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FAQ — Retrax

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What Tonneau Cover Has The Best T-Slot Functionality for a Ford F-150?

Ford F-150 Owner: I was originally considering a RetraxPRO. However, the other cover I was looking at, and I know it can be a little bit of a pain if you go pick up something big and you don't think about it ahead of time, was the Undercover RIDGELANDER. Which basically would almost look like the Retrax on the car because it has the same T-Track System for rack assemblies. On the Undercover, how difficult is it to remove? I've been trying to find a video of somebody actually taking the cover off.

Shawn: I'll tell you that I actually worked for UnderCover for almost a decade. And they came out with that cover, and it's the biggest pain to remove. And it takes the longest to put it on. It's a beautiful cover, it works really well, strong, but it is not very friendly when it comes to removing it, unfortunately.

Ford F-150 Owner: Okay. Because I didn't know if there was like one bolt on each side, you undo that, and the thing just kind of slides off?

Shawn: What you're looking for then mainly is that T-slot functionality as well?

Ford F-150 Owner: That's kind of what I was looking at because we like to throw bikes up on top. I've got a cover that used to go on top of like a Suburban when they had it, one of the boxes. And having it on top if we've got stuff in the bottom and the top from that standpoint.

Shawn: Well you know they have a promotion right now on the Retrax XR?

Ford F-150 Owner: Correct that you get the free rails, which is like a $400 value?

Shawn: Have you seen the A.R.E "Double Cover?" What it is, is it's essentially a rolling cover and a one-piece all in one.

Ford F-150 Owner: I mean I've seen it. To me, that would almost be the worst of both worlds, because I think you're going to lose rigidity. Or you're going to have a bar that goes all the way across the tailgate. Because otherwise you've got two bars that are coming out with the cover. From a waterproofing standpoint, I don't think that would be worse than the Retrax or any of the other ones from that standpoint. Because you're dealing with multiple points of intrusion now that are not necessarily attached.

Shawn: Got you. Yeah.

Ford F-150 Owner: Now out of the rolling covers, you prefer the Retrax to the others?

Shawn: Yeah. It's a lot better quality than like a Roll-N-Lock or something of that nature.

Ford F-150 Owner: Or Pace Edwards or the Truck Covers USA.

Shawn: Right, exactly. Yeah.

Ford F-150 Owner: All right. You've answered all my questions. Thank you very much, sir.

Shawn: You got it. Did you want to go ahead and place that with me today?

Ford F-150 Owner: No. Let me talk to my wife tonight just to get everything approved. We've been talking about it, but I don't think it will be an issue. I'll give you a buzz tomorrow.

Shawn: It sounds good, man. Have a good night

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How Water Resistant is the RetraxPRO for a Ford F-150?

Ford F-150 Owner: I was looking at some tonneau covers, and I've had tonneau covers, I've had hard fiberglass painted, I've had a Roll-N-Lock. Now I have a Ford F-150 and I'm looking at the RetraxPRO XR, but I have a couple of questions. I know tonneau covers aren't completely waterproof, aside from the solid fiberglass ones that actually kind of curved almost over the sides of the truck, and the tailgate. How waterproof, reality-wise, is the RetraxPRO?

Shawn: The Retrax is going to be better than any of your folding covers. And yes, obviously a one-piece cover is going to be the most water-resistant. But yeah, the Retrax has drain tubes. As long as you have the drain tubes installed you should be good to go. The one piece covers can be kind of a pain.

Ford F-150 Owner: Okay. And I know with my Roll-N-Lock, I used to get small leaves in there. About once every six months I'd to unscrew the cover top and go in there and vacuum out any leaves and stuff. Is the RetraxPRO better at keeping stuff out of the box?

Shawn: I've not heard of anything like that happening.

Ford F-150 Owner: Okay. Now, I know the Retrax is not spring loaded, it just rolls back and forth. You manually move it, correct?

Shawn: Correct.

Ford F-150 Owner: Okay. Whereas the Truck Covers USA and the Roll-N-Lock are spring-loaded?

Shawn: Right.


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What Does the Retrax Pro MX Include for a 2018 Dodge Ram?

Dodge Ram Owner: I'm calling about a bed cover.

Peter: Okay. Which cover are you looking at?

Dodge Ram Owner: I'm looking at the Retrax Pro MX.

Peter: Okay. And what truck is it for?

Dodge Ram Owner: It's a 2018 Dodge Ram Crew Cab 2500.

Peter: Okay. Bed length?

Dodge Ram Owner: Six foot four inches.

Peter: Okay. And have we sent you a quote yet?

Dodge Ram Owner: Y'all sent me one a while back when I first looked at it and the email said to call to order.

Peter: Okay. It's free shipping and there's no sales tax, if you're ordering from outside of Arizona.

Dodge Ram Owner: Okay. What kinda time are we looking at getting it shipped?

Peter: About five to seven days.

Dodge Ram Owner: Okay. Does the Pro MX come with anything?

Peter: Yes. It comes with all of the mounting stuff you need.

Dodge Ram Owner: And that's going to have an all aluminum black matte finish?

Peter: Yes.

