Hey guys, inherited a decent little 4wd pickup.
It has a tekstyle snap on tonneau cover that has been rolled up by the rear window for quite a while.

I purchased the missing snaps and corner piece to reinstall it.

Well, it didn't go so well.

I did a bunch of searches and some said bring it inside (it's cold here in nj) or lay it out on the truck with a bullet heater under it.

Only brought it in for a couple hours, seemed to help nothing.
The bullet heater helped a little.

But it's still way the hell off from being snapped pretty much anywhere.
It's about 2 inches width wise from snapping on, and even more length wise.

Do i need to leave it in the house for days?
Hit it with the bullet for longer? I used the bullet for about 10 minutes, didn't know how much heat it would take without damaging it.

Am i spinning my wheels here and it's never going to go back on?

Thanks,
Joe

 

You may be best hanging off til spring and wait for the first warm day and let the sun beat down on it rolled out. It will go back into position but needs to be heated and stretched slowly to avoid rips and tears. It's the main reason I went to a tri-fold cover. I still think the snap styles look the best but the tri-folds are fast and no more hassles of shrinking.

 

Hot water! Either at the carwash, or at home! It will grow amazingly fast with Hot water! I used to use a local car wash, and literally spray hot water and button as you go. Never had problem's with it.

 

Thanks guys,
I brought it in and hung it in my furnace room in the basement, i'll leave it there for a few days.

I figured spring would be best, but i hate when the truck gets snow in the bed.

Not sure if i have a local carwash that provides hot water, i guess i could manually hook a hose to my hot water in my house, but that sounds as if i'll be a frozen mess by the time that's over.

Probably wouldn't buy another cover, the truck is really just used sparingly, so if i don't get this one right, there won't be another.