Locking Hard Tonneau Cover

[BIGTAZZDADDY]

Aloha Fellow Ridgeline Owners!!!
Just wonderin' if anyone has looked into the Honda Locking Hard Tonneau Cover (MSRP-$1,199.00).Looked for after market tonneau covers,saw one on e-bay,a rolling locking one.I would really like to have the bed covered.just looking for some feedback....Thanks


'06 RTL w/NAV,chrome wheels
adding visor and possibly locking hard tonneau cover

[kanji]

Originally Posted by BIGTAZZDADDY

Aloha Fellow Ridgeline Owners!!!
Just wonderin' if anyone has looked into the Honda Locking Hard Tonneau Cover (MSRP-$1,199.00).Looked for after market tonneau covers,saw one on e-bay,a rolling locking one.I would really like to have the bed covered.just looking for some feedback....Thanks


'06 RTL w/NAV,chrome wheels
adding visor and possibly locking hard tonneau cover

Mahalo, I opted for the factory cover, overall, i like how it locks the bed like a secondary trunk. It will lock the bed up and you can't open either by pulling down or swinging the gate open. YOu can either open it with a secondary key or if you're locked in the bed, swing the latch on the cover to open and flip the cover over. One down side to the factory cover...make that two...1. is the price, 2. need a wrench to remove the nuts, to use the bed and remove the cover to set aside somewhere in the house or garge.

[Ultra-HOG]

Welcome aboard BIGTAZZDADDY! There is LOTS good of information right here on the ROC about tonneau covers. Start by getting a cup of coffee and getting real comfortable, then search "Tonneau" and "Retrax". Also look through the Exterior and Accessories forum. I am sure that you will find information that will help you. There are about half a dozen different covers to choose from. Most have been reviewed at length by various ROC members. They are all different with their own pros and cons. Almost every one that I have read about appears to be very good quality.
Good luck, and happy reading!
Once again, welcome!

[Steve Smith]

I hope to take some digital pics of my cover along with my new wheels, etc. I'm VERY pleased with my "Access Cover" .Looks great, easy to use, cost me about 1/3rd the cost of the Honda one,and is A LOT more capable of keeping whats in the bed dry! It does have locks at the rear,but only effective if tail gate also locks.

[bikr]

The only reason I didn't get the OEM was that I read the install manual. It seems like they really need to mod the box a lot to get that thing installed. I was nervous about ever wanting to 100% remove this thing and how much of a bed I'd be left with, so I opted for the retrax.. Few glitches but overall I love it.

[cdepuydt]

Originally Posted by bikr

The only reason I didn't get the OEM was that I read the install manual. It seems like they really need to mod the box a lot to get that thing installed. I was nervous about ever wanting to 100% remove this thing and how much of a bed I'd be left with, so I opted for the retrax.. Few glitches but overall I love it.

bikr....can you elaborate on the glitches? I am thinking about getting a Retrax and would like to get all the information possible about them before I make my decision. Thanks.

[bikr]

Sure thing.. Note that the first glitch could be either my fault or a faulty bolt, but anyway.. here goes..

1. Rounded out the allen bolt on driver side.. Not sure why they used hex for these bolts, but anyway could have been over torque..

2. My retrax doesn't retract all the way into the box as it should, but only one other person thus far has experienced the same thing on these forums, I'm looking into it tonight to see what's stopping it.

3. Passenger Rail is to low.. At least on my install the passenger rail Lbracket is drilled too high thus pulling the rail to low and it hits the tailgate unless you prop it up with something before driving the bolt in and even then it still rubs. Retrax recommended me drilling out the hole a bit larger so I can raise it higher and then use the included washer to hold the rail up a bit. I don't really have the tools for this so I'm still working on a solution.

4. Driving noise, the retrax makes a weird humming noise when you hit approx 60mph with your back window open, with the window closed it's silent though..

5. I've read that one other person had this problem, and it happened to me too, the new cab side brackets use a round rubber washer instead of the old method of using a piece of foam to keep the rail off the bracket, the washer is glued to the bracket and when installing this can easily come loose and fall off, you then have to pull the retrax off and reglue it into place before finishing your install..

It sounds like a lot but I'm truly still in love with my retrax, and these issues are all either my fault or fixable (cept the sound) and worth every penny. The company is really good at helping out customers with issues too, so *shrugs* I'd say go for it, however, be prepared to possibly run into some hurdles you might have to tweak things to get it right.

--Josh