Dodge Ram Owner: Okay great. So now What kinda payment do y'all take?

Peter: We take all cards and PayPal.

Dodge Ram Owner: Now this is original Retrax stuff, right?

Peter: It is.

Dodge Ram Owner: Okay. So do I just need to go onto y'all's website again to pay you through PayPal or what?

Peter: No. I have to email you a link if you want to pay through PayPal. Is that what you wanna do?

Dodge Ram Owner: Yeah because I don't have a credit card to use over the phone

Peter: Okay. I'm gonna email this over to you right now. If you don't see it shortly, just check your spam. I'll see it on my end, once you complete the purchase and I'll get it shipped right out.

Dodge Ram Owner: Okay. You're a retailer for returns right? Do I need to register them for this for them to get the warranty?

Peter: No. You do not.

Dodge Ram Owner: Okay. And there's a lifetime warranty on these, right?

Peter: That's right.
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What's the Best Tonneau Cover for a 2019 Chevy 3/4 ton With 8 Foot Bed?

Chevy Owner: I have a 2019 Chevy 3/4 ton long box and I'm looking for a Tonneau cover for that.

Sean: I never get that 3/4 ton. Is that a 3500?

Chevy Owner: Yes that's a 3500.

Sean: Okay. Yeah I've been doing this for 10 years, and I still, I'm not a truck guy I guess. Only trucks I've ever had are 1500s Rams.

Chevy Owner: Yeah, this is a heavy duty 3/4 ton. Eight foot box, 2019.

Sean: You wanted the MX4, correct?? The BAKflip?

Chevy Owner: Um no, I was wondering what your recommendations were.

Sean: Oh okay. Well man, there's all sorts of options. What do you use your truck for?

Chevy Owner: For work and for play.

Sean: Okay. Do you have a fifth wheel or anything like that?

Chevy Owner: Nope no fifth wheel

Sean: Okay. Yeah man, it kinda depends on your style at that point and what you wanna spend. I think an MX4 would look really good on there. It's matte black and is flush, it's gonna sit flush to your bed rails.

Chevy Owner: And you'll lift it up from the front and open it? Or do you have to flip 'em all the way back?

Sean: You'll have to flip 'em all the way back.

Chevy Owner: I was just wondering if they make a cargo, you know that goes up front of that too?

Sean: They do. They make a BAK Box. Its called the BAK Box 2.

Chevy Owner: Any other options or covers you would recommend?

Sean: Other options than that? I mean that's gonna be the best option as far as the folding plush mount cover goes. If you wanted something that's gonna sit on top of the rails, you mentioned opening it from the front as well I would say Encore. Extang Encore. But it sits on top of the rails instead of in between.

Chevy Owner: I don't want that either, that would probably look bad. That flips too I take it?

Sean: Correct. Yeah it flips to the rear and it flips toward the glass and it flips towards the tailgate. But on that cover you can't travel with it open in any position, you can't travel with it open up against...it doesn't lean up against the cab, so you're still gonna, you're losing a little bit of bed there with that one. The other option that I was gonna suggest, and actually the best cover in my opinion as far as functionality and look goes, it's just a little pricey is the Retrax. I don't know if you have ever heard of them.

Chevy Owner: I have. Ok, I think you have given me some good suggestions. Let me do some more research on these covers and I'll call you back. 

Sean: Sounds good. 

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Are There Any Folding Tonneau Covers for a GMC Sierra That Are Water Resistant?

GMC Sierra Owner: I have a folding tonneau cover now. Do you recommend any other covers? I mean, mine leaks. The water doesn't bother me so much, but I'm just curious if there are any other folding covers that might be better and also easy to install.

Sean: Well, I just want to pre-warn you that I was actually with Undercover for a decade and they bought BAKFlip and a lot of tonneau cover companies that are actually owned by the same company, which Truck Hero. It's the name they're owned under, and folding covers are as far as water goes, the Achilles heel of the industry. We've done everything from different rivets, screws, seals, gluing, processes, everything. Unfortunately, on a folding cover, you're not able to keep 100% of the water out. Now, there are things in place with the drain tubes and the rails are channeled like a gutter, it's supposed to push the water to the drain tube and out the head if the rain tubes are installed properly. Which is going to unfortunately, require either some cutting if you have those little black plastic caps in the front of your bed, or some drilling if you don't, in order for those drain tubes to get out of the bed, so that's going to be the toughest part of the installation right there. The rest of it you're going to get two rails and eight clamps, you're going to have four clamps on the other side. Then the cover actually comes with elevator bolts and star knobs so essentially you sit the cover down on your bed, you go to the very front close to the window, put the elevator bolts through, and then from the underside you screw the star knobs on and your cover's installed, so that's as easy as it is. Well, I'm not very mechanically inclined and I've done about 50 of them, so.

 

GMC Sierra Owner: Well that means you know what you're doing.

Sean: Now I do.

GMC Sierra Owner: Do you recommend any other covers? I mean, the water doesn't bother me, mine when it's down, my bed is running water.

