Choosing your bakkie canopy

Choosing your bakkie canopy

Choosing a canopy for your bakkie can be challenging, there are many options, models, designs and functionalities out there. Here are some pros and cons of fibreglass and wood canopies.

Fibreglass Canopies:

Pros:

• Options – There are hundreds of fibreglass bakkie canopies options available, making it easier to pick one that is right for your bakkie’s loadbin.
• Easy to find pre-owned canopies – Fiberglass bakkie canopies are the most common, and there are some pretty amazing discounts on sites like Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace. Be prepared, though, to give some thought to finding and restoring a used fibreglass truck canopy that fits your bakkie well.
• Easy to Repair – Compared to other types of canopies, a fibreglass canopy is significantly easier to repair, and the components required are easily available at most big-box hardware stores.

Cons:

• Strength – While not weak, a fibreglass truck canopy is more prone to break and crack than an aluminium truck canopy, which is more likely to merely receive dents.
• Weight – A fibreglass bakkie canopy will be slightly heavier than an aluminium bakkie canopy, though not nearly as heavy as a wooden bakkie canopy.
• Cost – If purchased new, these can be quite costly.

Wood Canopy:

Pros:

• Completely Customizable – If you have the necessary abilities (or can learn them), you can create your vehicle canopy to your exact specifications. This is a fantastic advantage of constructing a DIY wood bakkie canopy because any metal or fibreglass bakkie canopy will invariably be a compromise in terms of height, strength, or functionality.

Cons:

• Leaks – It can be difficult to fully seal all seams, which can lead to water penetration, resulting in leaks, wood rot, and potentially mould.
• Very Heavy – Wood isn’t light, and most custom designs aren’t particularly aerodynamic, which hurts your bakkie’s gas kilometres.
• Cost – While it may appear to be a less expensive alternative when you consider your time and the cost of materials, it can rapidly become just as expensive as the other bakkie canopy options. Possibly even more so.

Easily transition from business to pleasure, with a state of the art Beekman canopy, colour matched to vehicle colour. Experience life with style.