Vehicle accessories are big business and with good reason. They give you many opportunities to personalize the vehicle to your liking. Since trucks like the Chevy Silverado 1500 are some of the most popular vehicles being sold throughout North America, it makes sense that there are a lot of available OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and aftermarket accessories available for it, including tonneau covers for the cargo box.
Now, if you’re looking to buy a Chevy Silverado 1500 for sale near you, or you already own one and are interested in an OEM tonneau cover for the bed box that you can have installed by the dealer, there are a variety of available options directly from Chevrolet that are worth checking out for specific uses. Here are a few of the best that are available for the Silverado third and fourth generation models.
Roll-Up Tonneau Cover by Advantage
Opting for something affordable, convenient, and practical, like the Roll-Up Tonneau Cover by Advantage, is one way to go if you’re looking for a good OEM tonneau cover. This product fits all third-generation Silverado bed models, so it fits anything between the 2014 and 2018 model years. The tonneau cover also manages to fit all three bed sizes of the Silverado 1500, which includes short, standard, and long beds. So, no matter how you have the truck’s exterior configured, you can use the tonneau cover on the Silverado 1500.
The benefit of the Roll-Up Tonneau Cover, as opposed to some other covers, is not only is it affordable compared to some of the other covers, but it’s also practical in the sense that it’s out of the way. You can scrunch it up tight against the rear cab window, and it stays out of the cargo area of the bed box, so it doesn’t obstruct the areas where you can store items in the truck, which is super useful for when you aren’t using the cover.
The upside is that it has easy Velcro attachments from the cover to the rail installation. The other upside is that no drilling is required into or onto the cargo box. Now, this does have a downside in the fact that it’s a soft cover, so it’s not as sturdy as other tonneau covers in case things fall or drop on the box; it offers very little protection in that regard, but it’s still a great all-weather option.
Hard Folding Painted Tonneau Cover by Undercover
Undercover’s Hard Folding Painted Tonneau Cover for the standard bed of all fourth-generation Silverado 1500 models is one of the more popular tonneau options and is frequently on backorder due to its popularity. However, it’s easy to see why. If you can find the cover in the color that matches your truck and you want something durable, long-lasting, and extremely stylish, it’s perfect. It fits symmetrically into the truck’s design and even secures when locking the tailgate.
The highlight here is that you can easily flip-fold this tonneau cover to move it out of the way for loading material into the back of the truck. The cover is also compatible with the Megabox Storage Box along with the Multi-Flex Tailgate, which gives you a lot of versatility in terms of the utility of the bed functionality. There are also still exposed rails and stake pockets so that you can add some custom bed or upfitting accessories, along with potential sports barracks. This gives you a great looking tonneau cover with a ton of functionality.
Retractable Tonneau Cover by Roll-N-Lock
Another highly popular option for fourth-generation Silverado 1500 owners is the Retractable Tonneau Cover by Roll-N-Lock, which is slightly less expensive than the Hard Folding Cover from Undercover. However, it’s still a highly effective and very utilitarian option for those looking for a really good tonneau cover that is easy to use and operate. It has a pulley that you can use to unfold it or simply push it in to retract it. It offers more protection than the vinyl, cloth, or soft-cover tonneau covers thanks to its vinyl-over-aluminum construction, but still provides the ease-of-use like soft-cover tonneau options.
This particular tonneau also offers multiple latching options, has the ability to lock in place, and also features exposed stake pockets so you can still add additional customizations to the bed box. It’s a compact design with easy-to-use functionality. However, it does have a few drawbacks, specifically the fact that it does not work with the carbon fiber composite beds, it’s only available for the standard bed size so you can’t equip it on short or long beds, and it’s quite expensive, especially compared to soft-cover tonneau options. So, you would have to weigh if the benefits of the protection, usability, and style outweigh the cons.
Soft Tri-Fold Tonneau Cover by Advantage
Versatile tonneau covers are usually the most popular because if you have to change what you use your truck for, you don’t want a tonneau cover that gets in the way of that change. The Soft Tri-Fold Tonneau Cover by Advantage is quite versatile in many ways, and it offers some great utility in the sense that you can quickly cover up your cargo in the bed box with the tri-fold-out functionality, and you also have full support for customizable sports bars. This is great if you regularly go off-road, use sports bars for lights, racks, or other uses, and want to have them attached with a fold-out tonneau cover.
Another upside to the Soft Tri-Fold Tonneau Cover is that it works with both the long and standard bed formats of the Silverado 1500. The best part about it is that, given its versatility, it is reasonably affordable compared to some of the more high-end covers. So, if you were looking for something versatile, durable, protective, and cost-effective, this is absolutely one of the better options.
However, like some of the other covers mentioned in this article, there are some downsides, specifically that this is only compatible with third-generation Silverado 1500 models, so unless you were shopping for a Silverado 1500 for sale from used sellers or you already own an older third-gen model, you won’t be able to use it on the fourth-gen models. Added to this, it doesn’t have rail support for custom cargo box add-ons, even though it does support custom sports bars. So that’s something to consider, assuming that feature is important to you.
Embark LS Power Retractable Tonneau Cover by Advantage
If you can afford it, the Embark LS Power Retractable Tonneau Cover by Advantage is probably one of the best tonneau covers you could get your hands on. It’s available for short, standard, and long beds for all fourth-generation Chevy Silverado 1500 models. So, it’s perfectly modular for the various cab and bed formats that are available for any Silverado 1500 model made after 2019. As the name notes, this is an electronically powered retractable tonneau cover, which is extremely useful depending on the applications you may need it for. You can extend or retract the tonneau cover using a key fob, which allows you to cover or open up the bed box remotely.
Even better yet, you can use an electromagnetic brake to lock the tonneau in place at any position along the guided rails, and it has auto-stop functionality in case an object is detected along its path. This is a really high-quality tonneau cover that provides a ton of protection from exterior elements, including UV and weather protection, and you can even use it as an added carrier for additional payload. That’s right; it not only works as a cover for payload in the bed box but can also be used to haul payload – up to 500 lbs worth of payload, thanks to its rigid polycarbonate construction material.
Another cool feature is that due to its design, you can still modify and upfit the cargo box of the Silverado 1500, including adding additional rail racks, sports bars, and other patented accessories from top branded outfitters thanks to the exposed stake pockets. Now, you’re probably waiting for the other foot to drop when it comes to the downsides; while I would like to say that there are no downsides, ultimately, the price is quite prohibitive for a lot of truck shoppers out there since it comes in at just under $3,000. Now, if you can afford to outfit your Silverado 1500 with this particular tonneau cover, it’s well worth it, but it is costly nonetheless.
Which Tonneau Cover Should I Buy for My Silverado 1500?
Costs and functionality are the most important things to consider when buying an OEM tonneau cover for a Chevy Silverado 1500. You have to consider whether you have a newer or older Silverado 1500, as the generation and model will determine which OEM covers are more easily compatible with your particular model. If you want the fanciest of features, then you will have to fork over quite a bit for those covers.
If you want something convenient and protective, you can get those covers much cheaper, but you will lose a lot of the functionality that the more expensive covers offer. The major upside to factory OEM covers from Chevrolet is that no matter which one you go with, you can have the dealer install it for you. So that’s always a good bonus, but you must reconcile the price versus functionality when choosing one that’s right for your truck.
