In our previous articles, we have talked in great depth about tonneau covers for some of the most popular Nissan trucks (Frontline and Titan). And if you took some time to read them, you could see that we were more than pleased with these massive vehicles.
Well, it turns out that Nissan is not the only Japanese company that knows how to make great trucks. Just take a look at Honda Ridgeline. Sure the doors could be a bit larger, and fuel economy could be better, but the excellent tonneau makes this vehicle one of the best ways to transport your cargo from point A to point B.
But what happens when the temperature becomes too hot or the rain starts pouring down from the sky?
Let’s take a look at these couple of products and try to find the best tonneau cover for Honda Ridgeline that will help you to address this problem as well.
So, without further ado, here are our top five contenders.
The 5 Best Tonneau Covers for Honda Ridgeline Reviews
1. North MountainSoft Vinyl Roll-up Tonneau Cover (2017 – 2020 Honda Ridgeline)
At first glance, this neat product coming from North MountainSoft is your by the numbers Ridgeline bed cover with little to no surprises under the hood. After extensive testing, we have to say that it doesn’t need to be a bad thing.
You see, tonneau covers are products with little room for gimmicks and exciting features. The best thing you can hope for is good build quality and reliable performance. Fortunately, the unit checks both these boxes and sells at a very lucrative price. We’re in.
So, what exactly do we have here?
Well, the very cover is made from durable vinyl tarp with a built-in crossbar design and features a familiar roll up retraction system. You know how they say – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The great thing about this cover is that everything on display truly works like a charm – the vinyl is very durable and resistant to damage, and the patterned top surface takes care of the minor scratches you may pick up along the way.
Another thing we really dig is that the product features a simple but efficient top-mounted design that promotes bed runoff and keeps the open space at the bare minimum. The side rails are easy to mount, and the Velcro does a pretty good job keeping everything together.
Is there anything wrong with this product?
For sure. The instructions you get in the package are pretty atrocious, and you will probably need a good 45 minutes to put everything into place without causing accidental leakages. But, at this price point, we can live with this minor drawback.
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North MountainSoft Vinyl Roll-up Tonneau Cover is a product that does virtually all the important things right and features only a couple of minor drawbacks. Most noticeably, the installation is pretty hard, and poor instructions are not making things any easier. But, at this price point, the cover is a steal.
2. Tonno Pro Tonno Fold, Soft Folding Truck Bed Tonneau Cover (2006 – 2015 Honda Ridgeline)
Tonno Pro may not be just as famous as some other brands on this list, but the Honda Ridgeline tonneau cover they managed to roll out here definitely does enough things well to warrant our attention. Unfortunately, there are a couple of drawbacks as well. But hey, the product ended up in our top 5.
Let us start with the positives, shall we? As you can see from the name, this time, we are dealing with a soft folding cover, which essentially means that you get vinyl spread out across a durable aluminum frame. This tri-fold setup has a couple of inherent benefits.
First and foremost, since the frame fits perfectly into the side rails, the sealing is excellent, and the chances of water slipping inside the bed are cut to a bare minimum. Second, the frame lends the cover a lot of structural integrity and eliminates the problem of keeping vinyl in place with Velcro straps.
In this case, all these things work like a charm. We drove our truck on heavy rain, gave it a couple of treatments with an automatic wash machine, and the cargo was, for the most part, intact. Sure, a couple of drops found a way inside, but the overall results were more than satisfactory.
The problem with this cover is that the vinyl used for production is not that durable. During our weeks-long testing, we have noticed a couple of significant scratches. We were afraid that the fabric will tear up at some point.
Also, the pre-drilled holes are not matching, which means you will have to make new ones. This could’ve been easily avoided with good old C-clamps.
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Tonno Pro Soft folding cover is a product that does a lot of things right but has one major flaw – the vinyl used for production is not very durable. However, if you don’t expect a lot of debris along the way, you will be pleasantly surprised with the perks you get here.
3. Gevog Soft Roll-Up Truck Bed Tonneau Cover (2017-2020 Honda Ridgeline)
And we are going back to the realm of top-mounted soft roll-up covers. This familiar design pitches the cover we are going to cover here directly against the first product on the list. As you have seen, our impressions were more than okay. How Gevog performs in direct comparison.
The answer is pretty good.
For the most part, the building blocks we have seen in North MountainSoft’s entry. The product is made from 24-ounce, which is still the highest standard in the industry, and the aluminum rails look like they can withstand the ages of bumping before bending or breaking.
