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I have the Ford Tri-fold on my 2015 F150 (its a Backflip with Ford emblem on it) and I have an over the rail toolbox on my F250 8ft bed. I'm selling both trucks and consolidating into a new 8ft bed Super Duty.
On the Tri-fold my only gripe is you have to slightly open the bed to shut it otherwise the weather strip gets bound up. It really frankly annoys me for some reason (things like that usually do not annoy me) and I may find one that doesn't require that. Are there any over the rail folding covers you can partially fold up and drive with? You can partially fold and strap the Ford tri-fold as it has D-rings up front for that.
Has anyone used the BAKbox tool box? This is great but I read its only 10 inches deep so you'd need to run 2 of them? Kinda expensive to run 2 of them and I may have better luck making a plywood box and utilizing the front boxlink mounts to hold it up (and if it gets too heavy i could put some legs down to the bedfloor).
Thanks, this thread has been really informative.
It's rated by Bakflip to hold 200 lbs. I had a case of DEF and 2 one gallon water jugs and the mount screws pulled out from the "weight". So shoved the DEF case under the box for support. And just keep lite stuff in it.
I have the truck covers usa american roll cover. Nothing short of amazing except for the price. Its rock solid after heavy use over the last 2 years I open and close the cover at least 4 times a day. It has a few unique features.
1.) The pull strap is made of solid seat belt material and is 2 inches wide not crappy nylon that tears and breaks easily.
2.) Its the only cover I know of that has a release strap inside the bed under the cover. This allows you to simply drop the tailgate with button or fob then pull the quick release instead of going through the hassle of unlocking it with key. This is amesome feature if you have electronic tail gate.
3.) It has the smallest roll box in the industry only about 8 inches square. So doesnt intrude into bed much.
4.) It has 4 drains one at each corner to drain water faster.
5.) Its solid interlocking aluminum so its very theft resistant.
6.) The top of the roll box is solid enough for 275lb person to stand and walk on it with zero flex to wash the roof of the truck.
8 winters so far.
It is pricey
It is well made
It is not water tight
You can stand on it. Like the above post I stand on it, usually to wash the nose of the 5th wheel. Now I don't jump on it and can feel it move under my 175 pounds and I try and walk along the edges when I can.
The cable release will eventually fail. I re-did mine with stainless cable and rerouted it some and have no issues.
My tool box has matching keys for the locks, although I never use the keys. I have always used the pull cable for the roller and I ordered the tool box with the optional electric solenoids. The locks are tied into my door locks (and switched so I can turn off that feature)
The tool box is steel and very secure, but small because the cover rolls into a recess in the tool box.
About the only disappointment is water leaks past the rails as much as it goes in the drains.
You do have to be aware of debris getting into the canister and clogging the drains. The drains are small (1/2" pipe threads) and the mounting boss goes up into the canister. Since the cover is not waterproof anyway I removed the drains and made the hole bigger.
Snow has never been an issue, neither has water freezing in the tracks. I've had snow as high as the cab and use a snow broom to just push it off. Snow that is not to high (inch or so) and does the thaw -freeze-thaw-freeze routine is handled by just smacking the cover a few times, breaks the ice up.
The rails protrude into the bed about 3 inches, and mine are dinged up by the 5th wheel pin box.
I would buy it again but without the tool box. Next truck will have a custom made fuel tank tool box combo that will wrap around the roller canister. The Truck Covers tool box stands about 4" above the bed and the steel lid has been a contact problem with our new 5th wheel. Dinged the nose twice now on a very expensive painted trailer. Fiberglass is no match for the steel corners of the tool box. Not a mark on the box and a hole in the glass.
Originally Posted by Joe T
Can you stop this cover partially closed and drive with it that way?
Yes
Originally Posted by Davparks2
Yes, It has stops every 12 inches along the rails. Basically its always locked. If you unlock the with key or pull the release latch the cover unlocks and moves freely along the tracks. Once the cover retracts all the way to the front of the truck a lever engages and triggers the lock. Then once you start pulling it back towards the back of the truck it will lock every 12 inches until its fully closed. The only way to unlock is once the the lock has been engaged is with with the key or pulling the quick release strap again.
The cover has stops every 12"
You do not have to retract it all the way to engage.
Pull the release cable, move the cover to where you want it and push the lever on the back of the latch, that re-engages the lock bars.
I frequently do just this when I only want the last foot open.
Anywhere the cover is locked along the rails, to close you just pull the strap, the stops are made to allow the lock bars to allow movement rearward but not forward.
Originally Posted by Joe T
So it locks definitely halfway up or can you bypass that?
Yes, every 12" or not at all.
Originally Posted by dnewton3
Except when the snow/water gets in tracks and freezes ... Ask my buddy how he knows; it's happened to him. Anything with tracks/rails is subject to debris/contamination issues at some point.
Has not been an issue for me in 8 winters - so far.
1) Inexpensive (I spent $225 on it for my long bed - seems price is up on Amazon)
2) Super easy install
3) Keep everything in the bed dry
4) Roll up 100% out of the way to be able to utilize your entire bed when needed
8 winters so far.
It is pricey
It is well made
It is not water tight
You can stand on it. Like the above post I stand on it, usually to wash the nose of the 5th wheel. Now I don't jump on it and can feel it move under my 175 pounds and I try and walk along the edges when I can.
The cable release will eventually fail. I re-did mine with stainless cable and rerouted it some and have no issues.
My tool box has matching keys for the locks, although I never use the keys. I have always used the pull cable for the roller and I ordered the tool box with the optional electric solenoids. The locks are tied into my door locks (and switched so I can turn off that feature)
The tool box is steel and very secure, but small because the cover rolls into a recess in the tool box.
About the only disappointment is water leaks past the rails as much as it goes in the drains.
You do have to be aware of debris getting into the canister and clogging the drains. The drains are small (1/2" pipe threads) and the mounting boss goes up into the canister. Since the cover is not waterproof anyway I removed the drains and made the hole bigger.
Snow has never been an issue, neither has water freezing in the tracks. I've had snow as high as the cab and use a snow broom to just push it off. Snow that is not to high (inch or so) and does the thaw -freeze-thaw-freeze routine is handled by just smacking the cover a few times, breaks the ice up.
The rails protrude into the bed about 3 inches, and mine are dinged up by the 5th wheel pin box.
I would buy it again but without the tool box. Next truck will have a custom made fuel tank tool box combo that will wrap around the roller canister. The Truck Covers tool box stands about 4" above the bed and the steel lid has been a contact problem with our new 5th wheel. Dinged the nose twice now on a very expensive painted trailer. Fiberglass is no match for the steel corners of the tool box. Not a mark on the box and a hole in the glass.
Yes
The cover has stops every 12"
You do not have to retract it all the way to engage.
Pull the release cable, move the cover to where you want it and push the lever on the back of the latch, that re-engages the lock bars.
I frequently do just this when I only want the last foot open.
Anywhere the cover is locked along the rails, to close you just pull the strap, the stops are made to allow the lock bars to allow movement rearward but not forward.
Yes, every 12" or not at all.
Has not been an issue for me in 8 winters - so far.
Very informative. My plan is to build a plywood box under the cover up front and partially roll it up to cover it and then lock it. Will need that when pulling a gooseneck.
Here's my Access Vanish tonneau. Low profile and it gets completely out of the way when rolled up. The hard rollups take too much room in the front when you're loading motos, cargo, etc. And the flip ups are just about as much of a pain as the fiberglass ones from the 90's. For my usage, this is really the only type that works.
12-19-2018, 12:00 AM
