Retrax and noise

Does the Retrax cause an additional noise after it's been installed ?

We've tried repeatedly to hear the rattle some people have reported and even with the back window open, we hear no noise from our Retrax.

As many have said about possible noise from the Retrax, a roof rack or road noise, crank up your music and drive! :D

I have only heard my Retrax once and that was between 75 and 80 mph. I haven't installed the tape Retrax offers to silence the rattle as of yet. So far, I haven't had the need.

I have had a noise issue with my Retrax since I have owned it. The cover starts to rattle around 45 MPH. I guess some people call it a "flutter".

I called Retrax about it and they sent me that "rattle tape", but it didn't help, because the rattle is not coming from the wheels in the track, it's coming from the cover itself. I think if they threw in a few more supports running through the cover, it would pretty much eleviate the "flutter".

The flutter is not loud enough to be heard in the cabin with the windows closed. But, if i open up the back window and I am traveling over 45 MPH, you can hear it clear as day.

Except for that, I really like my Retrax and get a aweful lot of compliments on it. It does look sharp and works really well. Personally, I am happy I bought it.

Thanks for all the responses, I think I'll be ordering my Retrax cover soon.

I just installed the Retrax a couple of days ago, and at 75mph, I can only hear a very very slight "flutter" with the rear window open. I don't see how it would be big deal..

I have had my Retrax for about 3300 miles and I have noticed that it makes more noise now that it did when I first installed it. I still love it…. Best bed cover I have ever had.

I gotta say, I took the RL up to 85 today and rolled down the back window. I did notice a constant flutter that wasn't so quiet.... I can't hear it at all with the windor closed though.

Sounds like some of us get the rattling noise and others don't. The rattling noise starts at about 40mph on my Ridgeline. It's quite loud as the cover is beaten by the wind. I'm thinking the covers are fairly consistent from one another, but the RidgeLines might not be so consistent. We have all added different accessories. Something is causing the wind to beat down on some covers and flow over others.

Please could we do a survey of ReTrax owners to see if a pattern emerges between those that get the rattling noise and those that don't.

Survey:
Rattle/No Rattle
I get the Rattle

Accessories that might affect air flow
AVS color matching bug shield
Westin Chrome over stainless Nerf Bars
Honda OEM Mud Guards
Curt Hitch
XM satelite antennae

Yes, I get the rattle/flutter over 45 mph but it's still worth every penny!

IMHO, I feel that there's a lot more concern about the rattle/flutter being an issue than is necessary. I was skeptical at first as well, but decided to buy anyway. I'm as sensitive to annoying rattles as anyone. I have only 6 weeks of ownership and in those six weeks I had my Retrax through all driving senarios. The only time it becomes an issue for me is at 80 mph. I don't cruise at that speed and I would think very few do.

I wish I could take everyone concerned about the flutter for a drive so that you can see the circumstances involved in creating it. Roll type covers, by nature, need to be flexible. The flexability creates the cover's convenience as well as the cover's ability to generate the flutter. I would think any hard roll type cover would be capable of generating the noise. The only way to avoid the flutter is to go with a hard top. Again in my opinion, flipping open a cover is not as convenient as simply retracting one.

I just installed my Retrax last weekend (3-22-08), and I also get the fluttering noise when I reach 40 mph. But it's not an issue unless the back window is open. And even with the back window open, it's not a huge deal. And it SURE wouldn't keep me from buying the Retrax again. Still think it's the best cover out there. And I'm thinking I can get my lady to lay down in the bed and push up on the cover when we're traveling. That should eliminate the fluttering. Hmmm..."lay down in the bed" might not be the best approach. Help me with some words here. (:eek: That boy's gonna get his butt kicked!)

This piques my interest, even though mine does not flutter, or at least it hasn't, and I installed it last Autumn.

This sounds like the phenomenon called resonance, and is a major concern in engineering. The fix for this is usually to change the resonant frequency or, more often, dampening--which is exactly why you have shocks to keep your vehicle from bouncing off the road.

