I am about to be traveling the country in my truck full time. I only want a roll up cover that is going to keep my gear dry and secure. So just plain covers that have no reinforcement are out! I just want to know everyones opinon on what has worked well for you on your truck. I am leaning towards Pace Edwards Full metal jack rabbit.
Best is a hard term. I do like Pace Edwards over the competition. The FMJR has nice aluminum ribs to make up the cover, plus the explorer rails are a really nice toy.
Roll-n-lock was a good cover for me as well. The vinyl backed aluminum tarp took a tree limb in stride during the huricanes here. It dented and tore the tarp a little, but it still rolled up nicely. The down side the roll and locks was their tolerances. My fastest installation was 6 hours and it rolled perfectly in the rails. Then about every year they had to be "tweaked" to keep them that smooth. PE has more slack, so they don't require adjustment half as often. I tweaked my PE Bedlocker a couple of months ago, it didn't need it (I had a lock motor failure), however that was 3 years after my installation.
I also find that PE mounts the canister to the rails rather than the bed. When the canister and rails are mounted to the bed, they need more alignment correction. The PE system keeps the canister tied to the rails, so unless you tweak the 6.5' rails, it stays in adjustment.
I just washed my truck and I thought of this thread. The down side to the PE metal slats is; I haven't found a product that will stay fairly clean and give the cover a glossy finish. Pace Edwards reps say to treat it like paint, just no paste/cake wax. I've tried silicone detailers, Mother's back to black, Protectant and several tire shines. The tire dressings looked the best, but you didn't need an airfilter for the motor, there wasn't a particle of dust that wasn't attracted to the greasy tire shine. Then trying to get that dirt out of the cracks is another fun job.
I still love it, just making it look shiny is hard.
if you're not completely limited to a roll up cover, try a armour lid hard cover. very happy with mine. the best soft one i've used was a truxedo loProQT, but i worry about security, so i went with a hard shell this time.
I like the full hard covers but there not pracitical for me. I still need to be able to use my truck to haul awkward and bulky things without removing a cover. I live out of a hotel while on the road and I cant just put it in my garage while its not in use
I have decided to purchase the Full metal jackrabbit from pace edwards. I really liked the retrax with the ball bearings but the lexan cover just wont do the job. It'll get scratched up by cats walkin on it and limbs rubbin up on it. Another thing was the lock didnt feel real solid to me. The Pace Edwards product is very heavy material and seems like it will be the best fit for me.
When you get it, free up a concrete block or 2.5-5gal bucket. It makes the install much easier. You can do it by yourself, I've done several alone, but if you can get another body to help lift, life is a little easier. Set the buck near the front of the bed, set the canister on the bucket, assemble the rails to the canister, and remove the bucket. Hold it in place while you run the cover back and forth acouple of times to get everything lined up. Then clamp it all down.
I met the owner of Bak a few years ago, then talked with him again a couple of years back. They have great promise and he likes to talk, but his covers kept coming up short. I do hope they have the issues sorted out because I liked the idea of the back flip, but the first year of production had a lot of glue issues.
If you like the PE, you need to look at TruckCoversUSA, it's a superior cover. It's also made of black powdercoated aluminum. However, it's double-walled aluminum and you can put over 600 pounds on it (PE is rated at 200 lbs). TCUSA has the smalled canister on the market at only 8" x 8". Also, there are 4 drain tubes (two in the front, two in the back) instead of the typical 2 in the front. TCUSA's slats are interconnected, the PE's slats are connected with rubber.
TruckCoversUSA:
Pace Edwards Full Metal:
Jack Rabbit (vinyl laminated aluminum) at the top, Full Metal at the bottom:
If weight is a consideration go with Retrax. Great customer service and my wife can easily help me lift it off when needed. It also helps to reduce weight when towing a heavy 5er.
__________________ 2005 F350 Lariat CC 4x4 6.0L SRW
Retrax is a good cover and costs a little less than other retractable covers. It's Lexan slats support 200 lbs. Unlike the other retractable covers, Retrax is not spring loaded (which is neither good nor bad, just different), so move the cover into any position and lock it. The Lexan slats do not have a texture so they are very shiney. Some people love that, some people hate it.
I ordered my full metal jack rabbit today. I cant wait to get it in and put it on my truck. I liked the retrax but it cant compete with the panels on the FMJR. I really like the ball bearings and the canister how it has a track on the inside.I couldnt find anyone with a demo unit of the american version for me to see for myself.
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