Most tonneau cover manufacturers will cite a load capacity metric in an attempt to prove how secure and tough their covers are, and we certainly excel when it comes to distributed weight loads. However, this is a misleading security metric, and not one we cite when we here at Stowe talk about our tonneau cover and security.
Load weights are a metric that show how well your product will hold an amount of weight across the object safely, and there are no standardized tests to determine exactly what that is when it comes to tonneau covers. But that’s not even the point; it’s a bad metric to use in the first place. When an attack occurs, the force isn’t distributed; it is pinpoint against one spot on the cover. Distributed weight load excellence is great if you are placing a 4-wheeler on your cover, but almost meaningless when it comes to deterrence of a theft incident. That attack will be violent and at specific points, such as a sledging, smashing, or pry-barring of your cover. This is why our most watched video is our infamous Sledgehammer Attack video. It’s almost hard to believe just how much sledging our cover, at its weakest point, will endure and deter.
When it comes to tonneau cover security, building the most secure Chevy tonneau cover took looking at the challenge differently. We looked at it as if we were one of the Big 3 auto manufacturers, not simply as an aftermarket truck parts builder. Once you make that decision, everything is different. But here are a few specific differences that really matter when it comes to a secure tonneau cover.
Buy The Most Secure Chevy 1500 Tonneau Cover – The Stowe 2 in 1
When it comes to the most secure Chevy 1500 tonneau cover in the market, what does that look like and why? Tonneau cover security is all about delaying and demotivating potential theft threats. It’s inevitable that someday, someone is going to try it on, and take a pry bar to your tonneau cover to find out what’s lying beneath that you are trying to secure and protect. When it comes down to the most secure tonneau cover, it’s all about demotivating the perpetrator. Here at Stowe, with our roots in the OEM automotive industry, we looked at building the most secure tonneau cover through the eyes of a true automotive engineer – because that’s exactly what we are. By definition, we looked at security the same way car manufacturers do. In their terms it’s all about how long, and with how much effort, will it take to break in. It’s all about noise and delay. They are both your friends when it comes to engineering the most secure tonneau cover in the market, and protecting your valuables!
Now we know that it’s all about noise and delay. If we demotivate the perpetrator, then the chances increase that with every second of delay, they will simply leave before they gain complete access to your truck box. This was the goal behind security engineering here at Stowe Cargo, and the development of the Stowe 2-in-1 tonneau cover.
How did we build the most secure tonneau cover? We simply looked at it through the eyes of a true automotive manufacturer, not an aftermarket tonneau cover company. That meant using the same technology and materials the OEMs use to protect your truck itself from unauthorized entry. Seems so simple we just don’t understand why the other tonneau cover manufacturers don’t do the same.
The Most Secure Chevy 1500 Tonneau Cover
Parts and process. Simply stated, we started with the base premise that we needed to create a cover that would have the longest time to entry, and require the greatest amount of noise and effort to gain that access. And in using the same security methodologies that the major car manufacturers themselves use, we were able to do just that. We used the toughest, most secure and hardened locking components in the industry; and we designed them in such a way with regard to placement that they would create an environment where it would be extremely difficult to gain entry – the most difficult, in fact, that the tonneau cover market has to offer.
You guessed it, the Stowe 2-in-1 has the most durable – in fact, nearly indestructible – tonneau cover panel available. Watch our Sledgehammer Attack video below to see just how tough our cover panel is!
So, understanding that in order to have the most secure tonneau cover in the market means you need the toughest tonneau cover panel ever engineered, we set out to build an automotive-grade tonneau cover panel that could address several key issues when it comes to tonneau cover forced entry:
Most tonneau cover manufacturers will cite a load capacity metric in an attempt to prove how secure and tough their covers are, and we certainly excel when it comes to distributed weight loads. However, this is a misleading security metric, and not one we cite when we here at Stowe talk about our tonneau cover and security.
Load weight is a metric that shows how well your product will hold an amount of weight across the object safely, and there are no standardized tests to determine exactly what that is when it comes to tonneau covers. But that’s not even the point; it’s a bad metric to use in the first place. When an attack occurs, the force isn’t distributed; it is pinpoint against one spot on the cover. Distributed weight load excellence is great if you are placing a 4-wheeler on your cover, but almost meaningless when it comes to deterrence of a theft incident. That attack will be violent and at specific points, such as a sledging, smashing, or pry-barring of your cover.
This is why our most watched video is our infamous Sledgehammer Attack video. It’s almost hard to believe just how much sledging our cover, at its weakest point, will endure and deter.
When it comes to tonneau cover security, building the most secure tonneau cover took looking at the challenge differently. We looked at it as if we were one of the Big 3 auto manufacturers, not simply as an aftermarket truck parts builder. Once you make that decision, everything is different. But here are a few specific differences that really matter when it comes to a secure tonneau cover.
