Care and feeding of Ford/TruXedo soft roll-up Tonneau cover

[Linda B]

Two days ago I took delivery of my first ever truck. Somehow I made it into retirement without ever owning one. I've owned sedans, both two door and four door, SUV's, a mini-van, and a motorhome, but no pick-em-up truck until now.

Yesterday I installed the Ford/TruXedo soft roll-up cover. Took me an hour and 15 minutes including retrieving the tools needed (1/2"socket, box knife, scissors) and interpreting the directions and two addendums. It is made of something like a marine grade vinyl. It is reeealy tight and even when driving highway speed it only has minor flutter with no noise. But, I have some questions about its use.......

1. Should I put something like 303 on it?
2. Can I leave it in place when going through a car wash without causing damage to it?
3. What about a couple of inches of snow?
4. Is there a way to easily remove the cover and leave the rails in place?
5. Any other suggestions on its care and use?
6. WTF is a Tonneau and why isn't it just called a bed cover?

Sponsored

 

[The Weatherman]

1. Yes! It perfect for protecting from UV and helps water run off.

2. Yes.

3. Should hold no problem with a few inches.

4. Yes. The cover can be removed without doing anything with the rails.

5. None

6. No clue. Might be the guys name that made the first one?

I have Truxedo Pro 15X on both my Mavericks. They look and work awesome.

 

[ShadowChas]

According to quick google of tonneau cover -
turns out that tonneau covers were used long before trucks were even invented. In fact, the word “tonneau” – French for barrel, cask or container – was used for centuries to refer to the open-air cargo hull featured on many horse-drawn carriages

 

[crgator]

As to #5 and since I always wondered myself:
A tonneau (US: /tʌˈnoʊ/ or UK: /ˈtɒnoʊ/) is an area of a car or truck open at the top. It can be for passengers or cargo.

A tonneau cover in current automotive terminology is a hard or soft cover that spans the back of a pickup truck to protect the load or to improve aerodynamics. Tonneau covers come in many styles that fold, retract, or tilt open, and can be locked shut. Common materials used include steel, aluminium, canvas, PVC, fibreglass, and carbon fibre.

Tonneau covers are also used to cover and protect open areas of boats. Many of these covers are made of waterproofed canvas and are held in place by snaps.

The older, original tonneau covers were used to protect unoccupied passenger seats in convertibles and roadsters, and the cargo bed of a pickup truck or ute (vehicle). Hard tonneau covers open by a hinging or folding mechanism while segmented or soft covers open by rolling up or folding.

Truck and car tonneau covers keep items out of the sun and out of the sight of potential thieves

 

[Linda B]

4. Is there a way to easily remove the cover and leave the rails in place?

I know how to roll it up and secure it up near the window, but I don't see a way to actually remove that roll. It appears to be sewn to a thick piece of plastic which is in turn glued to the header rail. I thought maybe it'd be a velcro connection, but it doesn't appear so.

Sponsored