How To Measure Your Truck Bed
Once you have selected which type of tonneau cover or bed tent is the right one for you, you will need to confirm which size bed you have on your truck. In this guide we will show you how to correctly measure your truck bed for a tonneau cover or bed tent. Every truck manufacturer makes different standard bed sizes. Each version of truck generally has two or three bed sizes available. The bed sizes for each type of truck change between model year or body style. It is important that you understand how the bed of a pickup truck is measured so that you can be sure that the correct bed cover or bed tent for your truck bed will arrive.
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Measuring the width of your truck bed
You generally will not need to measure the width. While the width is obviously important, it will be determined by the make, model, and year of your truck that you put in when you are ordering the bed cover of your choice. Since pickup truck bed tents are universal unlike tonneau covers, you may want to confirm that the bed tent you have selected will fit. The dimension you want is the inside dimension between the bed rails.
Measuring the length of your truck bed
This is the dimension that needs to be checked. It actually just needs to be confirmed. Each truck manufacturer has identified a bed length for all the versions of your truck. Each tonneau cover manufacturer has also identified the length that you need for your truck. Therefore, your measurements, while they will be exact, will be rounded to the nearest dimension of vehicle manufacturer dimension and to the nearest dimension of the bed cover manufacturer dimension.
The length of the bed is measured from the inside of the bulkhead to the inside of the closed tailgate. If your truck has a plastic bed liner or a sprayed in bed liner, do not count those thicknesses. Measure to the steel (or plastic as in the case of the Toyota Tacoma) of the original truck body.
Here are a couple of examples of the discrepancies you can expect to see between the truck manufacturers specifications, the bed cover manufacturer size, and your actual measurements. You are now ready to correctly measure your truck bed for a tonneau cover or a bed tent.
| Truck Model and Year | Bed Length Specification | Bed Cover Size | Actual measurement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 Ford F150 | 66 inches | 67 inches | 65.75 inches |
| 2017 Chevrolet Silverado | 69.6 inches | 69 inches | 68 inches |
Conclusion
As long as what you measure is within 2” of what the manufacturer of the bed cover is stating to be the length, and you are purchasing the cover for your type and year of truck, you are good to go. Bed tents are more universal and forgiving on the dimensions. If you are within 5″ from what the bed tent manufacturer states as the bed size range, you will be fine.
