Let's discuss tonneau covers!

[Donna D.]

I can't tell you how much I appreciate everyone's thoughts and assistance. I'm waiting to hear from ETI about the minimum amount needed from the hitch to the front of the box.

Since Reace has a short box (5.5) Ford F-150 and has the 5er hitch mounted... surely he knows the space necessary.

This purchase isn't cheap and I don't want to make a mistake or have regrets... just like anyone buying "any kind" of asset or purchase.

THANKS ALL. Stand by.

 

[padlin]

Don't know if this is what you mean, but Reace posted this a week or 2 back.

"Some hook-up photos.

Center of hitch is approx. 30" back from cab. Box length is 5'-6".
Keep in mind, this unit was raised for a taller truck!

I turned the trailer almost 90 degrees, and still have approximately 1" space before the trailer would hit the cab of the truck.

Also a photo hitched up with tailgate down.

I love it when a plan comes together! "

 

[cpaharley2008]

I can't tell you how much I appreciate everyone's thoughts and assistance. I'm waiting to hear from ETI about the minimum amount needed from the hitch to the front of the box.

Since Reace has a short box (5.5) Ford F-150 and has the 5er hitch mounted... surely he knows the space necessary.

This purchase isn't cheap and I don't want to make a mistake or have regrets... just like anyone buying "any kind" of asset or purchase.

THANKS ALL. Stand by.

Donna,
You can always wait until delivery and then you can make your decisions/measurements. I have noticed a lot of people want a "turnkey" set up, but I have found sometimes it is best to add later on, as things do change.

 

[Donna D.]

I'm leaning on waiting Jim. But it never hurts to plot and plan! But, if it hear from ETI, I'll be sure to share the information.

 

[FMLNM]

[Please tell me the brand/model and price. What you like about it, if you have any regrets and what you may have purchased if you would have known.

All set.. go!

TIA.[/QUOTE]

We have the Access LiteRider cover:
Access LiteRider Tonneau Cover - Get A Free Gift Here

It is a roll up cover...soft but has worked for us. It locks with the tailgate. It does not interfere with the view out the back window and does not involve any equipment in the bed of the truck. It has been waterproof and easy to operate. We installed it ourselves...it cost about $350. The sides velcro and the back locks into the tailgate. Certainly not really thief proof...more thief resistant...

 

[Brian B-P]

The hitch pin centre must be about 30" or more back from the cab for reasonably unrestricted turning (as Bob mentioned), and with a 6.5' box there's no need to be even that close.

The pinbox is about a foot square, so it needs the distance from the centre to one corner of a 12" square (less than 9") of space ahead of the pin to allow rotation, plus a margin for tilting in unusual positions.

Whatever is left is room for the tonneau.

 

[DeadEyeDan]

I mentioned this to Donna on FB. Once I left the most rear third panel of the G2 open so my mountain bike wheel could be up. As soon as I hit the freeway the wind blew it over onto the top of the wheel. No damage. Two panels flipped over might be heavy enough to resist the wind. I don't know.

Also, someone mentioned the blockage of view to the rear when it is up all the way. It has supports to keep it there while driving, but hooking up blind could be "interesting".

Mine is "mostly" watertight. I got in a pretty bad crosswind with rain and had some leakage. But overall it is good with minimal water intrusion.

It is black, so it gets really hot in the summer. Not sure how a white one would look, but would be cooler.

As much as I like the Backflip, if I was towing a fifith wheel, I think I would go for a roll up if it would fit.

 

[Brian B-P]

It is black, so it gets really hot in the summer. Not sure how a white one would look, but would be cooler.

Interesting point. How about colour-matched to the tug? That's common in caps, but they are constructed differently... even a hard tonneau is probably not the same materials a cap.

 

[darrentoma]

[Please tell me the brand/model and price. What you like about it, if you have any regrets and what you may have purchased if you would have known.

All set.. go!

TIA.

