How To Remove A Truck Bed Tonneau Cover All By Yourself

A truck bed is an essential thing to consider in buying a car because it has many uses that one should never neglect. You can use it to carry large and heavy objects that you purchased from the department store or even load additional people in your car.

Even if you want to experience the night breeze without barriers as you stroll around your city, this would be perfect! However, one of the most tedious things to do is to repair it because you will have to detach it completely from the car and by that, it requires energy and a whole lot of hard work!

How To Remove A Truck Bed All By Yourself

In what condition should you remove it?

Should you ever wish to remove the truck bed by yourself because you want to repaint, revamp something, or make your car more creative? You might also find possible defects inside the car and fix them right away but the truck bed is blocking your way.

It is a pity that you have no companion or helper with you. Well, do not worry you are most capable when you are alone. That is the reason why I will share with you how I get rid of it on my own in this article. Without using any lifters and electrical types of machinery, you can remove a truck bed all by yourself!

For real, it is possible. You have to sweat a little and let your hands do the work.

Below are the steps I did in removing the truck bed all by myself. I will try to explain it to you in the most natural way I could do.

You could also watch this video:

Steps to follow in removing the truck bed

1. Get your car ready

The first thing you will have to do is to get your car ready for the action. Settle your pick-up car in your garage. It would be better if you have somewhere more prominent that you could place your vehicle into since you have to move around now and then. By the way, do not forget to turn off the engine after parking your car in its rightful place.

2. Put your tools on standby

You should prepare tools for scaffolding because that will play a vital role in pulling the bed up later on. It is also important that never forget gloves to protect your hands from the dirt, screwdrivers to loosen screws, and flashlights.

If you are planning to work it in the evening so these tools can help you see things better and probably be a great help later on. Moreover, maybe if you can prepare a dehydrating drink and snacks with you would be best!

3. Remove the bumpers and the hitch

The very first thing you have to remove is the bumpers. Before having to remove it, you will have to do the work of loosening up the bed bolts. These bed bolts are the ones that hold the truck bed together. In my pick-up car, I have to remove eight bolts that hold the bed.

One crucial thing is that you should get to know your car. Exploring it and discovering everything you get to find there. After getting rid of that big bumper, off you go with removing the bolts that hold the hitch. The hitch is quite heavy, but I know you will do a good job just as I do.

Put the bumpers and hitch aside so that it will not get in your way.

4. Disconnect the wirings and the backlight

Removing the unnecessary wirings that hold the bed so that getting off it will not be a problem. I got a hard time removing some electrical wires; some wires are too hard to pull.

That is why I had to inhale and exhale several times. However, it is possible to do it, be keen and careful in removing it. You can also detach the wires that are holding the backlight too.

You should also take note of everything you removed so that putting it all back together would not be a problem.

Maybe you will find this interesting: How to make a wood truck bed tonneau cover?

5. Build the scaffold

Now here is the main thing, build an 8×8 scaffold using metal poles. This scaffold will help you removing the truck bed easier, without requiring you to pull it off using your bare hands.

6. Place your car’s body in the scaffold that you built

You will need to face the backside of the truck, which has your truck bed into the scaffold. Remember to check and make sure that you place your car carefully unless you want to start over again, building the structure, which takes too much time, and effort.

7. Hook the truck bed using a rope into the scaffold

You will need a rope or any sturdy strap that you could use to tie. In your truck bed floor, there are four tie-downs, including two in the front and another two at the back.

You should tie the other end of the rope in the truck bed, and hook the other end in the scaffold metal. It is better to re-check the ropes many times. If you have tied it firmly so that it will not pull off later when you start to take it out.

8. Slowly pull the truck out

It is now time for you to seat on the driver seat, carefully pull the truck out of the scaffold building, and you would feel that the truck bed is slowly coming off. However, you should never be too confident.

Every time you move the car, please do come out and check the back of the car so that you would see if it’s progressing or not. Because you might have left a wire connector holding the bed, and that would prevent it from ultimately coming out. If there is none, continue moving forward, and you would see that the bed is hanging up and now completely detached from your car!


Doing heavy work all on your own could be very hustle and exhausting most of the time. It was not light on me too for sure. However, it did help me to lessen using my energy.

I hope that I contributed to making your work more effortless in the easy steps I have shared with you. Hope that removing a truck bed tonneau cover all by yourself will not be a big deal anymore.

I will love to hear from you if you have accomplished your task! If you find this information is helpful, please share it with your friends.

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5 thoughts on “How To Remove A Truck Bed Tonneau Cover All By Yourself

  1. Mura says:

    I’ve always hooked ratchet straps to the tie downs in an x then pulled it with an engine hoist but I don’t have any scaffolding laying around use what you have

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