[Ultra-HOG]

Here are is the first group of Retrax pictures. The side rail installation on the Ridgeline only uses the front tie-down bolts and the rear post bolts to attach the rails. There is no center mounting bracket for the Ridgeline installation like there would be on a traditional truck bed due to the design of the Ridgelines bed and the location of the bolt that is near the center of the rail. With a traditional truck bed and center mounting bracket, there would be a way to adjust the rails to allow for some bow in the bed walls. We do not have the ability to make the adjustment. The lack of a mechanical adjustment does not present a major problem because the weather strip has some give to it which allows it to pretty much seal the rail to the wall. I say pretty much since the amount of bow in the Ridgelines bed, at least on mine, creates a very slight gap between the rails weather strip and the bed wall near the center. A thicker weather strip would close the gap. I may add a thin strip of rubber or weather strip to further seal the ever so slight gap. I can slide a piece of paper between the weather strip and the bed near the center. The only water that could get in would be water that fell between the rail and the bed wall itself, about a 1" area. Water from the cover can not reach the weather strip because the bed rails are higher then the weather strip. The gap is so small that I am not concerned about it enough to consider it a problem. I only mention it for clarity.

I did not have time to mount the electric cover lock. The electric tailgate lock is backordered and should be here in about two weeks. If anyone knows which wires I need to connect to I would appreciate the info. I have not done the research or testing yet to figure it out.

I also did not install the tailgate seal. I want to wait until I see how much dust enters the bed before I do. I would rather allow the bed to breathe if dust is not a problem.

The installation itself was pretty much as expected. It was easy and the directions are pretty good, although mine did not include "step 3". It definetely does take two people to lift the assembled canister and rail assembly into the bed. An additional person or two to keep a hand on the rail ends might be helpful to make sure that they dont touch anything that could be scratched. It is not heavy, just awkward. Once the rails are connected to the canister, the rails are attached to plexiglass end panels so I would be very careful when handling the completed assembly so that the rails do not put pressure on the canister and end panels.

The yard stick in the pictures did not show up very well. The opening is now 21 1/2 " from the bed to the bottom of the lid. The decrease in the amount thet the trunk lid can open is minimal. I don't think that it will be any problem at all. If it always only opened this same amount, I don't think that I would complain. I suspect that any cover that uses mounting rails will have exactly the same limitations.

Overall, I am very happy with the Retrax cover and the installation. Anyone that has even the most minimal amount of mechanical ability could install a Retrax without a problem. I do not think that it would be worth paying someone else to install it unless it is less than $100.00. By the way, the cover and rails can be removed pretty easily. I would plan on about 20 minutes to do it and it would take two or more people to handle it. The only tool stat are needed are a philips screwdriver, a #40 and a #50 Torx bit, a pair of wire cutters, and a pair of pliers or other tool to remove the staples from the shipping cartons.

If anyone has questions or would like additional info or pictures, jusl let me know. If you are coming to the East Coast - Mid-Atlantic ROC meet on Sunday 6/26 North of Pittsburgh, I will be there with Ladyridge and others.