Aftermarket Tonneau Covers?

[eaglerugby04]

I want to be super clear, in my raising the point that the clamp's overlap of bearing surfaces isn't as beefy as I would like it to be, I was and am not trying in any way to trash the Diamondback company or their product. I intend to get one of their HD covers, and I'll come up with a solution to the clamps that fits my preferences. I just like extreme sturdiness and lots of margin for contingencies, but that's just me.

You are right though, I felt strange during the install. And for the cost of the cover I was honestly a little disappointed with how the install wasn't as seamless as I would like. With the weight they say you can put on this thing I also want to make sure it is semi overbuilt.

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[maxpower220]

How are you like the rough country cover I just saw it for $584 was thinking of getting it

I like it pretty good. Please note that the last panel (near the cab) DOES NOT fold up. It is held down with 4 clamps. The other 2 panels do fold and lock down. If you NEED to fold the cover up a lot to haul things that fill the bed, then you won't be happy. If you just want a solid, hard cover and rarely need the whole bed, it's great.
It fits nicely, it's solid, and it looks great (if you don't mind the textured look instead of smooth).

The cover that was on my F150 looked exactly the same (the last cover did fold and had arms to hold it up though). It worked great for 7 years that I had it. The smaller bed depth on the Gladiator will make a need for the 2 panels to be open using it the way that I do. However, I may need to do that once or twice a month. A few times a year, I will need to remove it for hauling stuff. I can live with that given the much lower cost over the other options.

 

[Barth Vader]

How hard is it to remove when you do take it off? Is it a quick and easy 1-man job?

 

[maxpower220]

Flip back the 2 panels, loosen 4 hand screws and lift off. Less than 1 minute to get off. Probably 3-4 minutes to get back on and aligned. It doesn't weigh much, maybe 35lbs??!?!?

 

[Rubinator919]

Anyone have the Rugged Ridge Armis Soft Rolling cover? I’d like a cover I can completely roll out of the way, but am curious about fit & finish and wind flapping at highway speed.

https://www.quadratec.com/p/rugged-ridge/armis-soft-rolling-bed-cover-jeep-gladiator-jt

 

[Helicopt21]

I just got my Rugged Ridge Armis hard folding cover with Line-X from Amazon. It looks awesome. I love the Line-X matte look with the spray in bed liner. Unfortunately, one of the rails was bent on the end. Just bad packaging. They use a high end cardboard box that has plenty of bubble wrap, but, there should be some foam at the end of the rails, because when they stand the box up, the rails can hit the bottom of the box and bend. The Box says "made in USA" with a big USA flag printed on it, pretty cool. I really love the cover, so, I did an Amazon replacement return and hope to get one without a bent rail pretty fast. I do not want to diss Rugged Ridge, packaging errors are nothing compared to engineering errors. This will be easy for them to address quickly in their packaging.

Hi, Were you able to get the new one installed, hopefully yes. If so does it keep all the water out/weatherproof?
Thanks

 

[jdnunc23]

I absolutely love this cover, number one in my opinion it’s the best looking one out there, and probably the lowest profile model as well. It’s rained at least three times and the inside of my truck bed has stayed completely dry. That includes a hour and a half drive in the rain on the freeway. It even seems to reduce noise as a added plus. You will not be disappointed if you buy this cover.

Love this cover. Mind if I ask what you paid for it? If you installed it, how much of a PIA was it?

 

[Dcoins]

Love this cover. Mind if I ask what you paid for it? If you installed it, how much of a PIA was it?

I want to say 1,100 installed.

 

[WMWHV]

That is a lot better than I thought it was. I asked the company and they told me $2199. I guess the real life price is a lot less than list.

 

[Dcoins]

That is a lot better than I thought it was. I asked the company and they told me $2199. I guess the real life price is a lot less than list.

I’m sorry, I asked my wife and she corrected me as always it was $2227.11 installed.

Either way it’s well worth it...

 

[DrJ]

@Dcoins and @markleone22, looking great!

Any chance you would be able take some pictures/comment on how this mounts?