I'd like more info on this, PLEASE, because I'm the sort of person who finds this fascinating.

First question.

How many of those with fluttering Retrax covers also have a roof rack, moonroof, non OEM mirrors, side molding, lift kits, bug guard (or whatever you call that thing on the leading edge of the hood) hoods on the the side windows, grille guards or drive with the side windows open?

Edit, Thursday night. Seriously, do I need to post a poll? :D

KE5TCG, a poll on this subject would be good. I don't have any of the accessories you asked about, but I do get a flutter at speeds above 40 mph. Funny, but the second time I dove the RL after Retrax installation, the flutter wasn't as loud. No idea why. Speed was 70 mph both times, and both times I had the rear window open. Maybe it's healing! :D

I've seen only one post on the anti-rattle tape for the Retrax, and than member said the tape didn't help. Anyone else used the tape...and did it work or not?? :confused:
Tom

Tom, I'm curious, how much side to side play do you have with the cover between the side rails?

Tom, I'm curious, how much side to side play do you have with the cover between the side rails?

Hmmm, Pizza Man...I'm not quite sure how to answer. My cover fits very snugly against side of the bed. And I did push the side rail gaskets firmly against the sides of the bed. Are you referring to the actual movement of the cover INSIDE the rails? Never even thought about checking that. What could you do if there is some play there? Don't see any way to tighten it up. Have you found a way to make an adjustment??
Tom

Are you referring to the actual movement of the cover INSIDE the rails?
Yes, I have considerable play side to side within the rails. I seem to remember something in the instructions where they mention checking for side to side play. I hope you still have the instruction sheets.

Yes, I have considerable play side to side within the rails. I seem to remember something in the instructions where they mention checking for side to side play. I hope you still have the instruction sheets.

Pizza Man, I do still have the instructions, and after seeing your post, I just read through them again. Didn't see anything at all about an adjustment for side-to-side play. I didn't even see anything about checking for any play in it. Did I miss something??

You know, with some Retrax owners saying they have no flutter at all, and others saying they definitely do, I'm wondering if some of the covers were just made with a slightly tighter fit side to side. Just like any two items from the same manufacturer can be slightly different. Who knows! :confused:
Tom

You know, with some Retrax owners saying they have no flutter at all, and others saying they definitely do, I'm wondering if some of the covers were just made with a slightly tighter fit side to side. Just like any two items from the same manufacturer can be slightly different. Who knows! :confused:
Tom
That's the point I was going to make. I'm no aerodynamic expert, but I do have a thought. Due to some carelessness on my part, I mortally damaged the Retrax cover. I don't want to get into what I did because it's embarrassing and has nothing to do with the flutter issue. However, I needed to replace the cover. The canister and rails are still original. I noticed the original cover fit tighter than the replacement.

Why do I think this is important? I experienced the flutter with the original cover, only when exceeding 75 MPH, and it was low pitched and audible with the rear window closed. I rarely drive with the window open, anyway. The replacement cover has a looser fit than the original and I have yet to hear it flutter. I have even tried to reproduce the flutter and exceeded 85 MPH trying to do so. I won't flutter.

I'm thinking at certain speeds, low pressure conditions exist over the cover due to the aerodynamics of the truck. Tighter fitting covers are more prone to the flutter because it's more difficult for the cover to equalize the low pressure condition on top of the cover from the pressures below the cover. I can't prove this theory, I wouldn't know how. Nor would I want to try to reproduce the flutter for fear of it becoming permanent.

I wish I still had the installation instructions to verify my thought about check for play, but I must have dumped them. Study the Retrax installation and see if there is anything you can think of that would result in the cover fitting a bit looser. In the meantime, I will see if Retrax offers a PDF file of their installation instructions for the Ridgeline.

As you suggest, it just may be manufacturing variances at play here.

My cover starts to make noise at 40 mph and I have to close the back window at 52 mph as the noise is to loud.

