Extang Full-Tilt Troubles - Anyone Else?

[OhioLariat]

Well, with the warm spell this weekend (65°), I went out and installed my Extang Full Tilt tonneau cover. I had a few issues, and wondered if anyone else has, as well. First of all, I want to say I had a Tuff Tono III on my 2000 Ranger several years ago, and, although I only had the truck a short time, I really liked it. Extang did, though, have to ship me out a replacement tarp, as the one in the box was for an S-10, and not a Ranger. (I think I still have that tarp out in the shed.) They did so quickly, and included a T-shirt, and some Tonno Tonic for my trouble. Fast forward to this past weekend. I installed the bed-mounted portion, and front-rail assembly, got the whole frame squared, corner braces installed, and lift struts put in. Went to install the bows, and no dice on the front and rear ones. They are too long, and will not compress far enough to fit over the mounting point (and the center one required a fair amount of force to "spring" the frame outward far enough to fit). The bows are the perfect length when fully compressed, I just needed an additional 3/8" or so to get them over the mounting "tangs." Well, I didn't want to leave it half done, as I knew it was going to get cold again, so I discombobulated the front and rear rails, inserted the bows, then fastened things back together again. Forget getting the bows out without disassembling things. I gave length measurements to the CS rep, and he says they're correct. (I wonder what it will do to my warranty if I cut them down 3/8".) Then I stretched out the tarp, and began snapping. MAN what a PITA. To be fair, I was using the "summer" position on the snaps, but would have had a devil of a time in the "looser" position as well. The main trouble was fastening the tailgate end. The sides were tight, but manageable. I put a space heater in the bed, and turned it up, and that gave me just enough slack to get it on UNTIL..... The back rail is missing two snaps! I also then noticed a 3/8" gap between the tailgate and the frame, and this morning found a 1/4" gap at the front. Extang's customer support is sending me the snaps and some additional weather strip, but they're 0 for 2 in "easy and complete" in my book. Too bad I've had these issues with what is otherwise such a high-quality product. Summing up: - Two missing snaps - Bows will require frame dis-assembly whenever i want to remove them. - Gap at the tailgate - Gap at the front (which will require removal of the bed-mounted rail). Am I just the "lucky" one? Thanks for the rant-space. Andy '99 Flare-Side Lariat

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