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Review of Lomax / Agri-Cover / ACI Tri-Fold Professional Tonneau for Rambox-UPDATE

Marusho

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Today is April 17, 2019. As of now there are few hard tonneau options for the 5th generation Ram with 5'7" bed and Ramboxes.

I know there are other mentions of the Lomax on the forum, but this one is very detailed.
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The Lomax line includes three aluminum tri-fold models. They are the standard-duty black matte product B1040059, the standard-duty diamond plate product B2040059 and the Professional series product B0040059 available in diamond plate only at this time. I purchased my Professional model on April 9 during a 23.5% off promotion, direct from Agri-Cover, for $914. At that time the standard model in either finish was $794. As I write this the direct price is 15% off MSRP. I was happy with my price. The price was no lower through a distributor and none of the distributors had an up-to-date listing of all of this line of products.
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Here is why I chose this cover.

I had decided that I wanted a hard cover of the folding kind, and that I wanted to retain as much as possible of the bed's cargo space (so no roll-up cover).

I dislike putting 3M tape on anything. In my experience it never sticks to what you want it to , and is hard to remove when you want it gone. Lomax has figured out how to build a tonneau (at least for the Rambox model) that doesn't require you to glue anything to your truck (except for 2 square inches of rubber that can be omitted). Reports are that the cover is nevertheless as dry as any other.

A friend reported satisfactory dealings with Agri-Cover and that sealed the deal.

Color: Ideally I would have gotten a white tonneau for my white truck, but there is no such thing. Black was the logical choice, especially since black is in this year. But the Professional model was only available in bright diamond plate. The only difference between the standard and Professional models is additional bracing across each of the panels. I really wanted this additional stiffness because one place I have to park is under trees that can shed heavy branches. Also the added stiffness would be a benefit when folding the cover from one side. The only downside is that this bracing adds 10 pounds to the cover, raising it from 50 to 60 pounds. I'm no spring chicken and this additional weight will make removing the cover that much more of a chore, but I'll deal with it the few times I have to do so. Mechanically, removing the cover really is as easy as Agri-Cover's excellent videos show. Positioning it for re-installation is a bit fussy, but you'd master that too after some experience with it.

Continuing with my choice of color: I decided that I really had no business getting a black cover when a silver one was offered, despite the fact that black is all the rage. I often carry an ice chest in the bed, and other items that don't appreciate the heat. After having installed the cover I measured the temperatures and decided I had made the right decision. The ambient temp was 70. The white car was 77-85. The black areas adjacent to the cover were 93-113 and the cover was 73-78.
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As I said, Lomax / Agri-Cover videos are great. I have a few observations about the installation process.

You must remove the Ram cargo rails. When you do so you'll find some dirt, so plan on spending a little time cleaning this up.

This is a good time to clean the pollen and bird dirt out of your bed. I got nowhere cleaning the liner with car wash liquid and a bristle brush, so I used Armor-All Tire Foam and a washcloth. No, it is not too silicone-y.

Agri-Cover's instructions do not say to de-grease the inside of the cargo rails before applying their 2"-wide foam seal, but I did so, with alcohol. I wasn't bothered by this application of adhesive since it wasn't to the body of the truck AND there is no chance of the gasket's coming loose since it is clamped between the cargo rail and the bed.

You must put holes in this foam seal for the 2 plastic pins that loosely attach the rails to the bed, and the 5 little bolts that do the actual work. The two plastic pins are there to locate the rails during assembly and you are to poke them through the foam. Plan on using scissors to actually make these holes. The five attaching bolts fit through large (about 12mm) holes and you are instructed to cut out these holes with a utility knife. Instead use a gasket hole punch and a block of wood. It works neat as can be and you should have these punches in your tool kit anyway.

During the assembly of the 2 cover rails to the cargo rails you will need a 7/16 and a 1/2 combination wrench, but I found that deep sockets and an extension were also helpful. The 10mm head Ram bolts that secure the cargo rails are long and will obviously come out quicker with a drill.

