Any problems running fiberglass bed cover off road?

[IRONMAN]

Thanks for the info Ironman. What bracket did you add to it? The one that clamps the frame of the cover to the bedside? Other than the annoyance of it coming open, did you have any other problems? The plan is to secure everything into the bed by strapping it down, so the only forces on the Leer cover should be the cover itself. I wonder if there is a way to sort of latch it down so it doesn't open on it's own if you catch air. I'm thinking something pretty simple (and possibly not even effective) like a suction cup with tie down point on it on the top of the back of the lid and run a rope or strap down to the rear tow hooks? Might be kind of cheesy, but it might also prevent from having to stop all the time to close the dang cover!

I purchased another pair of frame/rail brackets and added it to the middle.
If you look on my bottom picture you will see 3 black flat looking things on each side. Yes it clamps it to the bed rail, this stopped my whole cover from vibrating itself off the truck.
With just the 2 on each side you would notice the cover hanging a couple inches off the back.
My cover bounces a lot because it has 4 scissor hinges that actually pick up the cover and move it away from the truck cab, it does
not have a solid hinge in the front.
These hinges allow this cover to bounce a bit too much while off road.

The one thing you could do is get a bungee cord and hook it on your trucks tie down hook. Short bungee to give tension.

Put one on both sides and hook them to the latching bar of the cover.
This will give your cover that extra pull down so it doesn't open.
Bellow you can see my broken cover hooks.

 

[TheButcher]

The bungee cords are a good idea. I think the strap through the bottom of the tailgate will work well too. Might be a bit more of a pain to open, but should keep the cover in place pretty good. Thanks again for your input.

 

[JJ f150harley]

I have scratches through the paint on both sides due to a fiberglass cover. It was held in by 3 clamps on each side, plus a strap around it on the outside. Its an action cover.

 

[TheButcher]

I have scratches through the paint on both sides due to a fiberglass cover. It was held in by 3 clamps on each side, plus a strap around it on the outside. Its an action cover.

Hmm, that sucks. What brand is the cover? I'll take a look at how this one hangs over and see if it looks like the edges would rub like yours did.

 

[JJ f150harley]

It was an action cover. And yea it sucks, have to have both bedsides painted now, quoted $730 a side.

The only thing that would have helped would have to put the door trim protector plastic all the way along the cover.

 

[TheButcher]

It was an action cover. And yea it sucks, have to have both bedsides painted now, quoted $730 a side.

The only thing that would have helped would have to put the door trim protector plastic all the way along the cover.

I was thinking the same thing in terms of putting some sort of buffer in there. I'll take a look and see if that is going to be an issue with this Leer. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[JJ f150harley]

Good luck hopefully this will save you $1400 in paint.

 

[svt_reid]

ive had the same problem with my cover contacting the bedsides. i just touched it up the best i could. its definitely not the best for offroading. i just keep a very close check on it to make sure it isnt shifting any and keep the clamps tightened down HARD. or just take it off before any hardcore stuff. takes about three minutes. id sell mine in a heartbeat though and go another route if i could. its a nice cover, but just not really fitting for an offroad truck

 

[JJ f150harley]

ive had the same problem with my cover contacting the bedsides. i just touched it up the best i could. its definitely not the best for offroading. i just keep a very close check on it to make sure it isnt shifting any and keep the clamps tightened down HARD. or just take it off before any hardcore stuff. takes about three minutes. id sell mine in a heartbeat though and go another route if i could. its a nice cover, but just not really fitting for an offroad truck

That's what I did and still had the issue. The cover now hangs above the truck as I bought a truxedo soft roll up so I put my ATV in the bed. The soft one is worlds better.

 

[boarder1995]

I've got a DiamondBack aluminum cover that folds up front and back with hinges in the middle. It uses the clamps, but I'll be adding thru bolts on the top of the bed rails. I've also got ratchet straps to help. Without the straps while hard off-roading, the cover moves around and gets off center. Not good. Also, my cover sits on top of the bed rails and does not wrap down and around, so no paint damage likely. My hope is to off-road with it on, but I'm also getting Fox3.0, bumps, Deavers, etc, so my offroading may get a little more intense.