They changed the seals on the ARC a while back. You might call them and see if they will send new ones to you for free.

It should not come open on bumpy roads, the cover is out of position. Chances are the rails are too far apart at the tailgate. With the tailgate up and the cover closed, try to move the cover left and right, it should not move more than 1/16".

Here's your problem, the lock is not engaging the lock block enough.

 

Even though the ARC is not perfect I still think it is the best retractable top available right now. The cloth type tape on the underside should be easy enough to replace if / when it needs it.

Unless I find somethng better in the next few days I will be buying a new one for my F150.

Greg

 

See my new thread regarding the new RetraxPro cover.

 

Anyone have some experience with the Roll-N-Lock?? I just bought one and wondering about any flaws or upkeep that the cover needs. I can't seem to find many threads with this cover.

thanks

 

I'm getting pretty close to making a decision between a Pace Edwards and an ARC. One question I have for those of you that own an ARC, does it do a decent job of keeping dust out of the bed?

Everytime I go camping everything in the bed of my truck gets dirty and I was hoping this cover would keep my stuff clean.

 

My Roll'N'Lock will not fit my truck because it is for the 6'6" bed.... It's for sale in the classified section.

 

I have a Roll-N-Lock E series and have been very happy with it. But, I caveat that with the fact that I have only had it for a month. It is waterproof thus far. It doesn't rain a lot where I am, but I took it through a high pressure car wash, and the only water that got in was at the back of the bed. It's possible that it came in at the cover to tailgate seal, but I think it more likely that the leak was between the bed and tailgate. It sits pretty flat, and is probably quieter than any of the other retractable covers because of the vinyl. When looking at it in the rear view, it has the normal "bouncy" look of any retractable cover. It does need protectorant applied periodically, but its not really harder than washing an aluminum top, which I would be doing with other covers anyway.

One known issue with them is that the access lid to the cannister/motor has a poorly designed quick release latch that has been known to pop open at high speeds. I did not ask what it does to your truck if that happens since I intended to remedy it immediately. It is easily fixed with a screw on either side of the lid. Its easy enough to pull the screws if a reset is needed or to clean it though.

The motor protection mechanism is also somewhat sensitive. I was testing it with something higher than the bed rail and just let the cover open into it. I thought it would sit there and run for a second before it tripped, but I pushed the stop button about half a second after the cover hit it. It didn't matter because the motor stopped almost instantly. If this happens, the cover will not move via the motor until the access lid is opened and the reset button pressed. It still works manually. I suppose this is preferable to burning up the motor.

The movement both extending and retracting is pretty smooth and nearly silent. It has a very slight hitch when it first starts, but that's it. The range on the remote fob sucks. If I had one issue with this cover, that would be it. It probably has a 10-15 foot reliable range. I guess the thinking is that why do you need to open your bed if you aren't near it. But, a couple of times, I walked off, forgot to close it, and had to walk back right next to it to get it to close. It would be nice if the range was as good as the Ford factory remote lock. Both extend and retract do work with homelink, though. This came in handy one time when I was driving down the highway and realized I had a streamer of blue paper towels coming from my bed. Rather than hunt for the button on the fob hanging from the ignition, I just hit the homelink. The opening from inside is less useful unless you want to cover a tailgater with a load of manure or something (I dont recommend manure on a bedrug by the way). When I have a second garage door, I will probably do away with retract on the homelink.

The light built into it is somewhat useful, but it could and probably should be much better. If you really want light in your bed to be able to pick out colors or work by, this is not it. However, I plan to look into doing an LED mod to it. If this pans out and makes it better, I will certainly let everyone know.

All of the other features, manual release, etc, work as advertised.

I cannot compare this to any other retractable covers because I haven't owned them. I did ask the opinion of the vendor where I got mine though specifically regarding electric covers. He told me that he has the pace edwards one on his personal truck and it is NFG, that he constantly has issues with it. If I heard him correctly, he said something about gears stripping on the motor. He said his customers have had very few issues with the Roll-N-Lock other than the access cover problem I previously mentioned. And, I should mention that the Roll-N-Lock is cheaper, so he was not just trying to sell me the more expensive product.

The major downside to this thing is obviously the price tag north of $2000. Almost everyone is happy with their retractable cover when they first get it, so only time will tell if this one is worth it.

Anyway, I wrote way more than I intended to here, but now anyone who is looking into one should have good info to base their decision off of. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

You paid more than $2K for a RollNLock E-Series? You paid too much, it's significantly under $2K at my shop.

 

And is it still under $2000 after sales tax and installation?

 

I only ask TruckGasm because I have some friends in the Dallas area that I might send your way if that is the case. But, I am guessing the lack of answer means it is not??

 

I'm not allowed to post prices, so let me just say that with installation and sales tax, the price is under $2,000 for a RetraxPro for a short bed truck.

 

Thanks. Is it also under $2000 for the RollNLock E series?

 

why would you not consider roll-n-lock?

i think the roll-n-lock for the extra short ford bed, for the super crew trucks, is around $1000..maybe $1500, i dont remember. I paid $275 for mine second hand. There were parts missing. I bought the strap, locking mechanism with keys, and the tail gate guide for $75 with shipping from roll-n-lock. was a great dead in my opinion.