The hinge is the only fold you get for free
A rigid spa cover folds at the hinge and nowhere else unless you cut it at home. Fold it at the hinge, bring the two halves together, and tie those halves to each other before the cover ever sees the truck. A fold that is only flopped, not tied, will open in the wind and double the area. Then strap the tied bundle to the bed in at least two directions so it cannot lift as a single wing. Flat vinyl has a huge area for its weight. Below the rails is the rule. Above the rails, the cover is in clean air and will try to leave. Drain standing water at home first. A cover full of water is heavy and will still catch wind once it is up on the rails, which is the worst combination.
Straps bite vinyl and then loosen
A ratchet on bare vinyl creeps. The vinyl stretches, the strap feels tight in the driveway, and the cover is loose at the ramp. Put the strap over a board or a pad so it bites the board, not a wrinkle of vinyl, and recheck the tension after a few minutes. Foam beads that leak from a torn seam will roll under the cover and act like marbles. Bag the tear or tape it before the fold, so the beads stay inside until the bay. Do not use a single bungee as the tie between halves. A bungee stretches exactly when the wind loads the cover, which is when you needed the tie. Use webbing.
Unfold only on the ground
If you must show an attendant the underside, do that after the cover is out of the truck. Releasing the hinge tie in an open bed on a breezy day puts a sail in your hands and a foam panel in the next lane. Two people lift the folded bundle. One person and a gust is how covers end up in the site drive. When it is on the ground, weight it with your hand before you cut the tie. If the site refuses the cover, the same fold and the same straps are how it goes home. Do not drive back with it open because you are annoyed. The wind on the return trip is the same wind.
Before you go
- Drain the cover, fold it at the hinge, and tie the halves together with webbing.
- Strap the bundle below the rails, over a pad, in two directions.
- Tape torn seams so foam beads are not rolling around the bed.
- Recheck tension before highway speed, and unfold only after the cover is on the ground.
An unfolded cover laid across the top of the bed rails and held with one bungee.
Questions people ask
Can I cut the cover in half to kill the sail?
At home, yes, if you bag the foam crumbs and the site accepts cut covers. Tape the cut edges before the ride so the wind has no pocket to grab.
Does a closed cap solve it?
A cover inside a closed cap, still folded and tied, is safer than an open bed. If it only fits unfolded against the cap glass, it does not fit. Fold it or take a different vehicle.
Search Dumpmapper by ZIP code or city, then call the site before you load the truck. Hours and accepted materials change.