We have the Access LiteRider cover:
Access LiteRider Tonneau Cover - Get A Free Gift Here

It is a roll up cover...soft but has worked for us. It locks with the tailgate. It does not interfere with the view out the back window and does not involve any equipment in the bed of the truck. It has been waterproof and easy to operate. We installed it ourselves...it cost about $350. The sides velcro and the back locks into the tailgate. Certainly not really thief proof...more thief resistant...[/QUOTE]


Your Frontier pickup likely has much better line of site out the rear vs the newer style F150's that Donna and myself own. My Truxedo Pro is of very good quality with some bracing support under it that all rolls up. Also has the velcro so might be similar. It measures around 4" in diameter when rolled up against the cab. I have my new hitch installed but have yet to hitch my fifth ... but know this 4" of is enough to block my view. In fact a shorter driver might have site line problems with nothing blocking the window.

With my older 97 F150 this would not have been a problem. The new F150s the boxes are much higher by as much as 5-6" at the bottom of the bed. Add to that another 2" of higher bed side rails. The cab might be slightly higher .... but only by maybe a couple inches (not 7-8"). This is the cause of this site line issue.

A last point on this is when I was making my choice of tonneau a while back ... all of them potentially have this line of site issue for this truck in different ways so I dont think this is a disadvantage soley for a rollup. The Truxedo Pro seemed to be as weatherproof as the hard top versions. The $500 cndn I paid was almost 2/3 less vs my second choice being the retrax. Only disadvantage to me was that (despite locking in via tailgate) the soft cover isnt as secure theft wise ... but still better than what I had on previous truck which was nothing. The easy on and off part was a factor in making my decision ... but only hope to need to do this as last resort. I am still hoping the fresnel lense will do the trick for this.

 

[emers382]

Jim, gotta find the camera. I'm not much of a picture taker. And I don't own a cellphone.

It's the Super Cab XLT and 4x4. I would have preferred a 4x2, but couldn't get one anywhere in the region that was white with the package I wanted. Plenty of ones in color, but I wanted WHITE.

Unless the mpg improves substantially, I'm going to need to figure out a way to always drive downhill and coast ;D

Donna

You inspired me to get going and buy our truck, would have preferred getting a Frontier which a few and far between (used) on our area, so yesterday after much searching brought home a well taken care of one owner 2010 F150 4x2 with 6.5 foot box. We are now just waiting for Alf to bring me the rest of my "camping package"

Thanks for this discussion on tonneau covers, need one of those too.

Adrian and Beth
soon to be 2007 5.0
2010 F150

 

[padlin]

Interesting point. How about colour-matched to the tug? That's common in caps, but they are constructed differently... even a hard tonneau is probably not the same materials a cap.

Mixed reviews, but the price is right and they are color matched.
Peragon Retractable Aluminum Truck Bed Covers - Family Owned. American Made.

 

[Brian B-P]

Mixed reviews, but the price is right and they are color matched.
Peragon Retractable Aluminum Truck Bed Covers - Family Owned. American Made.

Thanks Interesting option: the rigid panels fold down, so they would not obstruct the view of the hitch... and it is available in white for Donna (although generic white might not be a close enough colour match), or matched to a specific truck paint code at a higher price. With the fifth-wheel, it would presumably be used with one pair of the six (three pairs) of panels extended, and the rest stacked against the front of the box.

 

[DeadEyeDan]

Mixed reviews, but the price is right and they are color matched.
Peragon Retractable Aluminum Truck Bed Covers - Family Owned. American Made.

Watched the video. If I didnt already have the backflip, I think I'd consider that in white.

 

[padlin]

One of the early negative complaints was that if there was something slid under the front of the cover where the folded leafs go, the cover would not open. Required climbing in under the cover and moving said objects... No idea if they came up with a fix.

 

[Jim Bennett]

Watching this thread with great interest, as it may be an option I am looking for some day soon. LIke Bob alludes to with the panels hanging down, and the rolling cover with the big cage underneath, both seem to take away from an ideal cargo carrying space.

Has anyone used, or seen used good locking containers that would be out of the way of the hitch operation. A vinyl rolling cover could then be employed for when the hitch was not in use, and security would not be as much of an issue.

