Retrax cover

anyone with a retrax cover ?? Considering getting one but wanted to get some reviews / opinions first. What material did you go with the polycarbonate or aluminum? Any other covers that are just as good maybe less expensive? Any feedback would be great

Thank you

 

Or just go with a cap???? Close in price

 

Never heard of Retrax.

Bakflip is popular though.

 

Retrax

 

I have heard of backflip also looking for feedback if you anyone owns these thanks again.

 

I'm getting one of these very soon. One man on and off, about $850 with front slider and side radius windows, direct from the manufacturer in PA.

http://rangertruckcaps.com/deluxe.html

 

I have had a Roll-n-Lock retractable cover installed on my 2005 Tacoma PreRunner (crew cab, long bed) for over 10 years. This cover has aluminum slats with a vinyl top skin. There is a foam layer between the aluminum and the vinyl. It's a great cover. The truck is never garaged. The only maintenance that I have done is to open the top of the canister (four screws) about twice a year and remove the detritus that has accumulated inside. Pine needles, small leaves and seed pods can slip under the barrier which otherwise keeps larger junk out. Really tiny stuff will flush out through the drain holes, but eventually the drains get covered by leaves and need to be manually cleaned. It's not much of a task, and I usually use the garden hose to flush the interior of the canister thoroughly.

The bed has remained pretty dry in general. I've never had a problem with the torsion spring mechanism. As with any retractable cover, snow poses an issue, but that is rare enough here that it is not a negative. One drawback is the vinyl surface. Up to two months ago, no problem. However after a hail storm in March, the vinyl has numerous scars, allowing some water to penetrate inside. I live in the south, and part of the extent of the hail damage can be attributed to UV degrading the vinyl over time. Using a product like 303 may have helped, but that is a maintenance detail that I neglected.

Which brings me to my current situation of replacing the cover. Roll-n-Lock has a different model now, so replacing the cover alone may not be possible. The price differential between a repair and simply buying a new unit has me leaning toward a complete replacement. The RetraxONE and RetraxPRO are both suitable. I have decided not to go with the Roll-n-Lock due to the vinyl/UV issue. The RetraxONE has a polycarbonate deck, reinforced by aluminum. It is one piece, not multiple slats hooked together. There is a limited lifetime warranty, whereas other covers have a 1-3 year warranty. It does not have a torsion spring, so you have to move the cover by hand. It appears to be easy to do, enabled by stainless steel ball-bearing rollers. As the cover retracts into the canister, the rollers are guided by a spiral channel, which serves to keep the cover's surfaces from touching and getting scratched. The locking mechanism looks excellent, and one can lock the cover in place at any position along the rails. One other feature is the way debris is kept out of the canister. The drain tubes are larger diameter, which will aid in preventing any clogs.

The RetraxPRO is an aluminum version, with a powder coated surface. It is considerably more expensive, but may be the right option for you.

The tailgate of my Tacoma does not have a lock, so to secure either of these covers I will need to retrofit it.

Hope this helps.

https://www.realtruck.com/retractable-tonneau-covers/toyota/tacoma/2005/?sort=8

 

Going with a Leer Trilogy, simple and easy to take off if you need use of the whole bed. Went down to the local bed cover spot where they had samples, Leer turned out the most robust with just a little more cost than the BakFlip

 

Had mine for over 2 years now. Excellent product. Very robust and we'll enginerred.

 

Zero maintenance. From -20 to 35 degreed Celsius. Always works well. Sides are aluminum powder coated gloss black and cover is a HD thick plastic. So even if you scratch the hell out of the cover it'll still be black rather than silver aluminum underneath. Think the cover is rated for like 300 pounds of direct weight.

 

PistolPete - It sounds like you have the RetraxONE. That's the one that looks best for me. I'll probably get the matte finish.

Thanks for mentioning the scratches showing up with the powder coated aluminum covers. Hadn't thought of that.

 

The aluminum sides have enough meat on the flats to add on a custom removeable custom bed rack also

 

Nice rack!!

I've got a Thule roof rack for hauling canoes. It's a bit of a pain to load by myself though.

 

I've got the RetraxPro Mx and it's working out great for me so far. I needed something secure and waterproof and this fits the bill. The first couple of months I had the cover installed it leaked a little when it rained really hard. When I say leak I'm talking about a cup of water total, and it just leaked down the sides near the tailgate. Although, after the very first rain I had beads of water forming on the bottom side of the "ribs" but I have never seen that since then. No water in the bed after the last several heavy rains.

 

I had a retrax on both of my CTDs. I loved it, but after time there must have been some steel in the rollers as it eventually started to corrode down the sides of the bed on the linex. This truck was garaged at home and work, but also driven in plenty of rain & snow.

It leaked minimally as said, and it was strong enough to hold 200lbs. Potentially more on a tacoma, given smaller size.

 

TRD493 - Do you think that the beads of water forming on the bottom side of the ribs might be from condensation due to a temperature differential inside the closed bed and the outside air? You would probably see it when it has been humid or if some water had leaked into the bed, raising the humidity within the enclosed space. With the polycarbonate cover, it would likely take longer to dissipate any condensation than it would with an aluminum cover, due to the latter conducting heat better.

TacoBoy - Did you have the corrosion problem for both of the covers? They advertise stainless steel ball bearings and aluminum cross members, neither of which should rust. The condensation which TRD493 mentioned could be a source of moisture which would lead to corrosion of any steel parts which are not adequately protected. Road salt may also be a factor. With as little snow as we have here, salt is not a factor for me, but it might help explain why you had corrosion.

 

Maybe, I really didn't pay attention to what the temperature and humidity levels were so I couldn't say for sure. I do believe it took some time to "break" in though. After about a month the bed rail gasket seemed to be seated better than when I first installed it. So maybe the tiny rubber seals between each slat just needed to sit out in the sun for a bit? Now that it's starting to get hot outside the cover itself gets very hot to the touch (duh, it's black!) and inside of the bed gets pretty warm if that matters to guys who store/keep stuff in there 24/7.

 

When my Roll-n-Lock is closed, it can get pretty hot inside. Not a good place for your computer. Every year when the swim team has their end-of-the-summer banquet, I always volunteer to pick up the food because I can park in the sun and keep the food heated in the back of the truck.

I've watched several videos about installing the RetraxONE, and it has been mentioned that one should wait 48 hours after installation for the seals to conform. They say that the cover will slide easier after the break-in period.

 

I have a the private label Gatortrax which is a Retrax besides a sticker. I like it. I had it in my Titan and enjoyed the cover.

sometimes the locking hinge won't close at every location they claim easily but no big deal.