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Which Tonneau Cover

61K views 61 replies 23 participants last post by  Fla Bob 
#1 ·
I just bought a 2018 Ridgeline-E and was wondering what Tonneau cover to get. I want a Tri-Fold Hard cover. The choices I have found are Bakflip, Extang and Under Cover. I was wondering if the 2017 and 18 have the same size bed. That seems to be a question I have seen on other reviews of different Tonneau covers. I'm going to install a Pop N Lock key only on the tailgate so the tonneau does not have to lock. I want the cover so when we travel it will free up space in the cab. All of them seem good that I have looked at but I wonder about fit and if they seal out the elements good. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks Dennis
 
#2 ·
There's actually a fourth trifold you might want to consider: the Rugged Liner Premium Hard Folding Tonneau. There's a lot of nuance to this so it's difficult to answer without knowing what you're most interested in, what your priorities are. Is being able to remove the tonneau easily without leaving much left over to get in the way a priority? Is being as watertight as possible priority? Is low profile good looks of priority? Is the option to tilt the tonneau up against the back of the cab a have to have feature? My suggestion would be to ask the question again, giving your three most important priorities, in the Aftermarket Tonneaus thread. Lots of people there who can help you narrow it down quickly.

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/...rket-tonneau-covers-who-has-them-out-318.html
 
#3 ·
Welcome to the site. I suggest you use the powerful search feature, above to the right. There are multiple threads addressing this topic. I personally like the Peragon, which I have installed. Oh, and the 2017 and 2018 beds are the same size.

EDIT: Sorry, I missed the Trifold requirement.

Cheers!
.
 
#4 ·
The 3 things I would like is water tight, easy to remove if needed and low profile. I may not get all of those in one tonneau but you never know. I have not heard of the Rugged Liner Premium Hard Folding Tonneau. Will check it out though. I will check out the aftermarket threads. It can be hard to decide which one will work for me but with this site's help I will get it figured out. Thanks Dennis
 
#5 · (Edited)
I have the Honda (same as Extang I believe) and it is not water tight. I use these (I’m not sure this is the size) but if you go this route make sure it’s not too tall. We put luggage and ther items inside to ensure they stay dry. The added benefit is ease to load up the truck, we have certain items we always take 9n the road and we have one of these that is akways ready to.
 
#8 ·
There are 318 pages discussing cover options here:
http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/...rket-tonneau-covers-who-has-them-out-317.html

On page 317, I posted the UnderCover UltraFlex that I just installed on a 2018 Ridgeline (modified the drain lines as advised on page 318 this weekend). I am very happy with the UltraFlex, love the carpeted finish on the underside and the ease of complete removal if needed.

Feel free to ask questions.
 
#10 ·
I did some checking on the Rugged Liner Premium Hard Folding tonneau. It is a very nice cover and I would buy one of of them but sadly they do not make one for the 18 Ridgeline. I will check out Randy B's post on the Under Cover Ultra Flex and some of the other posts in aftermarket tonnaeu covers. Dennis
 
#11 ·
I did some checking on the Rugged Liner Premium Hard Folding tonneau. It is a very nice cover and I would buy one of of them but sadly they do not make one for the 18 Ridgeline. I will check out Randy B's post on the Under Cover Ultra Flex and some of the other posts in aftermarket tonnaeu covers. Dennis
They are all the same 2017 vs 2018 G2/2G Ridgeline, whatever website you were on just hasn't updated their database.
 
#13 ·
Pete - I'm in the same boat (no real requirements, other than having something be pretty watertight would be great). Oh and I'm lazy so easy. I just watched the video's on the paragon cover. I like it doesn't take up a ton of space and appears you can put small stuff on top of it with little issue.

How do you like it? Is it water resistant?
 
#14 ·
I have checked out the Rugged Liner Premium Hard fold cover and they do make one for the 18 Ridgeline. HC-HRL17 FOR $797.33.
I read on some install page can't remember where but they said they had to remove all 4 top tie downs is this true? Might be a problem for me as I would like to keep as many of them as I can. Dennis
 
#15 · (Edited)
Keep in mind the Rugged Liner Premium does not fold up as far as the MX4 or the UltraFlex. It is just like the Honda OEM cover as far as folding features. I don't believe you have to remove the upper tie downs, just put them on top of the tonneau brackets. It also depends upon if you are in a hurry, because the Rugged Liner is slow to ship/arrive for the Ridgeline.
 
#17 · (Edited)
The Rugged Liner should be picking up steam in the next couple of months. But I was going to warn you about that too. Don't worry about the tiedowns. This is true of the Honda tonneau, the Extang Solid Fold 2, MX4, Ultra Flex and the Rugged Liner. But as Sparkland said, you can just put the tiedowns back over the brackets. The instructions will likely warn you not to do that, but many of us have done it without any issue whatsoever. The tiedown bolts that Honda supplies are much longer than they need to be so everything fits fine. They are also beefy Torx 50s.

