Does the Ford Tonneau Cover Leak? Yes it does

[ValenciaOrange]

It rained for the last few days here in Southern CA, and today I decided to roll up my Ford Factory Tonneau cover. This cover cost about $1200.00 from Ford.

Several months ago I added some extra foam around the tailgate and all four corners to prevent any leaks if it rained. It did not work.

The pictures show what I saw when I rolled back the cover. Luckily all my items were in 2 large plastic containers and stayed dry.

I know tonneau covers leak a little, but my cover really leaks. I will show this to Ford.

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[st3v]

I have the same problem with the Ford-branded hard trifold cover. I just had a dealer look at it in SoCal. The dealer said since they did not install the cover, they will not warranty it. To me, it is a bad design to leak that much.

 

[NoVaJimmy]

I have news for you, no tonneau cover is meant to be water tight. You can reduce the amount of water that gets in with seals etc but there's no such thing as a water tight tonneau. Good luck

 

[ValenciaOrange]

I have the same problem with the Ford-branded hard trifold cover. I just had a dealer look at it in SoCal. The dealer said since they did not install the cover, they will not warranty it.

I also live in Southern CA. Mine was installed by Ford. I will take it in when I have my airbag recall done, grabby brake fix, engine fire recall done, remote starter issue fixed and check on catalytic converter shield rattle.. I have not had this many things done to my last 3 cars.

 

[gte105u]

Not sure dealer will do anything. Couple straight days of rain that doesn't seem crazy. Make sure seal is in right spot when you close the tailgate.

 

[Traegorn]

Also there is a ridge on the bed sides near the cab on both sides that most tonneau covers don't even try to seal. Water will get in there no matter what unless you find a way to plug it.

 

[Gullzway]

Also there is a ridge on the bed sides near the cab on both sides that most tonneau covers don't even try to seal. Water will get in there no matter what unless you find a way to plug it.

Yep, I put two pieces of weather stripping in that crease on mine and on the two front corners, helped quite a bit.

 

[MaverickCruiser]

Wow that's pretty bad. My $152 Chinese jdmspeed roll-up from eBay doesn't even let that much water in.

 

[Don806]

Yep, I put two pieces of weather stripping in that crease on mine and on the two front corners, helped quite a bit.

I used plumbers putty here and works well

 

[Driverdown13]

Wow interesting.
After reading your post I got nervous because my maverick xlt has been sitting in the down pouring rain for two days in Northern California 30 minutes from the sequoia mountains. So I decided to check my bed and to my surprise it is dry no water whatsoever maybe it was how it was installed by the factory I not know maybe just lucky. My cover is a tonneau box cover soft fold with a sibl. Yea that sucks.

 

[Big Kahuna]

Yeah - many of the tri fold and also some of the roll ups will leak. I'm currently using the Pro X15 roll up with the Elevate Rack and I can say that it doesn't really leak at all which surprised me as it is more flappy than the trifolds with frames. The trick is really sealing around all the edges, better sealing = less leaks.

Here's a good example of leaks with the trifold in some serious rain, not bad considering.

 

[icegradner]

^ That's about how much water gets into my tri-fold.

 

[KdeB]

Wow interesting.
After reading your post I got nervous because my maverick xlt has been sitting in the down pouring rain for two days in Northern California 30 minutes from the sequoia mountains. So I decided to check my bed and to my surprise it is dry no water whatsoever maybe it was how it was installed by the factory I not know maybe just lucky. My cover is a tonneau box cover soft fold with a sibl. Yea that sucks.

A lot depends on if the truck is just parked during the rainstorm (not moving), if it’s parked level, if there’s any wind driving the rain, etc. vs. driving the truck with the tonneau on in the same conditions, when rain is likely to get blown in.

We put an Extang trifold soft tonneau on, and had the truck out in a moderate rain for the first time last week. Checked the bed when we got home, and only a small amount of water droplets in the bed around the edges.

Never expected the tonneau to keep things perfectly dry at all times, though. Just wanted to avoid saturation.

Not planning to ever put anything back there in threatening weather that would get ruined if wet.

Like a pizza …

 

[AznMav]

I also live in Southern CA. Mine was installed by Ford. I will take it in when I have my airbag recall done, grabby brake fix, engine fire recall done, remote starter issue fixed and check on catalytic converter shield rattle.. I have not had this many things done to my last 3 cars.

Pretty sure that's why they invented SUV's... They have Escape PHEV...

 

[TonyS]

I have news for you, no tonneau cover is meant to be water tight. You can reduce the amount of water that gets in with seals etc but there's no such thing as a water tight tonneau. Good luck

The hard fiberglass tonneau covers - more popular a couple of decades sago - could be 100% waterproof. I had one on my 1998 Ford F-150.
BUT - those things essentially turn a pick up truck bed into a large trunk. You can't haul anything more than that is taller than maybe a foot taller than the bed. I removed mine. (damn but it was a heavy bastard) When I bought my Maverick I ordered the hard roll up. It's not 100% waterproof, but rolled up I can use the bed to haul a refrigerator if I want.

You still get the good looks of a cover and people can't see what's in the bed. With the hard ones it's a bit more work to pry open.

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