Looking to see the side/underneath view of the mounting situation at rear of the bed and especially where the canister mounts.

Ideally I want to mount a RTT with a tonneau and this is the best choice for a cover so far, but not sure if I could squeeze in some rack brackets around this tonneau.

Is there room for rack brackets to slide around/under the edges of this system? Are the mounting points for the tonneau fixed or can they be adjusted along the trail rail? I'm sure some custom sealing would need to be done to eliminate water seeping in, but that's not a huge concern. My main concern is if rack brackets could fit around/under this to mount to the trail rail system without affecting functionality. Also, most of the rack systems I'm seeing would likely sit forward in the bed and need to be mounted at/close to the canister. Any pictures you're able to obtain would be greatly appreciated.

Leaning towards the road armor adjustable rack at this time; other considerations are the JCR vs Rebel Xplor racks

TIA,
DrJ
ps. first post here
pps. I have seen pictures of a GMC canyon with the TruckcoversUSA and a rack mounted, but nothing close-up

 

[steffen707]

Many thank eaglerugby, that is incredibly helpful! I have been thinking of using aviation type "L-Track" instead of trail rails
https://www.cargoequipmentcorp.com/interior-van/l-track-systems/heavy-duty-l-track
And it looks to me like I could come up with a way to fasten the Diamondback's clamps to the L-Track, maybe using something like these as an attachment point:
https://www.cargoequipmentcorp.com/Threaded-Double-Stud-Fitting-For-L-Track
I'm not entirely impressed with the clamps shown as supplied by Diamondback- it looks to me like they rely on overlap of the aluminum to keep things aligned (and not rely on twisting force on a long bolt) but it looks like very little of the aluminum actually overlaps - the area I've highlighted in yellow. It probably works but seems like it could be sturdier (all the more reason to make or adapt my own in connection with the L-Track)

DB should take a page from Alu-Cab's book. Look at these, 3 per side! Looks like a solid connection to me.
Sorry its a low res snippet from another photo from this post Tops! Canopy / covers / toppers / racks possibilities for Gladiator - Show me!

 

[eaglerugby04]

DB should take a page from Alu-Cab's book. Look at these, 3 per side! Looks like a solid connection to me.
Sorry its a low res snippet from another photo from this post Tops! Canopy / covers / toppers / racks possibilities for Gladiator - Show me!

Wow those looks so much better!

 

[smlobx]

DB should take a page from Alu-Cab's book. Look at these, 3 per side! Looks like a solid connection to me.
Sorry its a low res snippet from another photo from this post Tops! Canopy / covers / toppers / racks possibilities for Gladiator - Show me!

Steffen I just got off the phone with my sales guy for the Alu-Cab and when I mentioned that the picture he sent me shows the cap being attached to the optional track. I don’t have this option so I’ll be having to get something.

Is this the same replacement and what can I attach them with?
Thanks.
https://www.cargoequipmentcorp.com/...3125 Inch Mounting Holes&l_track_length=46 IN

 

[steffen707]

Steffen I just got off the phone with my sales guy for the Alu-Cab and when I mentioned that the picture he sent me shows the cap being attached to the optional track. I don’t have this option so I’ll be having to get something.

Is this the same replacement and what can I attach them with?
Thanks.
https://www.cargoequipmentcorp.com/Heavy-Duty-L-Track?quantity=1&l_track_profile=Regular&l_track_mounting_option=0.3125 Inch Mounting Holes&l_track_length=46 IN

That is not the same track but some guys are trying to use it. Looks like a lower profile, so I would avoid it for the Alu-Cab.

I've never seen the OEM Jeep rails, but the rails that BuiltRight uses are unistrut 3000. Another guy on here, @Red Hot Sloth made a nice write up on some DIY rails here. Red Hot Sloths Sensible-ish Build

If you got the time and like to tinker, you can save some money. If you want a nice set already done, contact Builtright, https://www.builtrightind.com/jeep-gladiator-products/2020-jeep-gladiator-utility-rail-system

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