I feel I need to point out to you that the MX4 and the Ultra Flex both use up more of your storage space. The low-profile design takes about an inch away from your cargo space vertically when the tonneau is closed. And the MX4 and Ultra Flex use two sets of rails, four rails in total, lining the sides of the bed. There are many positives about these two tonneaus. I admire a lot about them, especially the tilt up feature and their good looks. But there is a trade-off to be made, especially on the Ridgeline because it lacks a clampable surface in the bed like most American trucks have. To remove the MX4 or Ultra Flex, you merely undo two star nuts (like wing nuts) and then you'll be able to twist the cover horizontally and pull it up and out. Unfortunately that leaves the two sets of rails protruding into the bed where they can be fouled up by the big load you may be putting there. Then again, maybe it's me who's so concerned about this. Many others don't seem to mind or don't intend to take their tonneaus off. It's up to you what works for you. I just wanted you to be aware of what I consider to be this model's biggest Achilles' heel. This two sets of rails thing is only on the Ridgeline. For every other truck on the planet, the MX4 and Ultra Flex come with one set of rails.
 
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#18 ·
Phineas; Thanks for the info but I just ordered the Under Cover Flex Tonneau FX81000 from Auto Accessories Garage.I thought it compared well to the MX4 and was a little cheaper at $879.00. They had a 20% discount code on the net for over $150.00 spent but when I applied it it said to call them. So I called them and they said they can't use it on this tonneau DANG that would have been a sweet deal !!! Thanks to this forum for all the help sorting it out, GOOD info is hard to find. On an other subject UPS says my Key Pop N Lock should be here tomorrow. I will more then likely install it next week. From all the stuff that has been posted on this forum I should have no trouble installing it. So I will keep you inform on how everything goes. Thanks again everyone for all the help and info. Dennis
 
#19 ·
Hey, congrats on the purchase. Good decision. The Ultra Flex is a great cover. There isn't a tonneau made that doesn't have some sort of downside. The BAKflips and the UnderCover Ultra Flex are no exception, but they have terrific upsides. Enjoy it!
 
#21 ·
Yes I ordered the Flex 81000 not the Ultra. I have not seen a shipment notice yet. A friend and I installed the Key Pop N Lock today and it went really well about a half hour. Pretty easy except for the # 30 star screws I think they put lock tight on them. I could not break them loose with my screwdriver so I went and bought a 3/8 socket and that got them. Of course the little white clips were a pain but not real bad. All and all easy and worked great. I have the white diamond paint and I left the new handle black and I think it looks just fine. Now I just need to get the tonneau and see how that goes. Dennis
 
#22 ·
Choosing a cover is much more difficult than I expected. I don't remember the advantages of the Ultraflex, but I would think the flex fiberglass polymer of the flex would be better than the aluminum of the ultraflex. Cooler to touch and dent resistant. One of the dealers I went to told me that these and the Bakflip's are actually not real easy to remove and replace, but I'm not sure why. She said they'd do it for free if I needed it done.

But after much research I'm leaning toward the Extang Encore or the Extang Solid Fold 2.0. They are both truly very easy to remove in a minute or two (while leaving the rails in place), so that may be better than having one that folds up against the back window. And I really like the Extang Encore's front panel than can be opened, so you can get access to the whole bed without removing the cover. But I worry about the rail/drain channel and drain tube (I guess some others have a similar system). The Solid Fold 2.0 doesn't have the drain tubes (I think), but there is no access under the front section without moving stuff in the load or removing the cover.

Any opinions/suggestions/comments anyone has would be greatly appreciated.
 
#23 ·
I didn't want the Peragon because you have to have a lot of clear space under it near the front in order to open it since the front two sections go down into the bed as you open it. Seems like a lot of wasted space, and something could easily slide up there and prevent it from opening until you pulled things out from under it from the back end.

Also, shoppers should note than any of the 5-minute installs, with just clamps, don't work on the Honda, you have to install rails. I didn't know until I saw the comment above that MX4 & Ultra Flex require 2 rails on each side.
 
#27 ·
FWIW I have a 2008 Ridgeline. When I bought it, others who had the Honda Tonneau said they didn't like them. I decided on a BAKflip for my truck. I bought it through Cabelas as they know how to ship stuff to Alaska. Install was pretty easy and for quite a few years it was water tight. Lately its not as tight but its seen some hard duty and still does pretty well. It is pretty easy to remove quickly but the remaining attachment fittings have sharp corners that can damage some cargo. I have cracked the rear most panel while carrying some propane bottles. I had just one panel folded forward, the wind caught it and slammed it against the propane tanks and cracked. I've not tried to repair it. And I have not pursued lock installation. Overall I'm pretty happy with it and would consider the same for a new Ridgeline. I just checked and BAKflip offers products for the G2 Ridgelines.
 
