Review - Wolfbox SmartSlide Electric Retractable Bed Cover

[commadorebob]

I want to start by thanking @WOLFBOX for the SmartSlide Electric Retractable Bed Cover I recently won via a forum contest. When they contacted me for a mailing address, they asked that I provide a post outlining my installation and thoughts. Since they were giving me a $2,000 bed cover for free, I figured I could at least do that. That is this post. While the bed cover was provided free of charge, the opinions in this post are my own. Wolfbox will be reading this for the first time via this post. Grab a cup of coffee; this will be a tad long (roughly 700 words).

Old cover

Receiving this bed cover could not have happened at a better time. My existing Tonneau Pro was starting to annoy me because it would not latch easily. Plus, after three years, the vinyl and Velcro were starting to show their age. Although I only put 6,000 miles per year on the truck, they are usually working miles.

Heavy box

Boxes in the box

The package from Wolfbox came very quickly. So quickly, in fact, I was not even expecting it and was out of town when it was delivered. Thankfully, a neighbor moved it out of a rain-exposed location until I could return home the next day. The box itself was massive. Due to the rain mentioned above, I had to install it in the garage. Given that the garage is a little tight, I had to be a little creative with the instructions and use my recent high school grad to help.

Daughter helper

It took two evenings to get it installed. Based on my calculated Ryobi fan battery duration, it took me roughly six hours total to install. I will note my usual caveat that I work with computers for a living, and so someone with a lot more mechanical skill may be able to do it more quickly. To be fair to Wolfbox, part of what took me a while was dealing with the Line-X-covered bolt holes. Something those of you with the Ford cargo rails will not need to mess with.

Assembly required

Sampling of parts (the knife is mine)

The actual assembly was fairly straightforward. Every part lined up exactly where it needed to be, and I had zero issues putting it together. The instructions include graphics that have indicators for the exact parts you need. The drilling I needed to do for the drain holes was easily accomplished with the included drill bit. In a few cases, I preferred to use my impact drill rather than the included Torx wrench.

Getting it squared up was simple enough, though I did have to adjust it toward the rear after all was said and done. Fortunately, moving it was easily accomplished by loosening a handful of bolts. The included power cable might be a touch too long, but it was easy to route it from the engine bay to the bed. The instructions mention removing the entire driver-side rear wheel liner, but I was able to snake it in without removing it. I did find removing the screws on one side of the underside splash guard helpful. In addition, I used pretty much all of the zip ties provided in the box.

Running the Power Cable

The only issue I had with the entire installation was getting the LED strip to work properly. Not sure if I pinched the cable or what, but it took some finagling to finally get it working. The other issue I ran into was getting their app to connect to adjust the lights to a custom mode. It would be nice to adjust the lighting mode without opening an app. Some of this might be iPhone goofiness, since it sometimes fails to connect to my Bluetooth speaker, but I stand by my app complaint.

LED light bar

Control panel (only works with key nearby)

As for my feelings on the bed cover itself, it is an amazing addition to the truck. I do not feel it takes up too much usable space, given my usual use. The construction appears to be solid and durable. Compared to my previous cover, this one appears to be a bit more water-resistant. However, I have not had it sit out in the rain yet.

Depth

Usable space underneath

Installed and Closed

You can pause opening and closing at any point

I will be driving it to a Boy Scout camp next weekend, so I will be able to really test it in a real-world setting. However, my hopes remain high that I will continue to like it. I have been eyeballing something like this ever since I got my truck, and at the moment, I could not be happier with it. We will see if that opinion remains over time.

Comes with two keyfobs

Matches my Maverick fob cover

Says it can hold up to 800 pounds. I have not tested that claim. Fan is more like 8 pounds.

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[AbnRgr]

Commandorebob - Thanks for sharing your installation experience. I'm one of the other lucky winners from Wolfbox's giveaway. My SmartSlide Electric Retractable Bed Cover just arrived. Since we're now into a solid week of rain, that heavy oversized box you're familiar with sits in our home's entrance foyer.

