After buying a new truck, one thing you quickly realize is how the exposed bed is completely naked to the sticky hands of thieves. Anybody who walks by can grab whatever they want out of it. And nowadays, there seems to be more people willing to disregard both laws and morals to do just that.

The bed of a pickup is also naked to the elements. Without anything to cover it, you are at the mercy of Mother Nature. We learned this the hard way on a recent road trip with our brand-new Toyota Tacoma Double Cab. After encountering a brief but strong rainstorm that wasn't on the forecast, we had to pull over on the side of the freeway. Frantically removing our cargo from the bed and stuffing it in the cab while getting rained on wasn't exactly a fun activity. If we had our cab full with four passengers, that wouldn't have even been an option. Instead, our gear would have gotten soaked.

Obviously, we needed a tonneau cover for our truck. However, we didn't want to spend a ton of money. We also wanted a fairly simple cover that would be easy to take off and put back on. This way we could use all of the bed if needed and easily put the tonneau cover back on to enjoy its benefits. And when off, it couldn't take up much storage space. The new Smart Cover from Smittybilt fits the bill perfectly. It comes in right around $300.00, making it affordable. It's super simple to install, and folds up nicely. We slapped ours on a 2017 Toyota Tacoma, but it is available for most GM, Dodge, and Ford trucks. It made for a simple and affordable way to cover up our naked bed.

The Toyota Tacoma already comes with a bed rail system, so installation of the Smittybilt Smart Cover is very simple. These brackets install directly onto the rail. You just tighten them down with an Allen wrench (one is included), and you are done. There is no drilling required or permanent modification to your vehicle.

Since the brackets are securely mounted to the rail, the stock Toyota tie-down cleats can no longer slide down the whole rail. This isn't really a big deal as long as you position the cleats strategically.

The brackets are for the Cam D speed lock system. The cover attaches to the brackets and to the truck by latching the Cam D speed locks. Tension on the speed locks is adjustable, but you don't need much to keep the cover securely fastened to the bed.

Safety pins are included for the Cam D speed locks. They keep the locks from unlatching. We will probably get rid of them as they don't seem like they are really needed with the right tension, but they do give peace of mind that the cover won't fly off accidentally.

While the Smittybilt Smart Cover is affordable, it's not a cheap piece of junk. Its backbone is formed from a 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum frame with reinforced corners. Each cover is made for its specific application, and for a proper fit and easy installation.

The material covering the frame is marine-grade, pressed and textured diamond vinyl. It is similar to the material used in Smittybilt's Jeep soft tops, so it can withstand the elements and UV exposure. We liked that it is matte black and not glossy.

The Smart Cover comes with these high-quality fulcrum hinges. They allow the cover to fold up into three panels, but still allow a very sleek and low-profile appearance when on the truck.

Another nice feature of the Smart Cover is you can drive with it folded up. This way, you can still use a decent amount of your bed without having to take the cover completely off. Strengthened buckles that are said to not to break or shatter secure the cover in place while driving with nylon straps.

We took our Smart Cover to the local pay-and-spray and gave it a good drenching with a power washer while washing the rest of our truck. It held up well with just a bit of water inside the bed. While we don't know if it would withstand a full-tilt deluge of biblical proportions, it should keep the contents of our bed dry in most situations.

We liked that once off the vehicle, the Smart Cover folds up to a small size. It includes a convenient storage bag, making it simple to store once off the vehicle. Putting it back on the truck is also easy. Both removing it and installing it is a piece of cake making for easy changes.

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