Most waterproof hard tonneau

[pistonRecirculator]

What's the most waterproof hard locking/sealing tonneau if money isn't an object? I've got a good bit of money left for accessories and this is probably the most important for my use case.

I'm looking at using my bed like a trunk with things stored in there basically full time and am willing to apply extra sealing and drain tubing if I can keep it dry.

I'm halfway tempted to try building my own by building the rails off the c-channel tie down mounts, but sourcing all the materials and getting the parts stitched together probably isn't worth it.

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[Waterick]

What's the most waterproof hard locking/sealing tonneau if money isn't an object? I've got a good bit of money left for accessories and this is probably the most important for my use case.

I'm looking at using my bed like a trunk with things stored in there basically full time and am willing to apply extra sealing and drain tubing if I can keep it dry.

I'm halfway tempted to try building my own by building the rails off the c-channel tie down mounts, but sourcing all the materials and getting the parts stitched together probably isn't worth it.

Diamondbackcovers.com looks promising, is expensive, has many options, but have no experience with them. Someone else here does, however can't remember who.
Edit: search Diamondback by Golfsnob.

 

[CTYankee]

When I was selling them, we had good luck with Undercover Ultra Flex and Armor Flex. The base Undercover Flex was problem-prone. Retrax also performed well (all models), Our luck wasn't as good with some of the Extang hard tri-folds then but I know they've all been updated since. We had a few issues with BAK so we tended to promote Undercover instead.

All the above is based on 2021 when we sold the business, so add a layer of salt as needed.

 

[pistonRecirculator]

Diamondbackcovers.com looks promising, is expensive, has many options, but have no experience with them. Someone else here does, however can't remember who.
Edit: search Diamondback by Golfsnob.

I've not been super impressed with what I've seen of the Diamondback. It looks like it would take more of a beating than the truck, but it doesn't get out of the way when I would want to use the whole bed and generally seems like overkill for unclear benefits.

When I was selling them, we had good luck with Undercover Ultra Flex and Armor Flex. The base Undercover Flex was problem-prone. Retrax also performed well (all models), Our luck wasn't as good with some of the Extang hard tri-folds then but I know they've all been updated since. We had a few issues with BAK so we tended to promote Undercover instead.

All the above is based on 2021 when we sold the business, so add a layer of salt as needed.

This is good to hear about. I was debating between BAK MX4, ordering a REV from Ford and the other alternatives.

The Ultra Flex trifold looks nearly perfect. Mostly. I'm trying to figure out what the box with the power icon is supposed to be and if the weatherseal on the rail is supposed to go up to where it would have pressure from the tonneau sealing it.

Extang's solid folding looks good and I actually like that it just rests on the bed sides instead of putting in lots of rails, but I've heard it leaks from various sources.

 

[CTYankee]

The Ultra Flex trifold looks nearly perfect. Mostly. I'm trying to figure out what the box with the power icon is supposed to be and if the weatherseal on the rail is supposed to go up to where it would have pressure from the tonneau sealing it.

Extang's solid folding looks good and I actually like that it just rests on the bed sides instead of putting in lots of rails, but I've heard it leaks from various sources.

I think the box might be a light but, again, I'm a bit out of date on current versions. Leakage with the Extang solid fold was a big problem and the reason we stopped selling them.

 

[pistonRecirculator]

I think the box might be a light but, again, I'm a bit out of date on current versions. Leakage with the Extang solid fold was a big problem and the reason we stopped selling them.

Oh. Neat. Is the light battery powered or does it plug into something?

 

[Jman79]

I'm going for plywood cut to fit edge to edge and a 1" silicone weather stripping on bottom side all around. Will have fo find some toggles, something like this to put the weather stripping under tension (waterproof), for security, and quick access.

Burn the grain on top but mask out the word WOODY down the center. Coat with a good clear deck sealant on top but leave the bottom uncoated to breath.

