Hey guys. Bought a used Super Duty on Friday.

I am trying to get the tonneau cover on. Its probably 1" short. I was going to take it into the house and let it warm up and try it again. Any tips out there or should I just give up before I get pi$$ed at it. I can see that happening LOL. I thought about putting it in the bathroom and running the hot shower at full blast to steam it for a while.

 

Temperature affects the tonneau's strech, when it gets cold, it shrinks, kind of like our friend Abendx, but that's a whole different story.

You have the idea, get it as warm as you can, and pull hard!
Mine has adjustable snaps, where I can slide them off the rail and flip them to gain 3/4 of an inch to make fastening easier in the cold..

 

1 inch short is too much. Take it back and request a replacement.

If you want your tonneau cover to last you should use a product called 303. I have used it for the past 5 years on my Sportmasters tonneau and it is still in fairly good shape. It has shrunk a little. It can be a little hard to snap in cold weather but is is doable.

DO NOT USE Armor All. It will destroy the cover after long term use.

 

Thanks, guys. It came with my used truck. Maybe its not an inch too short, hard to say really. I have it in my easy chair near the fireplace in the basement right now.
But not too near! LOL

Thanks for the tip about the 303, the instructions I have for the top recommend it also.

 

When I have to unsnap my tonneau in the winter, I usually have to have a large pan of very hot water to get it back on. I get it snapped up as far as possible and then start spreading the hot water over it w/ a large cup as I snap it up.

 

Thats a great idea.

thanks Tank.

 

Sucess!

The tip about the hot bucket of water really helped out.

I ended up draping it over a small folding chair and making a tent out of it. Then I took a small electric heater, put it inside and got it good and warm. I also removed the third bow to give a little extra room. Got to the last corner and used the hot water trick, the last snap was still giving me trouble so I got a pair of welders sheetmetal vice grips that have the long (about 3") flat jaws and wrapped a rag around them and clamped it to the edge of the cover, then pulled on it and snapped on. Then I crawled inside and slid the bow in place.

Dont plan on removing it anytime soon LOL.

thanks for the tips.

 

And THAT is exactly why I don't have a soft cover!

 

Yea, well sometimes you gotta play the cards you are dealt.

 

A good soft cover... like the Access or Truxedo won't shrink in the cold!