Question about Tonneau covers

[Krischievous]

Hi all, this is my first time ever installing a tonneau, i followed the directions (minus weather stripping) and everything loooks good, but whne i drive i see the vinyl push up like air is getting in the bed. is this normal? the metal parts arent moving at all from what i see but i can notice the air go under. I also put it through a touchless carwash to test and there was a lot of wet after. I do think I need a weather strip at the top but i wanted to ask you all how much air is too much air? Thanks!

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[badMotorist]

That's normal behavior for a soft cover. You can see it on soft top convertibles too going down the road, especially older ones.

There's a few good weather sealing vids out there (Mav specific ones) to MINIMIZE water intrusion but it'll never be a 100% seal.

 

[djw479]

There's probably hundreds of threads here on what you're asking. I'll try to recap but using the search function may unearth more info.

A soft top (either rollup or tri-fold) is going to move, especially at higher speeds. Just make sure you have it centered front to back so the seals overlaps both the front bed rail and tailgate.

In the earlier days of this forum folks mentioned some early-to-market covers were a bit short front to back and had to add a seal between tailgate and cover - or return the cover for a slightly longer one. Also, some folks have installed seals along the tailgate sides to attempt to reduce air flow. Adding a tailgate seal(s) should help reduce air getting under the cover somewhat, but you're still going to have some cover movement at speed. Plus there's drainage holes in the floor so its never going to be airtight.

Depending on what type of seals your cover has on the front, tailgate and sides (from simple foam strips to (for example) the triple-seals on Extangs); the amount of water intrusion can vary. When going thru an automated car wash you getting pressurized soap/water and high-speed drying fans from many angles, probably more than when just driving down the road.

Also near the front of bed on the side rails there is a plastic trim overlap area. Placing some short strips of foam insulation or some type of caulk in that indentation can reduce air/water intrusion if your having too much water in front of the bed.

But in the end no hard or soft tonneau cover is going to be totally waterproof in all weather conditions.

Above is all I learned about sealing a cover as I was a pickup newbie 6 months ago. Hope it helps!

 

[Krischievous]

There's probably hundreds of threads here on what you're asking. I'll try to recap but using the search function may unearth more info.

A soft top (either rollup or tri-fold) is going to move, especially at higher speeds. Just make sure you have it centered front to back so the seals overlaps both the front bed rail and tailgate.

In the earlier days of this forum folks mentioned some early-to-market covers were a bit short front to back and had to add a seal between tailgate and cover - or return the cover for a slightly longer one. Also, some folks have installed seals along the tailgate sides to attempt to reduce air flow. Adding a tailgate seal(s) should help reduce air getting under the cover somewhat, but you're still going to have some cover movement at speed. Plus there's drainage holes in the floor so its never going to be airtight.

Depending on what type of seals your cover has on the front, tailgate and sides (from simple foam strips to (for example) the triple-seals on Extangs); the amount of water intrusion can vary. When going thru an automated car wash you getting pressurized soap/water and high-speed drying fans from many angles, probably more than when just driving down the road.

Also near the front of bed on the side rails there is a plastic trim overlap area. Placing some short strips of foam insulation or some type of caulk in that indentation can reduce air/water intrusion if your having too much water in front of the bed.

But in the end no hard or soft tonneau cover is going to be totally waterproof in all weather conditions.

Above is all I learned about sealing a cover as I was a pickup newbie 6 months ago. Hope it helps!

Thanks so much! I did find some other topics and posts and found one based on the tonneau I'm using and tried to get info but did not have luck so I made my own thread.. I appreciate the time you took to help answer my question.

 

[Krischievous]

There's probably hundreds of threads here on what you're asking. I'll try to recap but using the search function may unearth more info.

A soft top (either rollup or tri-fold) is going to move, especially at higher speeds. Just make sure you have it centered front to back so the seals overlaps both the front bed rail and tailgate.

In the earlier days of this forum folks mentioned some early-to-market covers

So we set it and took a drive. This is what it looks like (if it helps).

I put a YouTube link but it's my first time so hopefully it works. Lol Tonneau Test

 

[Larrythelunatic]

So we set it and took a drive. This is what it looks like (if it helps).