When reassembling the cargo rail with the attached tonneau rail, the additional thickness of the assembly due to the application of a foam gasket on the back, makes the two plastic pins bite less, so don't count on their holding the rail up. In fact I found that they needed pressing in place with a tool. I used a 3/8 socket extension bar and a hammer to gently send them home. Then the cargo bar would support itself while I put the 5 original screws back in.

The design is clever and looks like it will be long-lived. The only design flaw I can see (after installation but with zero actual experience with the cover) is that the rear of the two tonneau rails is uncharacteristically sharp. It should have been a bit shorter and had a plug fitted. Having a plug on the front end also would have prevented any water entering. Unless I scrape my hand on these rails I'll probably never think about this again.

Most web reviews suffer from the customer's writing it before he has any experience. They usually say they will revise it after they use the product, but never do.

This is not a review of the product so much as my impressions and a review of the installation process. If I discover anything you should know about this cover in the future I REALLY WILL UPDATE THIS POST. It should be obvious that I have no problem hitting the keyboard.

Consider Agri-Cover's Lomax, Access and other products. They seem to be a stand-up company with good designs. I do appreciate their actually building products for the 5th gen Ram with Rambox. An acquaintance has a factory cover for his '19 Rebel without Ramboxes, and it is clear that it wasn't updated for the '19, as it is too short. The Lomax fits perfectly. I think it looks nice too, even though is isn't black . . . .

UPDATE APRIL 20 2019: I contacted CS to ask what the two curved 6" rubber channels were for. They replied that yes, they are not documented, and they attach to the rear of the bed in the area in my photo below. They didn't say exactly where they are to be placed so I made my best guess. Somebody else on this forum asked the question but I was unable to find his post.
We had a significant storm last night and no water entered except for a few drops in the area that these seals are meant to protect. I only installed them after the storm so cannot say if they are 100% effective. Also I have no results of how much water intrudes when driving.
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UPDATE JULY 28, 2019: Those 6" rubber things pictured above fell off, despite my having prepped the area with alcohol. They are certainly in the wrong place anyway since they are compressed and no longer form a channel, when the tailgate is up. I think I'll just let the rain come in unless somebody else works this out.
 
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mdnyrx

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Great post on your initial thoughts. I am considering the same cover. Would you mind posting some pictures on the underpinnings? I put an ATV in by bed with the ram boxes and it is fairly tight with the distance between the utility rails. Do the brackets for this cover protrude further into the bed than the existing rails? I unfortunately cant afford to lose much more horizontal width between the rails. I am also curious about the latching mechanisms that hold the cover down and how easily they function.
 

Marusho

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No photos needed. The tonneau rails themselves do not intrude into the bed any further than the undocumented long tab at the bottom of the cargo rail. There are 4 protrusions on each side on which the tonneau rests and under which the latching mechanisms ride. These reduce the width of the cargo area at the 20" high mark (bed height) to 47.5". However, these are secured with a single 7/16 nut which you could remove from any offending tabs in order to fit in your ATV. It would be no more time-consuming than removing the sliding tie-downs. As far as the ease of use, I used my left pinky to unlatch the rear with no trouble. One thing that may not be clear when observing this tonneau is that there are only two positions where you can drive - fully closed and folded down to 1 section. There is no latching mechanism which would allow driving with a single section folded down. That means there are no moving parts at the middle of the tonneau, only hooks that ride under the tabs on the rails (a good thing). It is this simplicity that inspires confidence that the thing will last. Another thing to note is that this tonneau had some teething pains when introduced, which were resolved responsibly by the company.
 

JeffK2019

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Nice write up. Thanks for sharing all those details.

I just installed my Lomax cover this week also with the Rambox. I just have the standard version and so far am very pleased with it. I am actually considering having mine painted to match my Patriot Blue, although I like the matt black more than I thought I would. I am going to give it a couple of weeks to decide then check with a couple of local paint shops about options. My local dealer recommended a shop that does all their body work and so paint matching should not be a problem.

There is a guy on Youtube who does truck videos that had a Lomax cover and had it vinyl wrapped white to match his truck, then recently received a new cover from Lomax after they had made improvements (the covers we have) and he actually did have that one painted white. In case you ever decide you want to color match to the body. I will copy the Youtube link - about 4 1/2 minutes in you can see his painted white, although not the heavy duty version you have.