Just got a Dec build date, soooo with my current project schedule I'll post pics in like a year

 

[pistonRecirculator]

I'm going for plywood cut to fit edge to edge and a 1" silicone weather stripping on bottom side all around. Will have fo find some toggles, something like this to put the weather stripping under tension (waterproof), for security, and quick access.

Burn the grain on top but mask out the word WOODY down the center. Coat with a good clear deck sealant on top but leave the bottom uncoated to breath.

Just got a Dec build date, soooo with my current project schedule I'll post pics in like a year

I was debating if I built one I'd be trying to attach rails on the C-channel tie down rail holes. They come pre-threaded from the factory and if you lack the factory tie down rails it seemed like a natural spot to kill two birds with one stone. Plus, it seemed like it would be less likely than clamps to scratch up the paint or damage the bed while being attached a bit more stably. Buy some cheap hose to drain the rails and weatherstripping to seal it all off. I assume the drain holes in the bottom of the bed (there's plenty of them) would be sufficient for breathing.

This is going to sound weird, but I'm not super fond of wood. I was thinking of trying to get some Aluminum plate or polycarbonate sheeting and fully enclose it in marine vinyl with the vinyl oversized to go past the edge of the bed and on top of the rails to direct rain cleanly away from the bed. I'd probably try and 3d print or buy some hinges and have those inside the vinyl where they shouldn't be exposed to the water.

But I couldn't figure out how to get the stitching itself to be waterproof. And then I started trying to price it out and decided it probably wasn't worth the time.

 

[dhill59]

What's the most waterproof hard locking/sealing tonneau if money isn't an object? I've got a good bit of money left for accessories and this is probably the most important for my use case.

I'm looking at using my bed like a trunk with things stored in there basically full time and am willing to apply extra sealing and drain tubing if I can keep it dry.

I'm halfway tempted to try building my own by building the rails off the c-channel tie down mounts, but sourcing all the materials and getting the parts stitched together probably isn't worth it.

It doesn’t exist at this time.

The gaps between the black plastic caps over the sheet metal are minimal, but still leak. The gaps in the tailgate are huge and without a lot of gasket material will and do leak.

The only tonneau cover I have ever had that didn’t leak was a solid fiberglass glass cover on my 2011 Ranger. It actually folded over the sides of the bed and created a seal. The tailgate had a gasket that light nor water got through.

It was. PITA to carry anything that was taller than the tonneau cover. Lots of rope to tie the cover down. But it was secure and water tight.

 

[pistonRecirculator]

It doesn’t exist at this time.

The gaps between the black plastic caps over the sheet metal are minimal, but still leak. The gaps in the tailgate are huge and without a lot of gasket material will and do leak.

The only tonneau cover I have ever had that didn’t leak was a solid fiberglass glass cover on my 2011 Ranger. It actually folded over the sides of the bed and created a seal. The tailgate had a gasket that light nor water got through.

It was. PITA to carry anything that was taller than the tonneau cover. Lots of rope to tie the cover down. But it was secure and water tight.

Yeah, that's the story I'm getting.

I'd still like to figure out what's the closest I can get. I assume I'm probably going to try and waterproof the tailgate as well.

 

[Jman79]

I was debating if I built one I'd be trying to attach rails on the C-channel tie down rail holes. They come pre-threaded from the factory and if you lack the factory tie down rails it seemed like a natural spot to kill two birds with one stone. Plus, it seemed like it would be less likely than clamps to scratch up the paint or damage the bed while being attached a bit more stably. Buy some cheap hose to drain the rails and weatherstripping to seal it all off. I assume the drain holes in the bottom of the bed (there's plenty of them) would be sufficient for breathing.

This is going to sound weird, but I'm not super fond of wood. I was thinking of trying to get some Aluminum plate or polycarbonate sheeting and fully enclose it in marine vinyl with the vinyl oversized to go past the edge of the bed and on top of the rails to direct rain cleanly away from the bed. I'd probably try and 3d print or buy some hinges and have those inside the vinyl where they shouldn't be exposed to the water.

