I went through the same decision process, although not the lead foot thing. I bought a different truck in December and looked at the tri-fold tonneau covers for a few months. I wasn't real happy with the prices or designs. I found a dandy camper shell in ebay for half of what the cover cost. I got it and haven't regretted it. I also got a duraliner installed. I haven't had to take the shell off to haul anything yet. In fact, I use it as an excuse to keep from having to use my pickup as a dump truck. Jim