It's going to take some time for my installation. My garage is set up for woodworking with power tools precluding working on the Maverick under cover. I also have some challenges you didn't confront. First, I don't have a recent HS grad as an assistant (Congratulations to your daughter!) Next, I have to strip out some mods I previously installed to clear workspace to mount the Wolfbox bed cover. Those include Mabett's sliding bed divider and Maxzina's Molle panel installed on the bed's front wall. My greatest challenge is in determining whether the Tyger sports bar I have, but not yet installed, will be compatible with the Wolfbox.

I'm hoping Wolfbox will be patient as I work through the install and that I can call on you and your experience if needed.

 

[AF Blue]

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.
I think it looks good - nice low profile too.
Congrats!

 

[commadorebob]

Commandorebob - Thanks for sharing your installation experience. I'm one of the other lucky winners from Wolfbox's giveaway. My SmartSlide Electric Retractable Bed Cover just arrived. Since we're now into a solid week of rain, that heavy oversized box you're familiar with sits in our home's entrance foyer.

It's going to take some time for my installation. My garage is set up for woodworking with power tools precluding working on the Maverick under cover. I also have some challenges you didn't confront. First, I don't have a recent HS grad as an assistant (Congratulations to your daughter!) Next, I have to strip out some mods I previously installed to clear workspace to mount the Wolfbox bed cover. Those include Mabett's sliding bed divider and Maxzina's Molle panel installed on the bed's front wall. My greatest challenge is in determining whether the Tyger sports bar I have, but not yet installed, will be compatible with the Wolfbox.

I'm hoping Wolfbox will be patient as I work through the install and that I can call on you and your experience if needed.

The only thing that really required two people was lifting it to install. Honestly, I think my daughter made me take a touch longer because I watched her figure stuff out and only stepped in when teenage girl strength couldn't finish the job.

 

[rtphokie]

This looks like a very nice cover, likely one of the nicest available if just because of the remote features.

I've owned retractable covers in the past, and I'll never own one again, especially for the Maverick. They just take up too much bed space for the way I use my truck.

For my needs, a hard rollup is ideal. It combines the security and water resistance of a retractable without sacraficing as much bed space, at half the price. YMMV

 

[WOLFBOX]

Thank you for posting this, sir. I'm happy to see you love the product. It can protect your cargo from rain. You can test it out in the field. Cheers!

 

[WOLFBOX]

Commandorebob - Thanks for sharing your installation experience. I'm one of the other lucky winners from Wolfbox's giveaway. My SmartSlide Electric Retractable Bed Cover just arrived. Since we're now into a solid week of rain, that heavy oversized box you're familiar with sits in our home's entrance foyer.

It's going to take some time for my installation. My garage is set up for woodworking with power tools precluding working on the Maverick under cover. I also have some challenges you didn't confront. First, I don't have a recent HS grad as an assistant (Congratulations to your daughter!) Next, I have to strip out some mods I previously installed to clear workspace to mount the Wolfbox bed cover. Those include Mabett's sliding bed divider and Maxzina's Molle panel installed on the bed's front wall. My greatest challenge is in determining whether the Tyger sports bar I have, but not yet installed, will be compatible with the Wolfbox.

I'm hoping Wolfbox will be patient as I work through the install and that I can call on you and your experience if needed.

Sure. Just hope you can produce an honest and detailed write-up that can help others. Some video of install and wiring would be very much appreciated.

 

[commadorebob]

Update: After speaking with Wolfbox, it seems there is a way to change the lighting mode without taking the phone out. While you need to use the app to set up the alternative lighting mode, simply hold down the light button on the cover to switch to the other light mode.

 

[WOLFBOX]

Update: After speaking with Wolfbox, it seems there is a way to change the lighting mode without taking the phone out. While you need to use the app to set up the alternative lighting mode, simply hold down the light button on the cover to switch to the other light mode.

Correct!

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