[Truckin']

We bought our tonneau cover so that when we took our trip to Canada we'd have secure storage for our belongings. The only real water test we could perform on it before the trip was at the car wash, and we were quite pleased that we only got small puddles up near the drains. However, we were quite aware that would not be a fair test to the effect of drenching rain, if we ran into bad weather.

While getting ready, since I have to be prepared for anything, I came up with the idea of using plastic containers. Clearance and cost were big considerations. I have to efficiently use space and I couldn't stand the containers that wasted a lot of space at the bottom when stacked side by side. I know they're made slanted so they can stack when empty, but I wanted square bottoms so I could pack my space better. It turned out that with our cooler there wasn't a lot of room for multiple containers anyway. I bought one large one that was just the right height. I used another smaller one for our meds and bathroom supplies.

I also bought some huge zip lock bags and some of those compressing bags. Some things we took in regular stuff sacks.

We started out by lining the bed with a green drawstring tarp. You can see it in the corners of the photos. I worried that any leaking would be completely hidden from us unless I unpacked clear to the front of the truck bed. I figured if we put all our stuff in fairly waterproof containers and they were all contained in the tarp, any water would run out under and around the tarp. It was a good idea.

The first photo is the mountain of stuff that I considered important to take on a three week trip. We used almost everything we took. The only things I would have done differently is leave the dog kennel home (we didn't need it in dog friendly Canada), take less shoes and one or two less jackets.

I have an eye for what will fit where. I had that back in packed so solid that I worried about any souvenirs we might want to bring back, but we found room as we went along. You can see it was like a puzzle. Things had to be packed in somewhat the same order each time. In the middle of the last photo you see a water jug we bought specifically for this trip.

 

[Truckin']

All went well. The first four days getting up to Banff were sunny. Once we got to Canmore, that changed. We entered a period of rain nearly everyday and a few days it lasted most of the day.

I worried that we'd have to pack or unpack during a downpour. That would have left all our stuff exposed. We had a couple of beach umbrellas, and I was prepared to do our best making a rain shelter out of them if we needed. As it turned out, each morning or evening that we moved, which was from 1-5 nights in a place, we were blessed with a break that allowed us to get our belongings in and out of our cabins.

Nothing had gotten wet. We got a rude surprise in Jasper township. It was ten days into our trip. We had most of our belongings in our cabin and we were driving around with a half empty truck bed. There had been hours of drenching rain.

We got into the back and the tarp that was supposed to keep things dry had become a wading pool! That's a bit of an exaggeration. There was only an inch or two of water, but that's an inch or two too many.

It took us a few minutes to figure it out, but we'd left the water jug in there and hadn't made sure it couldn't tip over. One would hope it wouldn't leak, but it did.

We moved to our new cabin and had to empty out our bag full of coats/jackets and our shoes to hang out and dry over the furnace. The only thing that was ruined was a nice leather backpack that I hauled camera stuff in. Thankfully, I didn't have anything in it that was hurt by getting wet. The bag had to be thrown away.

So the results I have to report is that the tonneau cover worked fine. Any water that accumulated from leaking into the truck bed around the seals was kept from our stuff by using a tarp that cost less than ten dollars. Our own oversight on not securing the water jug, or at least keeping it on the outside of the tarp when there was room for it to tip, was the only hitch.

 

[Truckin']

I found some more pics that relate to this story. The first three are my efforts to gauge if what we needed to take was even going to fit. I put some of the essentials in and eye balled the empty space. I was pleased to see there was a great deal of it.

My Curious George is named Sparkle. She has to supervise and be a part of everything we do.

The final two photos show the tiny bit of water that we find after going to the car wash. It's negligible.

 

[captmiddy]

That is a great piece of information about your cover. That is cool, I need to seriously consider a cover at some point here, the type of usage you got is more typical of what I would be doing. Currently I am doing more the moving of tall furniture and big tools so a cover would just get in the way. I am still considering the OEM one or maybe the Basikoncepts one if they ever sponsor the club. Given how much business they got from here they shouldn't have a problem being a sponsor.

 

[Truckin']

captmiddy, this cover would be out of your way while you haul stuff. Lift the lock lever and push with one finger and it disappears. That's one of the main points of versatility that sets this tonneau apart from the folding ones, or heaven forbid, the lean up ones. You can still haul tall things. You only lose about nine inches of bed space at the cannister. A heavy quilt or packing blanket would make it so the cannister didn't get damaged. If that's all you're waiting for, don't.

 

[bonerep]

I don't have my drains attached and the Retrax works fine.

 

[[email protected]]

I have the Retrax installed and it is great! Water is getting in on each corner near the front of the cab..a small amount..right and left side. I have used silicone around the other areas that leaked (tie downs) and have stopped all of the water from these areas. I believe the small amt. of water that is coming from the behind the plastic above the rear window (right & left side) and running into the bed. The cover is completely sealed iand I believe it is a design issue with the Ridgeline. I'm curious to see if anyone else has water in these areas. Has anyone stopped it completely? Please post how you were able to make the Retrax water tight.
P.S. I will take pictures and post so you can see what I did....

 

[Ultra-HOG]

I adjusted the moldings and now the only water that gets in is when I wash and rinse a lot. When it rains a lot, there can be some sign if water at a few places along the bed walls but it is so little that it does not lay in the bed. The bed remains dry. That little bit of water runs into the seam between the bed wall and the floor and runs out the tailgate - if there is enough to run. If I spent more time adjusting the moldings I bet that I could eliminate almost all of the water. Since the floor of the bed stays dry, the little bit that appears on the side walls is so little that it just doesn't matter.
I do have the drain tubes installed and they do their job just fine.