If we are to nitpick, we could say that the top cover surface could benefit from more texture (protection from starches and UV rays), but the build quality is excellent even as it is.
We are also very pleased with the tension-adjust system. It’s easy to use and makes sure that that vinyl cover will remain perfectly stretched across the bed even if you have not perfectly installed the frame. The very installation, on the other hand, is a breeze, so this shouldn’t be an issue.
So far, so good.
However, this cover features some flaws even though they are not that visible at first glance. We have already mentioned the texture of the top surface. The other thing that leaves us slightly concerned is the clearance that remains when the cover is rolled out. You won’t notice any difference in the case of light rain, but heavy storms will breach the side sealing.
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Gevog Soft Roll-Up Truck Bed Tonneau Cover might just be the best tonneau cover of this roundup. The build quality is excellent, the materials top-notch, and everything seems quite pristine for this price range. The side sealing may be a bit vulnerable to heavy storms, but we can live with that.
4. Extang Encore Hard Folding Truck Bed Tonneau Cover (2017 – 2020 Honda Ridgeline)
Aluminum tri-fold covers were always some of the most popular Honda Ridgeline accessories and for a good reason too. The aluminum is a material that features lightweight and extraordinary durability – in other words, it provides excellent protection for your cargo without putting an excessive burden on your truck.
Extant Encore Hard Folding Tonneau Cover leverages these benefits to the fullest extent and makes one incredibly appealing purchase. Even more so, when we take into consideration that the manufacturer did its best to sprinkle the cover with a couple of small tweaks that make it even more functional.
For instance, the matte surface that graces the top of the cover is simply excellent – it cuts the absorption of UV rays to a minimum and prevents minor scratches from debris you pick up on the road.
Also, the design pattern the manufacturer used is very consumer-friendly. Although aluminum tri-fold units are notoriously hard to install, we had no problem with mounting whatsoever. Furthermore, the retraction of the panels was a breeze. The cover easily slides across the rails and requires very little effort to be pulled off from the truck bed.
Of course, there are some things we didn’t like. In this case, that would be the rubber sealing the clearance between aluminum panel and side rails. To put it simply, the quality of the material is subpar. When we kept our test truck exposed to the sun for a couple of hours in a row, the sealing almost started to melt and crack.
That can be quite concerning if you are living in a sunny area.
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Unlike the previous products that suffered during heavy storms, this neat aluminum panel is most vulnerable when the sun is high in the sky. High temperatures may melt rubber sealing. But, if you don’t see that many sunny days over a year, this is one excellent purchase.
5. Rugged Liner E-Series Soft Folding Truck Bed Tonneau Cover (2017 – 2020 Honda Ridgeline)
And for the very end of this roundup, we are going back to the first type of product we have reviewed – a soft vinyl roll-up cover this time coming from Rugged Liner – a name not that unfamiliar to small truck owners. Does this product live up to the solid reputation of this Michigan-based company?
Well, the answer is yes but, to no small extent, because we weren’t expecting some groundbreaking quality. Don’t get us wrong, this product has all the basics covered. The top-mounted design works great just like always, vinyl is durable and looks sleek, and you don’t need any tools for installation. All these things make a very solid first impression.
When it comes to the very performance, we have to say that we are quite pleased. The cover managed to withstand most of the elements we faced out there (and we did get quite a variety last couple of weeks) and showed signs of leaks only after a direct hose treatment and automatic car wash.
The real problem here is the value proposition. The product doesn’t do anything better than other units from this price range. The overall impression suffers even more in direct comparison with the other two similar covers we reviewed on this list. Both of them produced even better results while selling at a considerably lower price.
Also, the installation process is a chore, and the instructions you get in the package are simply horrible. But, this is still one solid if the slightly overpriced cover you should take into consideration.
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This cover is an interesting beast. We had to include it in our top five because the performance on display here is truly solid. However, with the hefty price tag that hangs on the package, we have to admit that you can find a couple of better picks.
Conclusion
So, these were the top five products competing for the title of the best tonneau cover for Honda Ridgeline. Like always, we will leave the choice of the winner in your hands.
All these covers have something working for them. It is up to you to see which of these perks you need the most. Hope you enjoyed the reading, see you soon.
I am Dave McCurdy I am the content developer on the ecodrivingusa.com website. I have 6 years of experience in marketing as an automotive major.