So I recently picked up a couple of bicycle fork mounts to mount to my tonneau cover, a Backflip MX4 (off topic, but I wouldn't recommend this cover... but it's what I got...) to carry my bikes. My other option is to use my front hitch, but I don't care to travel long distance with the bikes mounted up front... and for longer trips I will likely start carrying my generator up front anyway. So, the mounts came in and they mounted up pretty nice to my cover. I threw the bikes up there and they are quite steady. I don't really think they will go anywhere, but I still wanted to secure the back wheels to keep them from sliding around on longer trips.



When mounting these items to the cover my goal is to be able to just leave them in place. The fork mounts fit perfectly so I can still fold the cover all the way up without it hitting the mounts. So for the back wheels I figured I would just mount a couple of D Rings since they have such a low profile and would allow me to fold up the cover. They came in today and I got them mounted on and they throned out as expected. I can still fold the cover up like they aren't even there...

However, I ran into a snag. The D Rings have no retention so they flop around, which is fine for my use. However, when I fold the first section over the D Rings will hang straight down like legs, and the fold will stand up on the D Rings instead of laying flat. I would be ok with this, but I already see a couple of dents that they are putting in the cover when folding it over. On a quality cover this wouldn't be an issue, but this is the MX4... I would expect that on a short amount of time it would actually put holes in the cover... So, I need to figure out some way to keep the D Rings laying down flush so that when I am folding the cover open they stay in place. just trying to figure out some way to keep them flat that also has a low profile and will allow the cover to fold over, but will also last long term being that the truck lives outdoors.

Any ideas?

 

Can't you just fold the cover over and push the rings flat as it lays down?

 

When standing beside the truck and folding the cover open it’s too far of a stretch to reach both sides at the same time.

 

magnets

 

Can't push the rings down one side at a time after folding it over?

Might work.

 

How about tightening the flat bar loop/hinge of the d-rings so that they require some effort to move up or down? Looks like you could get the loop a bit tighter around the ring or slightly deform it to create friction.

 

Could you slide some rubber of some sort inside the barrel so the d ring doesn't have as much slop? That might keep it in place or at least less likely to free swing?

 

Ohh... think this may be the ticket! These came from Amazon, which says they are stainless steel... sometimes stainless can be hit or miss when it comes to be magnetic though. But, that's a great idea!

Bummer... none of the magnets I have seem to do anything to it... I will haver to see if I can find some stronger magnets, but it's not looking good...

I don't mind that they are standing up rather than laying flat aside from the fact that when standing up they have already started putting dents in the cover where they hit. I don't figure it would take long at all for those dents get punched in and become holes... I'm telling ya, these MX4 covers are garbage!

I actually kind of expected them to come with a bite in them to do just that... functionally though they are fine. But, if a magnet doesn't work I may think about trying to do that.

I did try a couple of toothpicks, thinking they may fill the spot enough to keep it from flopping around but also be easy to remove if needed. Turns out, they were too easy to remove! lol. If I had a piece of rubber that I could slice though and make a bushing of sorts to slide over the D Ring and into the barrel that would also work.

Thanks for the great ideas everyone!

 

I was going to suggest a velcro strap but thought the magnet was a better idea. If a stronger magnet sill doesn't work, you might try velcro.

 

I have thought about that too.... just a small piece that I can loop over the ring. If I had a 3D printer I could make a little plastic seat and then use adhesive to stick it down. That's not in the cards though! lol

 

You could use something like this: https://a.co/d/0gJzputP

 

That's awesome! Thanks!

 

Just to bring this thread back around... I ordered some of those sticky velcro strips that @JoeUser suggested. They came in today and they were an easy install that I think will work very well! Being that the velcro strap is looped around the hook it will even keep the metal loop from hitting the tonneau cover and will actually cushion it! I think the sticky part is going to hold well since I won't really be using the hooks often, and I figure the sun will heat it up and the glue will adhere well... Anyway, here's a photo.