Sean: That's a little crazy there. As far as the look goes, the MX4 is going to be right there. If you didn't care about the low profile and sitting between your truck bed rails and you wanted something more that's going to sit on top of the rails, I would have you check out the Extang, and that's the Solid Fold. That one sits on top of the rails, but that allows less water intrusion, it folds the same way. It does not fold up against the back window. So you can't have the cover all the way open when you drive but you can have two panels open if you need to hold something tall. The good part about the Solid Fold is, it's cheaper, and it does not come with a separate rail system. At the front of the bed, at the very front panel toward the glass, you're going to have these two knobs that come down and it has a little lip on it, you loosen it enough so you can get that lip underneath your side rail, and then you clamp it shut. You do that on either side and that's how it secures it to the truck. When you fold it all the way down, the rear-end has sort of the same thing, except for those are spring-loaded, so you can tighten them wherever you need to. Let's say it's a little loose, so you just grab that handle, twist it, which will tighten it, and once it has that lip on there, and you clamp it over, it'll pull it down towards the bed.

GMC Sierra Owner: Oh, my goodness. So you have a little less water?

Sean: Correct. Anything that's going to sit on top of the rails, as a rule of thumb, you're going to have less water intrusion. Fewer opportunities for it to get in there.

GMC Sierra Owner: I'm still open to what you're saying. I'm just going to go transfer some money into my account and I'll call you back.

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What Tonneau Cover is Going to Be The Most Water Resistant?

GMC Owner: Hey Shawn, I'm trying to reach Peter, I think. He's been giving me some emails about tonneau covers.

Shaun: Yes sir. Peter's actually out for the day though, what kind of tonneau cover was it?

GMC Owner: Well, I was needing to call and talk to somebody and start kind of figuring it out. It's kind of a new pickup truck and I want to get one for it.

Shaun: Beautiful. What kind of truck was it?

GMC Owner: 2019 GMC Sierra with a 5'8 bed.

Shaun: What are you looking for? You've got hard, soft, folding, rolling, one piece, three piece.

GMC Owner: It's my wife's truck. She likes the look of the hard folding or hard roll-up. She wants to be able to get in and out of it, so she wants the one that either folds, two or three times, four times. And she likes the look of the hard case, or the hard cover. She doesn't like the leather top of the soft one.

Shaun: Right.

GMC Owner: Waterproof, basically, because once we get this thing on it, it's going to be stuck in the back of that truck pretty much, there's going to be something back there all the time. So, you know, number one thing is waterproof, two is security, for me, then three is, you know, the appearance. So that's what I was going to start with whenever I got a hold of you know, someone to talk to. To see what's out there, see what y'all thought. What are some good options?

Shaun: Well let me tell you, the folding, hard folding that are going to sit flush to your bed, those have rails that mount on the inside, so chances of water getting in those are a little bit higher than if you were to buy one that mounts on top of the rails. That look isn't always desired, but honestly, they do look pretty sharp, usually. The Extangs as in the Solid Fold 2.0, or if you get the Encore, it's basically the same thing, are good. Except the Encore folds from the front or the back so that's a nice little feature there. The downfall to that is unlike a BAKFlip, or unlike a three-piece that's going to sit between your rails, you can't fold it all the way up to where it's against your window, and drive with it all the way open, and I don't know how often she would do that anyway.

GMC Owner: Okay. Are there any other covers that you would suggest?

Shaun: The other one that I would suggest is the Retrax One MX. And that is the roll-in cover. It's got a self-containing canister that sits at the front behind the bolt. It's about 14 inches wide by 14 inches deep by the top of your rails. So you're going to lose about a foot of med space with that. That one is going to be the easiest to use. The best looking one in my opinion is also going to provide the best watertight seal out of all of them, besides, you know, like I said the folding ones that sit on top of the rails usually do a pretty good job.

GMC Owner: Gotcha. Alright. I'm going to have to get with her and find out for sure just exactly if she's okay with that look. But one of them I got was with a 4 maybe? Or something like that?

Shaun: Yeah the MX4.

GMC Owner: Yeah that was one. I thought it looks pretty good, folds up three or four times.

Shaun: They are sharp, man. I worked for Undercover which to be honest with you, all the companies we're talking about are owned by the same people. But I worked for Undercover for almost a decade and then after they bought BAKFlip, I worked for BAKFlip for a few years. But when you said water, that's when my mind went to a folding cover. Let's say there's twenty parts where water could get in, versus a cover that's on top of the rails or that rolls where there's three spots. So that's my only reservation when it comes to that, but other than that I'd say buy that folding cover all day long; the BAKFlip, because it's a great cover.

GMC Owner: Gotcha. But in general the best water resistance is to have a cover sitting on top of the rails?

Shaun: Correct.

GMC Owner: Are there any covers- and those are hard covers, right? It won't be the leather soft, okay?

Shaun: No you won't have that. Because after a while man, when they wear out, they're a pain to buckle and all that.

GMC Owner: Okay. Well, let me get home and talk to her. Can you email me some quotes?

Shaun: Okay. What I'm going to do is I'm going to go ahead and outline it a little bit here, prices next to each of them and I'll also send a link so you can click it and go straight to both of them. Just give me a call back if you have any questions. 

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