RustyH 09-21-2009, 10:35 AM I've had the Truxedo Pro bed cover on my truck for the past two years and for the second Arizona summer in a row have the same problem. The velcro that is on the metal bed rails has melted/come loose and pulled away from the metal bed rail. The first time Truxedo was very nice and sent me replacement bed rails. I replaced them in October of last year and everything was great until around last month, when the velcro started coming off again. I don't feel like replacing the bed rails again so I'm asking for suggestions.
The first time I tried super glue gel, without really cleaning up the old glue and tried reapplying the velcro...that didn't work. Then I thought, Gorilla Glue...supposed to be really strong and long lasting. Maybe I bought the wrong stuff, but the Gorilla glue I used expanded and there was a lot of excess, yellow colored glue left dripping of the bed rails and such.
Should I just plan on replaceing the velcro after every summer, or does anyone know of a more permament way to attach it. I was thinking about using flat head screws or bolts, but I'm worried the screw or bolt head may interfer with how the velcro on the bed rail attaches to the velcro on the cover. If anyone has a suggestion, please let me know.
I do think the Truxedo Pro is a very good cover and looks great, but I don't think they considered what several weeks of 110+ degree heat would do to the glue on the velcro stips they use.
frkytky712 09-21-2009, 03:53 PM I've had the Truxedo Pro bed cover on my truck for the past two years and for the second Arizona summer in a row have the same problem. The velcro that is on the metal bed rails has melted/come loose and pulled away from the metal bed rail. The first time Truxedo was very nice and sent me replacement bed rails. I replaced them in October of last year and everything was great until around last month, when the velcro started coming off again. I don't feel like replacing the bed rails again so I'm asking for suggestions.
The first time I tried super glue gel, without really cleaning up the old glue and tried reapplying the velcro...that didn't work. Then I thought, Gorilla Glue...supposed to be really strong and long lasting. Maybe I bought the wrong stuff, but the Gorilla glue I used expanded and there was a lot of excess, yellow colored glue left dripping of the bed rails and such.
Should I just plan on replaceing the velcro after every summer, or does anyone know of a more permament way to attach it. I was thinking about using flat head screws or bolts, but I'm worried the screw or bolt head may interfer with how the velcro on the bed rail attaches to the velcro on the cover. If anyone has a suggestion, please let me know.
I do think the Truxedo Pro is a very good cover and looks great, but I don't think they considered what several weeks of 110+ degree heat would do to the glue on the velcro stips they use.
Wow that does stink. I just put my Truxedo on and love mine. Luckily for me, it doesnt get AS hot where I live... I think I would try to get maybe smaller screws and see if the velcro will still stick. I'd hate to have to keep changing out the bed rails!
Nimbus1 09-21-2009, 05:51 PM I had the velcro come loose on my Truxedo last summer and I replaced it with new velcro, using it's adhesive. So far, so good, but it doesn't get as hot in Chicago as in AZ. I'm guessing almost any adhesive will get soft and fail in 110 degree heat. I had the problem with a velcro fastening coming loose on a garage-door opener in my old Cherokee. I attached the velcro with some string around it and the opener. That worked, but if I had to choose, I think I'd try some small flathead screws on the Truxedo rails and see if that holds up. Let us know if you're able to solve the problem.
RustyH 09-21-2009, 07:28 PM I think what I'm going to do is remove the cover from the rails, then remove the velcro, clean off the top of the rails (Probably some orange cleaner) to clean off all glue residue and dirt stuck in the glue residue. Then I'll prep the surface, reapply a new strip of velcro, using it's own adhesive, then use either screws or small bolts (8mm or less) every foot or so , securing the velcro strip to the rail directly in the middle of the strip. It all depends on what I can find at my local ACE for sizing. If I can find the bolts in black, so much the better.
Nimbus1 09-22-2009, 09:40 PM Sounds like a plan. Let us know how it works out and maybe post some pictures. Good luck!
GeNeRaL 09-23-2009, 10:08 AM The answer is simple.
Mighty Putty.
https://www.mightyputty.com/flare/next
http://hardwareaisle.thisoldhouse.com/images/2008/03/03/mightyputty2_2.jpg
:p :p :p
RustyH 10-10-2009, 04:32 PM Finally had a chance to "hopefully" fix my Truxedo Pro woes today.
1) Before....You can see some ripples in the bed cover in this pic
2) After......No more ripples, the bed cover is now tight as a drum.
