Tonneau Cover confusion....

Pijetro · 08-14-2007, 08:55 PM

Hey boys and girls,

Sorry for a head dive into the posts, but i've been on a roller coaster ride the last few days....
Purchased a Demo 2007 in Illinois, and am flying from Buffalo to pick up my fifth child on Aug.25/07..
(My Ruger Win .243, Two boys, a Girl, and the latest addition to my family. An '07 Titan CC LE Silver mist...)

I'll expand on the experience in the Canadian forums soon enough...

As far as tonneau covers go, I find one very common theme.....
Ask three people's opinions, and you'll get three different answers. Tonneau covers are very hard to choose...

But it seems like the Extang Trifecta seems to be a big hit. A local seller swears by it's ease of use and quality...I'll lean to the Trifecta soon enough.
Anyhoo......
I've got a bed extender in the truck, and i'm assuming that it rides on the bottom two rails of the bed...

Question:
Do the tonneau owners here suggest using the Utilitrac system for mounting, or would you prefer to use the top of the bed?
That being said, the most important factor being, does the bed extender lay below the side tracs, that it shouldn't interfere???

Thanx so much!!!

Titan_LE · 08-15-2007, 08:19 AM

Welcome to Tonneau hell. I researched forever and finally got the one I am very happy with (see signature). It serves my needs very nicely.

Here are some comments for you:

The bed extender rides on the side rails near the top of the bed.

There is an extention thing you can get that will allow the extender to clear the hardware by making the extender more narrow.

I believe the trifecta requires you to flip the rails upside down to mount it. This will make using any adjustable utilitrack accessories unusable. The bed divider will not work and the extender will, but it will not be level. I had a need to use a divider so I did not get the trifecta.

From what I read, some TT members have made some modified mounting system to mount the trifecta with the utilitrack in the regular position.

On a side note: My tonneau rides on top of the bed and clamps in the utilitrack. Currently, there are adapters that slide in the utilitrack, but they have developed a new clamp that will clamp into the utilitrack without adapters. I like this since when it is off, the utilitrack will be fully functional.

hth

**Blackbeauty** · 08-15-2007, 08:27 AM

Titan LE, you are slightly confused between the Trifecta and the Bakflip. The Bakflip requires you to reverse your Utilitrac rails, NOT the Trifecta.

That said, yes, the Trifecta attaches to the top Utilitrac rails via hardware that comes with it, PROVIDED you order the Trifecta for U-T equipped trucks. It's free, you just have to tell them you have the Utilitrac.

At present, the Trifecta has mounts that slide into the trac. They are easily removed if necessary. I will have to look into the quick-release ones that Titan LE mentioned. That would be a bit easier.

And yes, the bed extender lies completely below the top utilitrac so no interference will be experienced. I use mine all the time, and love both the extender and the Trifecta.

Good luck with your truck, and welcome to the forum!

Titan_LE · 08-15-2007, 08:36 AM

Blackbeauty,

Thanks for clearing up my confusion. After a while, they all blended together.

**Blackbeauty** · 08-15-2007, 08:39 AM

I agree. They start to look the same after a bit. I've just been around this place a bit longer, and obviously spend way too much time here.... Part of the territory, I suppose.

royr · 08-15-2007, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pijetro

Hey boys and girls,

Sorry for a head dive into the posts, but i've been on a roller coaster ride the last few days....
Purchased a Demo 2007 in Illinois, and am flying from Buffalo to pick up my fifth child on Aug.25/07..
(My Ruger Win .243, Two boys, a Girl, and the latest addition to my family. An '07 Titan CC LE Silver mist...)

I'll expand on the experience in the Canadian forums soon enough...

As far as tonneau covers go, I find one very common theme.....
Ask three people's opinions, and you'll get three different answers. Tonneau covers are very hard to choose...

But it seems like the Extang Trifecta seems to be a big hit. A local seller swears by it's ease of use and quality...I'll lean to the Trifecta soon enough.
Anyhoo......
I've got a bed extender in the truck, and i'm assuming that it rides on the bottom two rails of the bed...

Question:
Do the tonneau owners here suggest using the Utilitrac system for mounting, or would you prefer to use the top of the bed?
That being said, the most important factor being, does the bed extender lay below the side tracs, that it shouldn't interfere???

