Bed Clearance under Tonneau

[petersandler]

Certainly an option. Ideally I’d like to keep the hitch free for a boat. Though considering I don’t currently own a boat I may be over thinking this.

Having owned a boat for 12 years, let me tell you about the two best days of boat ownership; the day you buy the boat and the day you sell the boat! In case you aren't aware, boat stands for - Bust Out Another Thousand! As boats age, the maintenance bills start to grow exponentially. And if you think Covid messed up the used (and new) car markets, its nothing compared to what it did to the used boat market. When Covid gave me the chance to sell my boat for the same price I paid for it 12 years ago, I didn't hesitate to sell it. Don't get me wrong, I loved the boat. The wife, not so much. Once the kids grew up and moved away we started using it less and less. I could no longer justify the annual expenses. It's so much cheaper to rent a boat, or join a boat sharing club versus owning one.

 

[greenlawnracing]

Truxedo says it requires the silver rails as well. They are essentially the same cover, same manufacturer, different brand, with different overlays on top of the cargo rails.

I’m not positive that I’m following you, I just know that Truxedo has a different sku for the MFT. The rails it includes are tapered to accommodate the brackets, and unfortunately it doesn’t have the quick release to remove the entire cover.

As I understand it, the Bak (any of them) will require you to replace your factory brackets with Right On ones to accommodate the rails.

That’s probably what you are saying, and I’m just misinterpreting it.

 

[greenlawnracing]

Thanks those are all good points. @petersandler that is a nice looking tonneau cover. Mainly concerned with the bed space taken up by the canister. Given the short bed and Ramboxes, I'm already sacrificing a decent amount of space. Not sure I want to give up more with the revolver canister. Do you ever find yourself wishing you had more room?

I'm also thinking about bolting on some bicycle fork mounts (something like this) to the tonneau to haul bikes while keeping the tonneau closed. I figured I could bolt them to the MX4 in the piece that doesn't fold against the cab. Not sure if I'd have that option with the Revolver as I'd be bolting into the canister itself.

Edit: just realized the revolver is not a canister tonneau but rolls up on top. I'd probably still have a challenge bolting a bicycle fork mount through the roll up cover.

Are you wanting to mount the bikes with the cover closed?

 

[petersandler]

I’m not positive that I’m following you, I just know that Truxedo has a different sku for the MFT. The rails it includes are tapered to accommodate the brackets, and unfortunately it doesn’t have the quick release to remove the entire cover.

As I understand it, the Bak (any of them) will require you to replace your factory brackets with Right On ones to accommodate the rails.

That’s probably what you are saying, and I’m just misinterpreting it.

Couple different issues to clarify here - BAK and Truxedo are owned by the same company (Truck Hero - which also owns a large handful of other tonneau cover manufacturers as well). Many of their covers are pretty much the same across the brands with slight variations.

Bed rails - there are two different bed rails the factory uses - silver ones and black ones. If you have Ramboxes and order the Bed Utility Group and no factory tonneau cover, you get the silver bed rails. That's how my truck came. Quite a few covers actually specify they want the silver bed rails (the BAK I bought as well as the Truxedo, Gator, and others). I was about to order the Truxedo Sentry CT until my daughter's boyfriend pointed out the slight difference between the locking mechanisms which made me switch to the BAK. The BAK Revolver X4S mounts without ANY bracket. The cover's side rails that lock the hard roll-up cover closed slide INTO the top channel of the silver bed rail. I've loaded a few pictures to try to show it. Super quick installation. The entire cover can be removed via 4 screws that have easy twist off nuts - just a few minutes off and back on.

 

[greenlawnracing]

Couple different issues to clarify here - BAK and Truxedo are owned by the same company (Truck Hero - which also owns a large handful of other tonneau cover manufacturers as well). Many of their covers are pretty much the same across the brands with slight variations.

Bed rails - there are two different bed rails the factory uses - silver ones and black ones. If you have Ramboxes and order the Bed Utility Group and no factory tonneau cover, you get the silver bed rails. That's how my truck came. Quite a few covers actually specify they want the silver bed rails (the BAK I bought as well as the Truxedo, Gator, and others). I was about to order the Truxedo Sentry CT until my daughter's boyfriend pointed out the slight difference between the locking mechanisms which made me switch to the BAK. The BAK Revolver X4S mounts without ANY bracket. The cover's side rails that lock the hard roll-up cover closed slide INTO the top channel of the silver bed rail. I've loaded a few pictures to try to show it. Super quick installation. The entire cover can be removed via 4 screws that have easy twist off nuts - just a few minutes off and back on.