#28 ·
When I was considering the BakFlip, Extang, and similar covers, someone at a local shop told me they have about a 5 year life expectancy. Don't know if that's true, but with lots of reports of leakage on newer ones, and more on older ones, I decided to spend the extra money for the Diamondback. 50% more now is better than getting my stuff damaged and spending 100% more to replace the cover before I'm ready to replace the truck. And if the Trump tariff's go through the price of these things is going to go up.
 
#30 ·
When I was considering the BakFlip, Extang, and similar covers, someone at a local shop told me they have about a 5 year life expectancy.
Like a lot of things, I think a lot has to do with where you live, how you care for it and if you garage your vehicle or not. I bought a second-hand BakFlip (G2 I think) from a fellow ROC member right after I bought my first Ridgeline. I have no idea how old it was when I got it, but I had it on my truck for 6-years. it was good as new, no leaks and looking great when traded my truck in a month ago. I'm definitely buying another BakFlip for my new Ridgeline.
 
#31 ·
I installed the Unercover Flex FX 81000 the other day and it looks good. It took me about 2 1/2 hours to install and I believe Undercover could put a little more detailed instructions with it. Youtube video's did help me. I was concerned about the gap between the tailgate and the corner of the truck bed pretty big I thought. I talked to a guy that has one on his 2017 and he said he has had no problem with water getting in with the same gap. So time will tell. With the size the drain tubes I just took a dremel with a cutting tool and ground out the corner holes. There is nothing behind there so I was not worried about hitting anything. The tubes fit tight and was easy. Over all I like it and it is easy to remove I guess I will know for sure when I take it on a long trip. Dennis
 
#32 ·
Holes or gaps at the front of a tonneau are much more prone to leakage than those at the rear. If you become overly concerned about these gaps at the rear during installation, that often leads to leaking at the front. Focus on the leading edge and two front corners. Get them installed as far forward as you can without touching the garnish pieces on either side of the rear window — that gives you the most water-tight installation. Unless you park ass-end up on a hill overnight in driving rain, you’re not likely to see water entering through the tailgate.


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#33 ·
I purchased and installed a second-hand BakFlip on my G1 RL and loved it.

Now that I have a G2, I'm torn on which tonneau cover to buy;

BakFlip MX4 current model

BakFlip MX4 with the improved prop system that was featured at SEMA https://youtu.be/sv3AI7LG90A

BakFlip Revolver X4

Also, What's the difference between buying from bakflip.com or bakindustries.com?

Can anyone who owns a MX4 or Revolver X4 please measure how much the rail extends over the top of the OEM bed side? From the videos, it looks like the Revolver mounting rails are wider, this may end up being my deciding factor for me.
 
#34 · (Edited)
If it were me, I would buy the BAKFlip MX4 with the new prop rod. I would look at other online vendors. Virtually everyone sells this tonneau and the prices are all over the place. Make a study of it and check out places like TonneauFactoryOutlet.com, AutoAccessoriesGarage.com and RealTruck.com. Most of these companies will price match. So if you find it at a good price a little known vendor you're not sure you want to take a chance on, like CARiD.com, use them to get the price down at a place like RealTruck or BAKFlip.com.

Use Google to help you find sellers of the MX4. I usually do this by finding the model number of the MX4 that is specific to the 2G Ridgeline. Then I search "BAK {model number}". After the results come up, I click Google's Shopping button to get a list of all the companies that are selling the Ridgeline version of that tonneau. Now just look for the one with the cheapest price.

Bakindustries.com is the actual manufacturer of the BAKFlip tonneaus. BAKFlip.com is a wholly separate online vendor specializing in BAK tonneaus that has no affiliation to BAK Industries or Truck Hero, BAK's parent company. Generally speaking, I have found that BAKFlip.com has great customer service but the prices are not that great. If all the prices were the same I would buy directly from the manufacturer. But they are not.

Hope this helps.
 
#35 ·
^^^ Thanks for the quick reply! ^^^

I just finished an on-line chat with the good folks at BakFlip.com, they said they have run into some unexpected production issues with the new prop system and it may not be in production for several months. My previous G1 had a BakFlip and the open bed on my G2 is driving me nuts (everything in the bed has to be protected from wind/theft/rain, etc.)

I send a chat asking them to 'make me an good offer on the existing MX4 and I'd buy one today'. They came back with $939.88 delivered ($50 off the sale price of $989.88) for an MX4, so I bought one. :)
 
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