Thanx so much!!!

The Truxedo Low Pro works well with the utilitrack system
and if you install the fastners one all four corners you have full use of the bed divider as well as the bed extender. So far I have put almost 5000 miles on my new one and have not had any issues related to not installing the two middle clamps that interfear with the bed divider. Truxedo only uses 4 clamps on the same cover for the Fronteer - which has a longer bed than my 2005 CC. So far - so good. Nice and tight with no leaks. I will post and let you know if it flies off the truck using it this way.

Pijetro · 08-15-2007, 10:19 AM

Thanks all!!!

Firstly, how's about killing some of my preconceived notions...

A)Does the bed extender move along the Utili Trak system, or is it bolted at the end of the bed??
I was hoping to use it as a cheap man's divider....

B)Why would anybody order the Trifecta with Utili Trak hardware, when it renders the railing system useless??

I was hoping that somehow, i could keep the gate up, have the tonneau on top, and use the bed extender as a divider...
After that, i'd like to eat my cake too....

A picture's worth a thousand words...(Riser bars removed)...

**Blackbeauty** · 08-15-2007, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pijetro

Thanks all!!!

Firstly, how's about killing some of my preconceived notions...

A)Does the bed extender move along the Utili Trak system, or is it bolted at the end of the bed??
I was hoping to use it as a cheap man's divider....

B)Why would anybody order the Trifecta with Utili Trak hardware, when it renders the railing system useless??

I was hoping that somehow, i could keep the gate up, have the tonneau on top, and use the bed extender as a divider...
After that, i'd like to eat my cake too....

A picture's worth a thousand words...(Riser bars removed)...

The bed extender that comes with the trucks that have Utili-trac, has a set of adjustable slider brackets so you can position the extender anywhere in the bed. I do it all the time.

The Utili-trac is not "rendered useless" with the Trifecta. There are two small brackets near the rear that must be removed ONLY if you want to slide stuff all the way to the rear of the trac. Otherwise, you have 7/8 of the Utili-trac that you can use unimpaired.

And I do exactly as you hope to do, all the time. I never take my extender out. With the Trifecta in place, the tailgate locked, it's as secure as in my garage. I use it as a stop to keep the groceries near the tailgate and keep stuff from flying up towards the bulkhead.

Overall, I would say the impairment of the Utili-trac system by this tonneau is minimal. I keep the end-stay wrench and allen wrench in my truck if I ever need to make an adjustment while on the road. They take up virtually no room inside the cab of my truck, and I have never considered 2 minutes to remove a bracket an inconvenience.

Pijetro · 08-15-2007, 11:10 AM

SOLD!!!!

Any place in Chicago (Skokie), or Internet vendors that you can suggest for pick up or delivery???
Reliable, and cost friendly?

**Blackbeauty** · 08-15-2007, 11:12 AM

I got mine at a parts store local to me. Saved mucho dinero that way. I only paid $269 when it was a weekly special. The store is part of the DriverFx network and they have a website you can check for vendors in your area. Someone recently said that Autoanything was selling them for $329 I believe.

Herbpov · 08-15-2007, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pijetro

SOLD!!!!

Any place in Chicago (Skokie), or Internet vendors that you can suggest for pick up or delivery???
Reliable, and cost friendly?

Auto Anything has them. 329.95 for Vinyl or 369.95 for Canvas. Free shipping. I got a Extang Express from them and pleased with their price and service.

Titan_LE · 08-15-2007, 11:35 AM

I tried to use the extender as a bed divider too. It works to some degree, but the fender well does get in the way so you do not have unlimited location points for the extender so I bought a divider as well.

Actually, I ended up with two dividers. Bid on eBay thinking I would lose and bought one here with my eBay bid still out there. I ended up winning so I have two. If you end up wanting one let me know. I have not tried to sell the extra one yet.

cneary812 · 08-15-2007, 11:58 AM

just to throw another one at you I have the Access Larado and I love it. I ended up screwing it to the bed since the clamps just didn't cut it. I have had it on over a year and it is 100% leak free and even holds up to snow and ice nicely. My bed extender rubs the rails a bit when I slide it all over the wheel wells but it still goes over with little effort. I have 100% use of my utilitrac and the bed if i roll it up and strap it securely. They also have the best warrenty for soft covers.