 

[DeadEyeDan]

Watching this thread with great interest, as it may be an option I am looking for some day soon. LIke Bob alludes to with the panels hanging down, and the rolling cover with the big cage underneath, both seem to take away from an ideal cargo carrying space.

Has anyone used, or seen used good locking containers that would be out of the way of the hitch operation. A vinyl rolling cover could then be employed for when the hitch was not in use, and security would not be as much of an issue.

There is one that is heavy duty and rolls up into a coil at the front of the bed that locks, not sure how water tight it is.

Truly, there is some compromise on all of these designs. That's the price of having a lockable space and still have the utility the truck's bed for something tall when you need it.

 

[J Mac]

Watching this thread with great interest, as it may be an option I am looking for some day soon. LIke Bob alludes to with the panels hanging down, and the rolling cover with the big cage underneath, both seem to take away from an ideal cargo carrying space.

Has anyone used, or seen used good locking containers that would be out of the way of the hitch operation. A vinyl rolling cover could then be employed for when the hitch was not in use, and security would not be as much of an issue.

I'm looking forward to seeing if the Extang Tri-fold works. It seems to be the easiest to use, easiest to install, nicely priced, good looking, lockable, it's out of the way of cargo and rear window.

 

[lefttee]

Playing with the tape measure this am. The front hinge of the Trifold on my Chevy with a 6' bed sits about 4-6" in front of the rear axle. Assuming the hitch will mount directly over the axle... it could be tight.

 

[darrentoma]

Watching this thread with great interest, as it may be an option I am looking for some day soon. LIke Bob alludes to with the panels hanging down, and the rolling cover with the big cage underneath, both seem to take away from an ideal cargo carrying space.

Has anyone used, or seen used good locking containers that would be out of the way of the hitch operation. A vinyl rolling cover could then be employed for when the hitch was not in use, and security would not be as much of an issue.

I have been using a couple of rubbermaid action packers for years similar to this:
Amazon.com - Rubbermaid 1172 ActionPacker Storage Box, 24 Gallon - Lidded Home Storage Bins

Yes they are plastic and the lock would not be very hard to break into but they have served me very well. Two of these fit real nice at the front of the truck bed as you can see in this photo I found on the net:

So basically I place mine just like the front two in that photo. I would then lock them in with a kryptonite cable similar to this:
Amazon.com: Kryptonite 720018210610 KryptoFlex 3/8" x 7' 1007 Double Loop Security Cable: Sports & Outdoors

I have six locks (all keyed the same), 4 for the action packers and 2 for the two front truck tie downs. I just lock the cable in on the two outside locks on the action packers - they ride together better this way (and not nearly the pain locking them in). My previous truck had no tonneau cover so I had to remove after each camping trip - but now with the new truck and rollup tonneau, I plan to just leave them in there for the summer (unless I need the truck bed for something else). I may modify how I use these as I go along with the new truck.

They are very weatherproof and I have been reasonably comfortable with the security over the years as one of them contains my 1000 watt Honda generator which fits perfectly along with a couple 1-gallon gas containers. The other one contains my 10 lb propane tank, lantern + fuel and misc - it has been stored outside under the house eaves when not in use and it has weathered very well - would guess it is 15 years old +/-.

My use of these has been pretty basic. You can google these action packers and see a variety of ways people are using and modifying them. There might even be some accessories out there (in terms of securing them better) since I bought mine. A steel box(es) of some kind might be more secure - but I find these to be more versatile, lighter weight and cheaper.

 

[padlin]

Playing with the tape measure this am. The front hinge of the Trifold on my Chevy with a 6' bed sits about 4-6" in front of the rear axle. Assuming the hitch will mount directly over the axle... it could be tight.

A look at the instructions that came with my B&W hitch show the king pin center 3.5"-1.25" forward of the axle center, depends on the make and year of the truck. The farthest forward is the newer Tundras. The coupler plate measures 6" from king pin center to it's front edge. No idea how big a king pin is.

Are the 3 sections of the Trifold equal width?