Tonneau covers on 5ers

[Bnrc73]

Has anyone come up with a system for leaving your soft tonneau cover open half way when towing. I tried rolling up a rope in the cover and bungeeing it to the hitch. Worked fine on a short trip. (about an hour) However halfway into a 6 hour interstate trip I look in the mirror and it's flapping in the breeze. I'd buy a sliding cover but the dealers think they are selling gold bars. Very cost prohibiting. If anyone has a clever hack I would appreciate it .

[Carl n Susan]

Good idea with the rope. I use a couple of wood working spring clamps to hold the rolled up portion to the side rails. That has worked except when in excessive winds. I need to add a couple more clamps in the middle to really keep it in place.

[packnrat]

i did see ( some years back) a soft cover that had a hole cut in it so the hutch assembly could stick out of it. with a rolled up final cover for said hole. velcro hed it in place with hitch removed. ( to complete full coverage). so leading rdge was hard conected while sides and tailing edge used the velcro.
looked good. was a clean job.
commercial?
one off homemade?
.

[BB_TX]

Been years since I had a soft cover (have hard roll cover now), but I would try rolling a 1”x2” or even a 2”x2” board tightly in the cover and, as Carl mentioned, clamp it to the rails to add stiffness and reduce flapping.

[Virginia Young]

Just curious - Why do you not want to roll it all the way up? We always did on both our 3/4 ton and our dually.

[Lenny K]

And that is what I'm wondering also.

[1retired06]

Same here?

[jimcol]

If by sliding cover you mean retractable be aware of how much bed space you lose with the canister it rolls up in. I have a roll-n-lock. It's performed as advertised but hate the space taken up with the canister. Wish I had bought another back flip like I had on my old truck.

[Carl n Susan]

Originally Posted by Virginia Young

Just curious - Why do you not want to roll it all the way up? We always did on both our 3/4 ton and our dually.

When you want to keep something relatively dry (like firewood) when driving in the rain.

[Rondo]

That's what LARGE garbage bags or a good tarp are for Carl!

[Carl n Susan]

Bagging and tarping is way too much work and prone to being messed up by the winds.

[BB_TX]

If I have something in the bed in front of the hitch that might tempt someone to grab and run, or might get wind blown, I pull my cover back near the hitch to keep those items out of sight.

[DQDick]

I just use an inbed tool box for stuff I don't want wet or stolen and leave the cover rolled all the way up. I guess that makes me lazy also, but it works for me.

[Ladybug8881]

Have had one on the last 3 truck and just roll up use the velcro that came with the soft top

[Bnrc73]

Not so much to keep things dry, as to keeping certain things out of sight. I like my tools and I want to keep them. Think I'll try the clamp idea from Carl n Susan, and if I have one in the shed, I'll add a 2x2. Thanks for your responses.

[CarWin]

Check out the "Undercover" brand "FLEX" tonneau cover. Have the trifold on my truck and can leave front section closed when hooked to 5er. No clearance issues anywhere while towing.

[harris71]

I have an Extang Trifecta soft tonneau on my Chevy 3500 dually (long bed). It has a 3-section hinged frame with a soft cover. Folded up and clipped to the front, it has plenty of clearance for the hitch and pin box, but still leaves 30-35 inches under cover. It is very secure in this position, even at highway speeds. It has spring loaded clips at the back end to secure it to the bed rails fully closed. The only downside is it requires undoing 2 large wing nuts on the front section to remove the cover entirely. They are not the easiest to reach.

[beeje]

Like harris71, I have a GM trifold cover. It folds up 2 times and clips at the front with plenty of room for the hitch etc. Simply unfold when you unhitch and everything in the bed stays nice and dry. Mine stays on all the time and is not real easy to remove. I leave fire wood in the bed all the time between trips.

[miton 5052]

I use a backflip , tow with the front part down no clearance issues on my megacab

[grampachet]

I tried the tri fold and they leak in the pacific North rain. I sent it back. I now have the truxedo roll up and use a piece of plywood laying on the rails of the roll up with the front edge secured under the adjustment screws and the edge by the hitch held in place with clamps works great for me, keeps things hid and sorta dry when towing.
I have a short bed and the trifold was too big too and my hitch would hit the cover if I made even the slightest turn.