So basically, I didn’t get anything correct I was reading your earlier post. LOL. Sorry for the confusion.

I have the MFT, but do not have Bed utility group. You usually have to have both, but I somehow skipped bed utility group with my order.

Do you have rambox, MFT, or both? I did notice that the Bak had a much nicer lock, but due to having MFT and brackets it wouldn’t fit without modification.

I think I’ve done a really good job of the derailing a post asking for a measurement. Apologies

 

[petersandler]

So basically, I didn’t get anything correct I was reading your earlier post. LOL. Sorry for the confusion.

I have the MFT, but do not have Bed utility group. You usually have to have both, but I somehow skipped bed utility group with my order.

Do you have rambox, MFT, or both? I did notice that the Bak had a much nicer lock, but due to having MFT and brackets it wouldn’t fit without modification.

I think I’ve done a really good job of the derailing a post asking for a measurement. Apologies

I have both Rambox and MFT. The other nice thing on the BAK is that the tailgate can be closed with the cover already closed.

 

[Shots]

So basically, I didn’t get anything correct I was reading your earlier post. LOL. Sorry for the confusion.

I have the MFT, but do not have Bed utility group. You usually have to have both, but I somehow skipped bed utility group with my order.

Do you have rambox, MFT, or both? I did notice that the Bak had a much nicer lock, but due to having MFT and brackets it wouldn’t fit without modification.

I think I’ve done a really good job of the derailing a post asking for a measurement. Apologies

I don't think you did too bad. Yeah, we've ventured off measurements, but multiple measurements have already been given, including the specific configuration asked about, so it likely would have died on page 1 if you didn't segue.

 

[nstober1]

This has all been great fellas. I appreciate the back and forth. I think I’m now leaning toward a hitch mount rack which opens me up to different tonneau types. I am getting the rambox with bed utility group and no factory tonneau so I believe I will have the silver rails. That will allow me plenty of options for aftermarket tonneaus.

 

[greenlawnracing]

This has all been great fellas. I appreciate the back and forth. I think I’m now leaning toward a hitch mount rack which opens me up to different tonneau types. I am getting the rambox with bed utility group and no factory tonneau so I believe I will have the silver rails. That will allow me plenty of options for aftermarket tonneaus.

Are you referring to a hitch carrier for your cooler?

 

[Shots]

I bought a hitch rack form my Wrangler because I didn't want to carry fuel cans in the cargo area when filled them up. Haven't really used it much with my truck, but not a bad idea for a cooler. You save some bed space, and it's easy access to grab a tea or snack. Looks like I just found a new use for the rack.

I got a Haul-Master which I think is Harbor Freight's store brand. It was $100, has a 500 lbs capacity and is primarily aluminum so it won't rust. The hitch tube is metal, likely for strength. 47.25 x 20.5 with 6" tall sides

 

[greenlawnracing]

The only thing I would caution you with those is that you may not be able to open your tailgate. I have not used one of those many years, but with my bike rack I cannot open the tailgate using either function. It was a major inconvenience, so I ended up buying a swing away

 

[nstober1]

Are you referring to a hitch carrier for your cooler?

No, I’m thinking of a hitch rack for bicycles (vs mounting on top of tonneau). It’s off topic for my original question on this thread. I think the cooler will fit under the tonneau but if I use a hitch mount bike rack, I will have more options for a tonneau since I won’t have to bolt any brackets through the tonneau

 

[greenlawnracing]

No, I’m thinking of a hitch rack for bicycles (vs mounting on top of tonneau). It’s off topic for my original question on this thread. I think the cooler will fit under the tonneau but if I use a hitch mount bike rack, I will have more options for a tonneau since I won’t have to bolt any brackets through the tonneau

That’s exactly what I did. I can’t say enough good things about Kuat racks. Their customer service is incredible. It took me about a year to find a Pivot in stock, but that was a game changer because as you can see I can access my cooler on the left.

 

[nstober1]

That’s exactly what I did. I can’t say enough good things about Kuat racks. Their customer service is incredible. It took me about a year to find a Pivot in stock, but that was a game changer because as you can see I can access my cooler on the left.

Nice setup! Any issues with exhaust clearance? Looks like the bikes sit a bit higher than the exhaust tips

 

[Shots]

Yeah, definitely can't open the tailgate with anything on the rack I have. Those swing away style are the way to go if you don't mind spending the extra coin for it. They are extremely convenient though, so probably worth it.

