RE: Tonneau Covers?

From: Sevrence, Sean (S.J.) (ssevrenc@visteon.com)
Date: Wed Jan 31 2001 - 09:16:46 EST


I have the original Extang tonneau cover (made in Ann Arbor MI - Go Blue!)
that I bought in '92 for my '92 DAK. This tonneau has over 250,000mi on her
and still looks good and performs like new. I have just moved it to my '01
(have to like reusability!).

Strong points:
- support beams fit over ridges by bending the beams (positive locking
mechanism)
- snaps are off center to allow for loosening/tightening of cover for
weather
- new snap design (only 2 piece vs. 3 originally) to minimize breakage
- fantastic customer service

Weak points:
- same as all tonneau covers: when you roll them up for access to the bed,
the rails are still in place that could scratch what your are loading
- at highway speeds, the support beams could invert themselves forming a
pocket of air on top. This increases the forces on the snaps which could
make them fail. My solution was to create a T-shaped brace out of wood to
support the beam such that it can not bend towards the bed.

Hope this helps!

Sean
'92 RC Sport 3.9L 5spd - 250,000mi!
'01 CC SLT+ 4.7L 5spd 3.92 LSD Mobil1!

-----Original Message-----
From: WPG [mailto:wpgottes@worldnet.att.net]
Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2001 8:27 AM
To: dakota-truck@buffnet.net
Subject: DML: Tonneau Covers?

What kind of cover do you have on your truck? What are its good and bad
points? I'm getting ready to purchase one for my 99. I'm thinking along the
lines of Gaylord but want some input from owners of various makes.

Thanks

Paul Gottes



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