that you measure your bed before purchasing to be safe.