My truck is filthy (it gets a wash tomorrow) but I will post a couple of pictures of my standard version. The fit looks great and I am curious once I get some rain or run through a car wash or two how water tight it is, from what I can see the seals are very good. If people are still shopping I would also suggest checking with Lucas at Truck Alterations and mention our forums. I picked up my Lomax for $675 with free shipping. I had it in two days. This is also one of the few brands not currently upcharging for the Rambox versions.

 

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Patsy1099

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I really wanted this additional stiffness because one place I have to park is under trees that can shed heavy branches.

Very thorough write-up. Cover looks heavy duty. Wonder why they don’t offer in any choice besides diamond plate for the pro. I would find somewhere else to park my brand new Ram though!!
 

Marusho

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Thanks for your thoughts on painting. I did see the video of the white cover before making my choice. That buyer's experience with Agri-Cover is the reason I mentioned the teething pains and their stepping up. I understand that painting the bare diamond plate is very difficult, but your black version should not pose a problem. Powder coating the diamond plate is not possible since the rubber parts wouldn't withstand the heat. I'm sure the silver color will grow on me. To answer a question raised below, I believve that the Lomax line will be expanded to include the black option. It obviously would not cost any more. I am glad to have the additional bracing of the pro model.
 

hwytodangerzone

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Just put mine on last weekend (rambox model).

Notes from my experience:
1) Sealed hardware bag was missing bolts, had to make a trip to the hardware store to match up the thread pitch. Not a huge deal, just wasn't going to wait and contact them so they could send me new bolts.
2) The mounting rails are an inch longer than those pictured above making it almost impossible for the included supplementary seal to be 100% effective. Again, not a huge deal, I'll just need to buy some tailgate seal and fiddle with it if it becomes a problem.
3) Previously had a black fiberglass cover, bed didn't get hot, didn't even think about what would happen with black aluminum. My bad. Clothes in the suit cases were just-out-of-the-dryer warm after a 4hr trip in 90F heat. Will have to plan ahead in the future and remove anything that could melt and put in rambox.
4) Like that the mounting hardware uses the top of the rails and not a clamp.
 

onebadtwo

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Looks like its been a while... How are y'all enjoying this cover with the RamBox? I made a horrible mistake in purchasing the Retrax cover and will be returning it. This one is very high on my list!
 

Matthbert5150

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I am also interested in this cover as I'm expecting delivery of my Laramie rambox next week. My truck does not have the Bed Utility Group.

I haven't been able to find this information anywhere. Does the ram box models have the silver rails or black rails. And does the lomax require the silver rails to install?

Any help would be appreciated as I'd like to order this cover asap.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
 
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Marusho

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(Mine is the silver one at the beginning of this thread). I've had it for 4 months and I'm still happy with it, but there are two small issues. One of my Ramboxes (just happens to be the driver's side one) inteferes with the cover. It doesn't prevent its opening but the lid does push it a little, followed by a snap as the cover becomes vertical. That cover is also out of alignment, and I don't know whether the issues are related. My advice is to check for this issue as you install it, in case there is some sort of adjustment you can make, such as shimming. It's a tight fit to be sure. The rubber channels that were a half-hearted attempt to fully seal the gaps at the tailgate, fell off, as everything using self-adhesive strips does. You can't expect to stick something to a part which is made of petroleum. I just left them off since the little bit of rain that intrudes is of no consequence.
 

Graniterambox

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Looks like its been a while... How are y'all enjoying this cover with the RamBox? I made a horrible mistake in purchasing the Retrax cover and will be returning it. This one is very high on my list!

I know this is very old, but curious why you say the retrax was a mistake? I’m trying to decide between the lomax and retrax. Thanks for any help.
 

New1500customram

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So i have the BUG with the adjustable tie down hooks and rail. Wouls i have to remove those rails to install this bed cover?
 

BillRam6547

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I’m new here but is this site not current? We’re in 2022 and most of these posts are 2019. Is there more up to date information on this site?
 

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