How to Keep Luggage Dry in Truck Bed

When traveling by car, 3 main questions always arise: what to take with you, how to pack everything and how to protect everything from precipitation and other possible damage. We’ll cover the first two questions in other articles, and the third is right now.

So, when you already know what you want to load to you car body before the road, you need to make sure that the load is secure enough so that it doesn’t fall out of the truck bed on the way and won’t suffer from precipitation. There are several ways to hide cargo, which we will describe in detail below.

Why is it important to protect the truck bed?

A distinctive feature of any truck is the presence of a special place that you use to transport items instead of passengers. As a rule, travelers prefer to use convertible jeeps that have an open truck bed. This is a practical solution in many ways. However, there is one problem that can puzzle you – precipitation.

Maintaining dryness in the car body is necessary not only to protect the cargo there, but also to preserve the car itself, because numerous precipitation can cause rust. Hail can scratch the metal covering, and heavy snow can even crush it.

Methods for protecting cargo and car body

1. Tonneau Covers

Tonneau covers are a pretty good option for shelter, although not the cheapest. As a rule, they are selected individually for your truck. You need to know the exact dimensions to cover cargo securely enough. Its main feature is ease of using: close the body when needed and open it when the weather is good.

There is one disadvantage, anyway. Such a cover is attached to the height of your car, and if the load goes beyond its limits, the cover won’t hide it.

2. Contractor’s bags

Contractor’s bags are an optional solution for covering different cargo sizes. You can pick loads of different widths and heights. These bags are usually cheap enough, but they wear out quickly. In addition, they don’t help to reliably strengthen the load, just protect from precipitation.

Contractor’s bags consist of heavy-duty durable materials. You can find them in car stores or on the internet. To provide a tight water barrier, we recommend using 2 bags for one load at once, laid in different directions. We also recommend you to purchase enough duct tape, as only with it you can secure bags and cargo in one place.

3. Cargo bags

This option is similar to the previous one. The cargo bags are also made of durable waterproof materials; they can be used many times and won’t wear out from sunlight and rainy weather. In addition, they fix loads in a rather compact manner. Cargo bags are limited in size. This option is great for small loads or for packing the most important items in your luggage.

4. Bungee method

A bit old-fashioned, but still popular option. The bungee method consists of using a tarpaulin covering over all the cargo in your truck bed. You must secure the load with a tight rope that clings at the corners to the car body. A piece of tarpaulin is attached to this rope, which completely covers the load, and excess fabric can be easily hidden behind ropes.

This method is suitable for various cargoes, including for the transportation of equipment (ATVs or boats). Bungee ropes do a great job on the road, and speed is the only safety precaution.

5. Tent garage

A collapsible tent garage can be erected anywhere in a couple of and put into the trunk in the same time. It’s a more convenient and practical solution for car protection. In fact, a frame is added to the cape, on which it’s pulled instead of the car. And here it makes no difference what type of body your car has.

When choosing such protection for a car, you should pay attention to two things: the materials of the cape and the frame tubes. It’s better to prefer a reinforced fabric so that in the event of a hole it doesn’t creep further. The pipes must be made of solid steel.

Their diameter is also important – for the sake of structural strength, you shouldn’t choose pipes thinner than 3.5 cm, and the larger the structure (wider with a high roof), the thicker the pipes should be. Pay attention to the coating, which should protect the frame from rust.

FAQ

Q: How to secure the load in the box?

A: Use bungee ropes. This is a versatile option for cargo transportation. These ropes are strong and flexible enough to withstand even difficult travel.

Q: What covering material to choose?

A: Choose a tarpaulin or something similar to it. The fact is that the tarpaulin cover not only protects well from moisture, but also keeps the temperature inside.

Q: Is it safe to use a cargo net?

A: Only if you want to secure it, from the rain it is not with you

Conclusion

What kind of protection is better to use? Judging by the number of offers, the most popular option remains a regular cover, but with a zipper near the driver’s door. It is inexpensive, durable and practical. In second place are tent garages. But the final choice depends on you and your truck.