Perception is Reality When it Comes to the Most Secure Tonneau Covers in the Market
As in most things, perception is reality. Today most customers believe that their tonneau covers (or in fact all tonneau covers) are relatively secure; but nothing could be further from the truth. After all, who would build an insecure tonneau cover? It’s why you bought it in the first place: to keep your valuables safe, secure, and dry. We all know that many of the tonneau covers in the market leak from day one. But what everyone takes for granted is that they are safe and secure. Yet how can anything that uses plastic latches; thin, frail covers; and small-diameter, long-run rods be anything near secure? They can’t. They aren’t.
The hard panels on the Stowe system are lightweight, yet strong and durable. The panels are constructed of high-tech composites supported by extruded aluminum frames, providing a strong and secure platform for the front and rear covers. Tough enough to handle a violent sledgehammer attack.
If you’re considering a hard tonneau cover because it offers better security than a soft one, you’re on the right track. But that still doesn’t mean it’s secure enough. In fact, if you closely examine all the hard covers out there, you’ll discover that each type depends on simple, easy-to-defeat aftermarket approaches to lock and release the cover.
The most popular is the plunger slam latch, an inexpensive aftermarket design that most folding and retractable covers use. It works much like your bathroom door latch, with a simple plastic plunger that drops into a receiver to latch the door. Yes, plastic. You can of course imagine how easy it would be to lift your bathroom door open by jamming a pry bar into the door frame. Well, these plastic plunger latches are just as vulnerable to even the simplest break-in efforts – if not more so.
Another popular aftermarket approach that will suffer a similar fate is the handle and lever concept, where a handle is used to rotate a finger paddle into a receiver. Good luck with that cover.
One other simplistic aftermarket design used in one-piece and some folding covers is a push-pull rod system, which relies on a small-diameter rod extending out and under the truck bedrail to hold the cover closed. All the pry bar has to do here is simply bend the rod to release the cover.
The point is, the whole history of tonneau covers is basically making passable, penny-skimping efforts, and then reissuing a patched-up, “new and improved” version when the complaints get too loud. Frankly, that’s the approach of an aftermarket add-on, not an OEM built-in. And it’s why we started Stowe Cargo – to reinvent the whole tonneau-cover industry, and bring you ingenious, groundbreaking, next-gen solutions that incorporate only the smartest designs, the most innovative engineering, and the highest-quality materials.
That’s why our covers don’t leak. Why they literally stand up to sledgehammers. And why our revolutionary 2-in-1 tonneau comes with a built-in toolbox: To give you more organization, more protection, more satisfaction. Just compare them detail by detail, and you’ll understand: You deserve more. And at Stowe, you get it!
Get all the benefits of better organization—without the issues of having to fit your truck bed cover to a separate toolbox. Gone are the connecting rails, nuts and bolts, foam strips, leaks, rattles, dirt, and frustrating customer service calls. Instead, you get a built-in toolbox/cargo compartment with 400-lb-capacity that stays dry, is tall enough to stand five-gallon pails and long enough for a set of golf clubs. (Plus, with its drain holes and insulation, it makes a great tailgate cooler!)
“absolutely love this setup”
The Stowe 2-in-1 is the only tonneau cover tool-box combo out there that combines truck-tough weathertight security, an all-purpose toolbox to sort and protect your tools and gear, and the careful details that make this such a must-have addition. With our versatile 2-in-1 system, you don’t just cover your gear. You Stowe it!
Want real protection from the weather? This is the only tonneau cover that features fail-safe automotive OEM-grade seals to keep your truck bed, tools, and gear dry and secure all year round.
With automotive-grade locks and high-strength composite cover panels supported by an aluminum frame, your gear, tools and truck bed have the highest possible level of security.
Both the tonneau cover and toolbox compartments open wide to give you convenient and easy access to everything in your truck bed.
“We sell a ton of tonneau covers, so trust me when I say that this 2-in-1 system from Stowe is a good buy. Loved it the minute I saw it!”
– CPW Truck Stuff, Illinois
The Stowe Cargo System is the perfect cover for your truck bed – no matter how you use it. The world’s first 2-in-1 toolbox & tonneau cover system is built specifically for your truck bed and features durable hard cover panels, with a sealed, lockable toolbox – perfect for securely storing tools and gear of all sorts – and a fully lockable and weathertight one-piece truck bed cover.
The system installs easily and its unique hinge cover design enables easy access your truck bed from all three sides without rolling or folding the bed cover. The large and spacious rail-to-rail toolbox rises off the truck bed, giving you easy access to the full length of your truck bed to store larger items.
Push-button locks provide security with easy access at both entry points, and are free from snow & ice problems.
Industry-leading high-strength six-bar hinge system with integral mounted gas struts provide easy, full access to both the toolbox and truck bed.
The security and convenience of a hard one-piece cover, yet removes easily in minutes when needed. No flipping, folding, or rolling the bed cover.
Highly-engineered, heavy-duty extruded and cast-aluminum frame supports the high-tech composite sandwich cover panels that offer maximum security while being light weight.
Textured powder coated rail finish and polyurea-top coated cover panels ensure durability and a uniquely integrated appearance.