But I couldn't figure out how to get the stitching itself to be waterproof. And then I started trying to price it out and decided it probably wasn't worth the time.

I cant fully picture what your describing but your last line resonates. I was keeping mine simple because at a certain point of complication its no longer worth my time. With what I planned I can walk away from the time investment if it doesn't work.

 

[pistonRecirculator]

I cant fully picture what your describing but your last line resonates. I was keeping mine simple because at a certain point of complication its no longer worth my time. With what I planned I can walk away from the time investment if it doesn't work.

Yep.

But here's a rough price/parts list if anyone ever decides to try. I haven't shopped for the best price, but it might give someone an idea. If you do try to build it, redo my measurements as I'm just estimating right now and never actually went in with the tape measure.

80/20 Aluminum Extrusion. 2x 4' 4" : $120
Angle Brackets for 80/20 Extrusion. 8: $25
Carriage Bolts: 8 : $60
Bolts: A bunch. $20
T Nuts: A big collection $15
Marine Vinyl: 54" x 8 yards. $180
Aluminum Sheet: 3 segments, about 16" x 4'4" x 0.1", 1 segment about 1" x 4'4" x 0.1", final segment about 3" x 4'4" x 0.1". $460 (not including shipping)
Weatherstripping: Alot of it. $21
Alloy Hinges: 8. $90
Something waterproof to sew the vinyl. $???
Quick-detach locking mechanism to attach the plates to the 80/20 extrusions/carriage bolts and lock the cover. $???
Hoses to drain the 80/20 rails: $20
End pieces to seal off the ends of the 80/20: $print it. ~$30 in ASA filament.
Sealant for the ends $15
Straps to hold down the cover in an upright or folded position: $30+??? for attachment mechanism.

Anyways. It comes out to around $1100. Which is the point at which I decided it's probably easier to buy even if the rack and waterproofing would work better.

It's really just a conventional trifold cover except that the vinyl is oversized and completely envelopes the aluminum part of the cover (tri folds typically use rubber and attach it to the plates directly) like in a sealed bag. Ideally, there's basically no seam for water to get through the vinyl and it extends past the top and edge of the bed so rain would be directed away from the plastic side wall covers and away from the bed. By bagging the tri-fold, it also eliminates any potential leaking around the hinges (at the risk of the hinges pinching the vinyl). A tri-fold manufacturer could probably just take the rubber seals and extend them farther and get a lot of the same effect.

 

[pistonRecirculator]

That was the sane idea.

The less sane idea was to try and emulate the overlanders with their racks and side-mounted boxes.

The idea would be to take waterproof cases of about the same depth as the sidewalls of the bed and length about equal to the length of the bed and then build up a rail system around it with a folding set of bars and marine vinyl. The idea was that you could then fold the rifle cases out of the bed and mount them vertically as if they were sidewalls of a topper or boxes mounted on side Yakima racks. The cases would act as waterproof toolboxes when folded into the bed, could be locked with conventional locks and would eat up most of the top surface, protecting anything underneath. When folded out, it's extra storage moved out of the bed with boxes or other items in the actual bed.

But the idea has lots of challenges I'd have to work out (like how to actually build what amounts to a folding rack capable of carrying all that weight) and I don't see myself wanting that much storage.

 

[ABMich]

I got an ultra flex and it’s a nice looking and seems to be quality built… but it’s leaked in the front of the bed since I have had it. I’m going to pull it off and try to seal it up better before winter. The cover wasn’t cheap either. So don’t have any suggestions.

 

[pistonRecirculator]

I got an ultra flex and it’s a nice looking and seems to be quality built… but it’s leaked in the front of the bed since I have had it. I’m going to pull it off and try to seal it up better before winter. The cover wasn’t cheap either. So don’t have any suggestions.

Do you know which part of the front? I do know there's a design challenge with the bed where there's nowhere for water to flow from the top of the cab except the bed. There's also a gap in the plastic around the bed top where water is going to want to get in.

This is more a feature of the truck than the cover and it's a challenge with most if not all covers.

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