Retrax will supply a tape that goes inside the track to help eliminate this noise. I have not installed yet.

I just checked my Retrax and noticed that when I open the cover 4 or 5 inches, I have a side-to-side movement of somewhere around 1/8 to 1/4". Anybody know if this is how much movement it should have?? And if it shouldn't have that much movement side-to-side, how is it adjusted?

I'm thinking that the folks who don't have any flutter might have a better side-to-side adjustment than those who do have the flutter. :confused:

Pizza Man says he has LESS flutter with the his new Retrax, but the new cover doesn't fit as tight as the old one he had. Does a looser fit mean LESS flutter? Seems it would be the other way around, but maybe the tighter fit doesn't give the cover room enough to handle the wind speed over the top of the truck.

Not trying to make a bid deal out of a small problem, but I'd sure like to figure it out.
Tom

Imagine a...
Think of a bell...
...if you stimulate...
Think of the ...
Having said that, the math...
Remember the old

My Brain!!! It Hurts!!! Thinking, stimulation, thinking, math, remembering aaaaarrrrggghhh! :eek: I just popped a blood vessel... yup, there goes another one.............. :(

Pizza Man, you may have solved part of the resonance problem!!!

Imagine a guitar string that is installed on the guitar, but under very low tension.

Now, a tight string will vibrate and resonate. So will a loose string, but not as well and at a different frequency. Every system or object in this universe has both a natural frequency as well as a lowest fundamental frequency.

Think of a bell. You can't make it ring any lower than its fundamental pitch, and no matter what frequency is driving it, the pitch is pretty much the same. Now...if you stimulate that bell at its natural frequency with an oscillator and not the clapper, and with no damping, it will eventually break apart! (Think of the opera singer breaking the crystal glass.) This applies to the problem at hand. And, this resonance is not doing your cover any good either!!

Having said that, the math for a two-dimensional (distance dimensions) surface like a drum, an acoustic guitar body top, or your cover, is way more complicated than for a one-dimensional distance function. But... the laws are pretty much the same.

So the natural frequency specific to some covers will respond to the wind turbulence and go into what is called resonance. The pitch of that resonance may change slightly according to the wind speed or direction, but usually not by much. How much it can change is a function of stuff like "Q" and "bandwidth," and systems like this cover usually have a low bandwidth, as does a typical bell--but not for a violin, for example. And to keep my skirts clean, drums have an extraordinarily high bandwidth response (as does anything that can produce a short pulse--the shorter the pulse, the higher the bandwidth. Ask Fourier and Dirac.)

So, we have the factors of tension, damping, the lexan properties and the wind turbulence. Change one thing and the resonance stops (or moves to another frequency.)

Remember the old films of the famous bridge oscillating in the wind, until it finally broke apart? That's when engineers started paying a lot more attention to resonance.

Sorry to go on so long... (I really love this stuff.)

I LOVE your reply, KE5TCG! Wonderful thoughts. I've just got to go get some whiskey and read it again. :D
Tom

Have there been any new revalations on this, I installed my retrax today and I get the rattle over 45mph and would really like to get rid of it!

Have there been any new revalations on this, I installed my retrax today and I get the rattle over 45mph and would really like to get rid of it!

Well, good luck. I have had my Retrax for about 2 years now, it had the "flutter issue" from day one, and still does. I have tried the "anti flutter" tape, have tried adjusting it (like Pizza Man suggested), but to no avail: I still have the flutter/rattle/noise/whatever you want to call it. As other ROC members have posted, mine starts to flutter around 45, and gets louder the faster I go. Can't hear it when the back window is closed.

As I stated in an earlier post, I still believe the flutter is the direct result a deficient number of cross supports, which allows the flutter to occur. I think if they would put a few more cross supports in the cover, it would resolve this issue. Of course it would probably raise the price of it a few bucks too.

Anyway, if you get it resolved, let us know...I would love to know how to get rid of the rattle too.