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couple of things, Jim... the instructions are a little thin in places... and there are a couple of points they don't stress... first is the hinge plate that mounts to the front cab panel.. if it's tilted up it hides the hinge from the bed cover part so it won't engage the hinge. It attaches with double stick tape to the front wall under the top cap of the bed wall and I mean attaches... They recommended prying off the tape (yea right) and they are sending new tape. It's a two piece thing with the hinge actually screwed to an angle with the double stick tape. I opted to unscrew it and move the hinge part out from under the top cap about 1/8 and drilled new countersinked holes... that fixed that problem.
When you are attaching the side rails (that the cap sits on..)... again with double stick tape...They give you some funky dimensions that don't leave the bar level front to back... I called and sent pictures and finally they answered that the bar should be level front to back and it's about 1/4 below the top of the tailgate. The bar attaches to the front hinge plate and it measured 15-1/2" from the bed floor... I measured a prop stick the same dimension to hold up the tailgate end THEN checked level... it was good so then I removed the paper from the stick tape and pressed it into place. They also supply L-brackets (what they call bed side supports) that use one of the fender bolts to support the bed side rail in the middle of the run...mine were too short so they are sending some longer ones...honestly the double stick tape would be sufficient.
I'd recommend watching the u-tube video and printing out the install instructs off the website and read them carefully as you wait for your big old box to be delivered.
one more thing...the actual vinyl cover comes rolled... mine was so rolled it wouldn't lay flat and it was a cool 60 degrees in the shop. I brought it inside and weighted it down in the sunroom to let the 72 degree house heat warm it up...and it was much easier to handle
all in all it's a decent cover...ain't no ******* but it ain't 1500 bucks either...my truck will probably never see rain so it's all I need..
john
couple of things, Jim... the instructions are a little thin in places... and there are a couple of points they don't stress... first is the hinge plate that mounts to the front cab panel.. if it's tilted up it hides the hinge from the bed cover part so it won't engage the hinge. It attaches with double stick tape to the front wall under the top cap of the bed wall and I mean attaches... They recommended prying off the tape (yea right) and they are sending new tape. It's a two piece thing with the hinge actually screwed to an angle with the double stick tape. I opted to unscrew it and move the hinge part out from under the top cap about 1/8 and drilled new countersinked holes... that fixed that problem.
When you are attaching the side rails (that the cap sits on..)... again with double stick tape...They give you some funky dimensions that don't leave the bar level front to back... I called and sent pictures and finally they answered that the bar should be level front to back and it's about 1/4 below the top of the tailgate. The bar attaches to the front hinge plate and it measured 15-1/2" from the bed floor... I measured a prop stick the same dimension to hold up the tailgate end THEN checked level... it was good so then I removed the paper from the stick tape and pressed it into place. They also supply L-brackets (what they call bed side supports) that use one of the fender bolts to support the bed side rail in the middle of the run...mine were too short so they are sending some longer ones...honestly the double stick tape would be sufficient.
I'd recommend watching the u-tube video and printing out the install instructs off the website and read them carefully as you wait for your big old box to be delivered.
one more thing...the actual vinyl cover comes rolled... mine was so rolled it wouldn't lay flat and it was a cool 60 degrees in the shop. I brought it inside and weighted it down in the sunroom to let the 72 degree house heat warm it up...and it was much easier to handle
all in all it's a decent cover...ain't no ******* but it ain't 1500 bucks either...my truck will probably never see rain so it's all I need..
john
Did you have problems squaring up your aluminum frame or did you just bolt it together as directed and not really check it. I'm within 1/8" of square which maybe close enough, I'm just not sure what the gap is between the frame and the rail that is secured in the box to know whether I will have issues or not or if there is a big enough gap where it doesn't matter.
Jim... diagonals measured within an 1/8"... it might change a little when you stretch the vinyl as in step 4 in the instructions but mine fit fine.
john
Luke... it uses gas struts...I'll get a pic tomorrow for you
Okay, yeah, I think I'll be fine. I installed the canvas top on it tonight and it seems to square up much closer, probably within 1/16" now (corner to corner).
Fortunately for me I didn't run into any of the issues noted above. I didn't install them, but I did verify the support brackets for the side rails were long enough. I had no issues getting the front to seat in the channel as is with no modification. I'm glad was I was on a time crunch today.
I would have liked to see a little more attention to finish detail...plastic plugs in tube ends and holes, etc ...The ones I have are too fat but I'll come up with something neat
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