3) The main reason for the ripples is the velcro on the bed rails was starting to come off.
More to follow
RustyH 10-10-2009, 04:53 PM 4) Here you can see how the velcro had pulled away from the bed cover rail. Arizona's summer heat just melted the glue, allowing it to stretch and then dust and debris would get into the melted glue, rendering it useless.
5) The velcro was very easy to pull off, just a quick tug and it was nearly removed from the rail.
6) I was able to use an adhesive remover applied to a green nylon scratch pad to get all the melted glue off the bed cover rails.
7) Comparison shot of a cleaned bed cover rail and one with glue still on it.
8) Here is the new velcor installed. I added small, button top allen bolts, four to a bed cover rail. I drilled a 7/8" hole through the velcro and the aluminum rail, inseted the allen bolt and held it in place with a nylon grip nut. Hopefully these will help keep the velcro from being pulled away from the bed cover rail in the summer heat.
As a finishing touch, a little olive oil to the bed. Cleaned up 90% of the scratches and such....I'll have to see if black shoe polish will take care of the rest.
Outside of the probem of melting velcro, which is probably strickly an Arizona or Saudi Arabia problem, I really like this cover, with one minor caveat.....
The rubber gaskets on the sides and end (near the window) are very good at catching and keeping dust and small leaves. I must have spent close to 15 minutes using an airgun to clean all the crap out of the gaskets. Something to look forward to next year I guess.
Nimbus Maximus 10-10-2009, 06:30 PM I had the same problem earlier this year...velcro came off on one side, less than a year old. Truxedo sent me some new velcro, no charge.
Overall, I love this cover...so hopefully this isn't a recurring problem!
This thread reminds me that I still need to fix it! I may use some rivets to hold the velcro down...
RustyH 10-10-2009, 09:49 PM I had the same problem earlier this year...velcro came off on one side, less than a year old. Truxedo sent me some new velcro, no charge.
Overall, I love this cover...so hopefully this isn't a recurring problem!
This thread reminds me that I still need to fix it! I may use some rivets to hold the velcro down...
The glue holdimng the velcro strips have failed for two summers in a row. The first time Truxedo sent me two entirely new bed rails, not just new velcro. When it happened again this year, I decided to replace the velcro and add the extra holders as a precaution. Rivits would probably work better, but I've never riveted before and the bolts and nuts only ran me a few dollars, so I figured why not.
Nimbus1 10-11-2009, 06:55 AM RustyH, your fix looks great! Now that I've seen the degree of pulling that you experienced and the wrinkles it caused, I'm going to have to look at mine more closely.
Maximus, the one problem with using rivets would be if you ever had to replace the velcro a second time, you'd have to cut, drill, or break the rivets. Using small screws might make it easier to do again.
Chingching 10-11-2009, 05:06 PM The same thing happened to mine. They sent me out new rails. The call I made to them lasted about 2 mins. The girl never even questioned it. She just took my address and sent it right out. I like the how you did it Rusty. I should do that as well before mine starts to come up again.
RustyH 10-11-2009, 07:24 PM I was thinking it was an Arizona hot summer thing, but seeing some of the replys, it could also be a cold a$$ winter thing as well. Either way, Truxedo has responded in trying to fix the problem for me once, so I figured I'd try this repair on my own. I figure I spent less than $20 on everything so if it works it will be a very inexpensive repair.
Nimbus Maximus 10-12-2009, 06:33 PM This was a good reminder! Today, I replaced just the section that was peeling off, probably about a foot long. That adhesive is a biotch, I used some Goo Gone and a Scotch Brite pad. I'll hit it with a hair drier too.
I've had the rails off for summer...plan to re-install soon.
Rusty, I like the olive oil idea!
RTXGuy 10-12-2009, 06:51 PM did you cut the rail to make room for the trunk opening?
Nimbus Maximus 10-12-2009, 07:10 PM Nope. It opens pretty wide before it hits the rail...
Actually, I think it hits the cover before it the rail...unless you peel the cover back. I can't remember, I've had mine off for summer. :confused::)
did you cut the rail to make room for the trunk opening?
RustyH 10-12-2009, 10:56 PM did you cut the rail to make room for the trunk opening?
I've never had a problem with the trunk opening using the Truxedo Pro. It opens fine with plenty of room for me to get what I need.:confused:
Nimbus1 10-13-2009, 10:07 PM I've had no problem getting in and out of the trunk with the Truxedo in place.
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