I put a YouTube link but it's my first time so hopefully it works. Lol Tonneau Test

In the video……..
That‘s not air getting UNDER the cover. That’s the varying vacuum OVER the cover, causing lift, as on an airplane wing.

 

[Krischievous]

In the video……..
That‘s not air getting UNDER the cover. That’s the varying vacuum OVER the cover, causing lift, as on an airplane wing.

Ohhhhhh so it's expected?

 

[JP4AZ]

Ohhhhhh so it's expected?

yes a little flutter is expected on any type of SOFT cover. Hard covers do not move in the wind.

 

[Modesto]

Hi all, this is my first time ever installing a tonneau, i followed the directions (minus weather stripping) and everything loooks good, but whne i drive i see the vinyl push up like air is getting in the bed. is this normal? the metal parts arent moving at all from what i see but i can notice the air go under. I also put it through a touchless carwash to test and there was a lot of wet after. I do think I need a weather strip at the top but i wanted to ask you all how much air is too much air? Thanks!

I installed the Ford tonneau cover which I'm quite happy with. After clipping it down at the tale gate, if I go back and pull the sides tight over the velcro, I have very little wind movement. In terms of water getting in after carwash or rain, really, not much does. I definitely used the foam strip along the front of the bed, and added a small foam strip to fill the gaps on either side of the rails.

 

[Krischievous]

I installed the Ford tonneau cover which I'm quite happy with. After clipping it down at the tale gate, if I go back and pull the sides tight over the velcro, I have very little wind movement. In terms of water getting in after carwash or rain, really, not much does. I definitely used the foam strip along the front of the bed, and added a small foam strip to fill the gaps on either side of the rails.

I'm using a tyga trifold. It seems to be ok and I think I was just over worrying LOL I drove like an HR on the highway and nothing really felt off but I don't know how the water seal will be. If we get rain soon I guess I'll know

 

[RonD914]

There's probably hundreds of threads here on what you're asking. I'll try to recap but using the search function may unearth more info.

A soft top (either rollup or tri-fold) is going to move, especially at higher speeds. Just make sure you have it centered front to back so the seals overlaps both the front bed rail and tailgate.

In the earlier days of this forum folks mentioned some early-to-market covers were a bit short front to back and had to add a seal between tailgate and cover - or return the cover for a slightly longer one. Also, some folks have installed seals along the tailgate sides to attempt to reduce air flow. Adding a tailgate seal(s) should help reduce air getting under the cover somewhat, but you're still going to have some cover movement at speed. Plus there's drainage holes in the floor so its never going to be airtight.

Depending on what type of seals your cover has on the front, tailgate and sides (from simple foam strips to (for example) the triple-seals on Extangs); the amount of water intrusion can vary. When going thru an automated car wash you getting pressurized soap/water and high-speed drying fans from many angles, probably more than when just driving down the road.

Also near the front of bed on the side rails there is a plastic trim overlap area. Placing some short strips of foam insulation or some type of caulk in that indentation can reduce air/water intrusion if your having too much water in front of the bed.

But in the end no hard or soft tonneau cover is going to be totally waterproof in all weather conditions.

Above is all I learned about sealing a cover as I was a pickup newbie 6 months ago. Hope it helps!

 

[RonD914]

As the post with the video suggests, on the soft tonneau cover and convertible tops, it is unlikely that a large amt of air is pushing under the cover. The usual reason for the canopy or ballooning effect of the soft tops is the venturi effect.

The science: As you drive down the road, the air in the bed is still, the air going over it is moving fast. High speed air has lower pressure and low speed air has higher pressure; this will tend to push the cover up and balloon it a bit its all physics. also --> the same way an airplane wing shape helps it to fly. - the air over the top has to travel faster due to the longer distance across the wing - due to the shape.
[My brilliant and corny old high school physics teacher taught me { " Hi Speed, ... H'Low Pressure" } ]

 

[TNFurb]

I installed the Ford tonneau cover which I'm quite happy with. After clipping it down at the tale gate, if I go back and pull the sides tight over the velcro, I have very little wind movement. In terms of water getting in after carwash or rain, really, not much does. I definitely used the foam strip along the front of the bed, and added a small foam strip to fill the gaps on either side of the rails.

I know the ford soft roll up tonneau us made my truxedo, but does anyone know which specific model of the Truxedo line it is?

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