OEM Tonneau Cover

[Leo Farnsworth]

Howdy gang.

Just installed the OEM tonneau yesterday (along with a few other bits).

I DO like it very much - did the 'hitch pin' mod and it is good.

I did add my own modification which is immensely helpful (IMHO):

---Note: I do not have a camera so I cannot post a photo of this, sorry---

I added two black aluminum handles to the underside of the front panel. These handles are towards the back end of the front panel. The location was chosen by approaching the folded panel while it was resting (still in the factory box) on the front-most edge and leaning against a wall to determine where the ideal lifting points should be.

With the handles it is VERY easy to lift the folded tonneau, bring it to the truck, lift it into the bed then (once my body entered the bed as well) lift it into place.

Removal is very easy as well. Having a good handgrip is essential when moving awkward items. This seems to work well. And I suppose that these handles could easily be used to hang the tonneau on hooks.

The ACE Hardware part # is: 5293501 with a upc of: 82901 13965.

[JCKridgeline]

Originally Posted by Leo Farnsworth

Howdy gang.

Just installed the OEM tonneau yesterday (along with a few other bits).

I DO like it very much - did the 'hitch pin' mod and it is good.

I did add my own modification which is immensely helpful (IMHO):

---Note: I do not have a camera so I cannot post a photo of this, sorry---

I added two black aluminum handles to the underside of the front panel. These handles are towards the back end of the front panel. The location was chosen by approaching the folded panel while it was resting (still in the factory box) on the front-most edge and leaning against a wall to determine where the ideal lifting points should be.

With the handles it is VERY easy to lift the folded tonneau, bring it to the truck, lift it into the bed then (once my body entered the bed as well) lift it into place.

Removal is very easy as well. Having a good handgrip is essential when moving awkward items. This seems to work well. And I suppose that these handles could easily be used to hang the tonneau on hooks.

The ACE Hardware part # is: 5293501 with a upc of: 82901 13965.

Hey Leo Farnsworth, what size hitch pin did you use for your MOD?

[ONTHEVERGE]

Any shifting of the cover whille driving? definitely us us know.

[Leo Farnsworth]

Originally Posted by JCKridgeline

Hey Leo Farnsworth, what size hitch pin did you use for your MOD?

Used the 3/16" size. Found 1/4" but they were too large to slide through the holes.

I haven’t noticed any shifting, and I do not expect to, either. The tonneau can't shift from side to side, it can't really go forward or backward while the tailgate is closed. The clips seem to be very tight so I do not expect the tonneau shift up-and-down either.

I firmly believe that the clips are a great mod.

Try it, you'll like it!

[starfixer]

Was looking for some more information for a coworker who recently purchased and had the dealer install the OEM cover.

Has anyone found a way to keep it from leaking? She is having difficulty with the dealership since it leaks somewhat and they did not tell her that before she purchased it. If they would have then she could have made a decision wether or not she wanted a leaky cover. Yes they have repalced it, and say that it is installed correctly, but that it will leak. They have offered to refund her the price with return of the cover but has a problem with that as it will leave holes in the bed of the truck. Is there an inexpensive fix for the leaks?

All help would be appreciative as always.


Thanks,

[Leo Farnsworth]

I have made a few mods to decrease water drips with my tonneau.

First, I used black silicone and applied a bead along the top of all three rails (front and both sides). I also added a bit of silicone to the joints where the side rails meet the front rail.

Once this was done the majority of drips seemed to come from the joint where the tonneau hinges meet the side rails.

I crawled into the bed and looked at this joint - it appears that water can drip down the side of the tonneau and not get diverted to the internal drip rails. After a trip to ACE Hardware I now owned some 3/3" x 3/4" Super Firm Sponge Tape (part # 57630) - This is a 10' roll of black foam with an adhesive edge.

I cut this foam into 2) 3" strips 3/4" wide on one side tapering to about 1/4" on the outer edge. I attached these 'wedges' to the far edges of my tonneau with the 1/4" edge extending OVER the internal drip rail.

The concept is for water to penetrate this joint (like usual) then run downhill on the upper surface of this new foam wedge, then drip onto the internal drip rail.

Overall, it has been helpful with the right side leaking hardly at all, and the left side leaking less than before but improvement can still be made.

I will continue to work on this, but it's too cold outside for tape to stick so I will work on an improved version in the spring.

Hope this helps somewhat.