K, I thought I would share my thoughts cause while I was researching either i missed these things or i just had new car fever and blew right past them.

I traded in my 2000 F250 v10 short bed for a 2015 F350 diesel long bed.

On my old bed I had a fiberglass cover which was cool in that it was a giant trunk and was water proof, but I always longed for a way to get full access without breaking my back. Every time i removed the cover, the sound of crunching fiberglass made my heart skip a beat and if your helper decides to drop the ball you will end up with a giant scratch on the side of your truck. I know this first hand.

So on my new truck I got a retrax pro mx with a bedrug. I was able to get it on by myself, but there are some things to consider.

1. if you're like me and you kept your in bed toolbox hoping to use it. Bad news the retrax will not close if your toolbox is level or or close to level with the bed rail.
2. if you have the stake pocket covers, this is going to be a leak point for sure.
3. if you have the step gate, the notches where the steps come out of are another leak point since the truck has a little bit of stance leaning forward

I was able to fix the stake pocket covers by removing the covers, putting down a thick ring of rtv silicone then putting the covers back. I considered bullring pop ups, but by looking at them they will also leak through the holes where the rings pop up unless you make some kind of plug to seal them up when not in use. If you do the silicone, resist the urge to smear the excess coming back up down. Let it dry, trim the excess with a razor.

As for the toolbox you have three choices,1. buy a shorter toolbox and take a loss on selling your old 2. cut two inches off the bottom of your current old box and make a new bottom with wood or metal if you have access to a metal shop 3. find some way to raise the entire cover via raising the track 2 inches.

As for the step gate, the only solution is either deal with moisture at the bottom between the tailgate and the bed ( i have a bedrug ) or swap it for a non-step version.

 

Does your Retrax Pro rattle at all when driving since it's made of aluminum? I have had a Retrax One on my truck for a few years, and the only complaint I have is that it rattles because it's made of lexan.

 

haven't had it for long, so maybe a while of cooking in the sun may start the rattle to get louder as it loosens up, but so far i don't hear it in the truck. I'm sure it must cause of the nature of it rolling up but I don't hear it even with the radio off so it must be minimal right now. Mine is the aluminum version though. I will tell you in the Florida sun you better have gloves on opening it cause it does get hot even at the handle. Thinking of going to one of those car wrap places and getting it wrapped white to match my truck to help keep some heat off later on. Thinking they can wrap it then cut the wrap between the aluminum slats to let it roll into the cover.

 

Thanks for the response. I heard that the Retrax Pro doesn't rattle since its a little heavier being made of aluminum, vice the one I have made of lexan. I think I'll probably step up to the pro next year when I get a new truck.

If you decide to try the wrap, please let us know how it turns out. I know being in the south, my releasing handle gets very hot during the summer.

 

I've got the Retrax Pro and have not had any rattles or issues. The downside is that if anything happens to the rubber molding you can't replace it. They will make you buy new rails, and they have the molding made for them so you can't buy it anywhere.