 

[greenlawnracing]

Nice setup! Any issues with exhaust clearance? Looks like the bikes sit a bit higher than the exhaust tips

So far so good, but I did have concerns about the pivot blocking the exhaust. I did quite a bit of research, and here is a readers digest version of what the OEMs said

kuat: they have not had any issues and don’t anticipate any

one up: could possibly melt the plastic piece, they are working on a new design that would relocate the plastic. Should you damage it, will not be covered by warranty

saris: it might hit the exhaust, but it is highly resistant

Yakima: ask your dealer


Because Saris was the only thing that it was in stock, I decided to go that route. At the 11th hour, I stumbled upon someone that had a Kuat in stock. I absolutely cannot say enough good things about them as a company, I have two of their racks and they have taken incredibly good care of me for the last seven years. I’m ecstatic to continue to support them, even if allegedly one up is a slightly nicer product.

your results may vary, I have only used mine twice. I can take a better picture of the exhaust clearance next time I have it on the truck, but I think it’s going to be OK. I did fear a little bit about that area getting hot and melting the bumper, but that’s probably just me being paranoid.

because I transport about 30 bIke’s a month for a grassroots community service program, this will likely be a game changer.

 

[StuartV]

I have a BAK Revolver X4S. Just over 21” from top of bed ribs to bottom ribs on cover. Cover is removable in under 5 minutes via 4 screws if you need more room compared to when it is rolled up. Doesn’t block the rear window view when rolled up or the digital rear view mirror camera like the tri-folds do. All the benefits of a soft roll up with all the benefits of a hard cover.

Hey, it looks we have the same config on our trucks (as far as beds go, anyway).

I have a Limited with 5' 7" bed, RamBoxes, and Multi-Function Tailgate.

I tried to order a Revolver X4s and the nice lady at Bak told me it won't work because I have the MFT.

Did you have any issues installing yours?

I'm thinking that Bak just needs to update their database or something to reflect that their cover won't work with an MFT if you do NOT have RamBoxes, but my expectation is that if you DO have RamBoxes the Revolver will work just fine whether you have an MFT or not.

Can you confirm?

(I know about the bed rail issue. My truck came with black rails and I have ordered silver ones that are supposedly on their way)

 

[StuartV]

I’m not positive that I’m following you, I just know that Truxedo has a different sku for the MFT. The rails it includes are tapered to accommodate the brackets, and unfortunately it doesn’t have the quick release to remove the entire cover.

As I understand it, the Bak (any of them) will require you to replace your factory brackets with Right On ones to accommodate the rails.

That’s probably what you are saying, and I’m just misinterpreting it.

Also, just to clear up any possible confusion for someone in the future that reads this...

The factory brackets you're talking about are on trucks with the MFT and NO RamBoxes. So, yes, if you have a MFT and you do not have RamBoxes, then you have brackets in the front corners of the bed and those brackets probably have to be replaced with Right On brackets before you can install most tonneau covers.

But, if you DO have RamBoxes, there are no brackets, whether you do or do not have a MFT. The front corners of the bed are the same for RamBoxes with and without a MFT. So, if you have RamBoxes, the same tonneau cover will fit whether you have a MFT or not.

 

[StuartV]

I tried to order a Revolver X4s and the nice lady at Bak told me it won't work because I have the MFT.

I talked to a different person at Bak today. He knew what was up. Said their website was wrong and it will work with RamBoxes and MFT. Ordered. Silver rails ordered. Can't wait to ditch the POS factory trifold.

 

[petersandler]

Hey, it looks we have the same config on our trucks (as far as beds go, anyway).

I have a Limited with 5' 7" bed, RamBoxes, and Multi-Function Tailgate.

I tried to order a Revolver X4s and the nice lady at Bak told me it won't work because I have the MFT.

Did you have any issues installing yours?

I'm thinking that Bak just needs to update their database or something to reflect that their cover won't work with an MFT if you do NOT have RamBoxes, but my expectation is that if you DO have RamBoxes the Revolver will work just fine whether you have an MFT or not.

Can you confirm?

(I know about the bed rail issue. My truck came with black rails and I have ordered silver ones that are supposedly on their way)

Yes, I have the 5'7" bed, Ramboxes, and MFT and I ordered the Revolver X4S and it fits and works fine. I can close the tailgate with the cover closed or opened without any issues. I ordered it direct from BAK in late April. You need the silver cargo rails in order for the installation to work.

On their website there are two options for new body style (w/ 6 lug wheels): w/ rambox, w/ silver cargo rails or w/o rambox, w/o mft. I selected the first. Never spoke to a person to order.