Well, it happened again. Go on a long trip with the Ford OH-fficial Harley soft tonneau cover, and those blasted stupid plastic corner pieces broke again. I looked at the old design, and made a couple of aluminum angle braces for the rear cross member, where the plastic broke before. No problems there, except this time it broke at the front, and when the slip stream caught it, it tore the cover.

Ford keeps replacing the thing (3rd one), but the idiot engineer that designed this thing has a crooked head or something. I wish they still did neat stuff in high school metal shop, like making a mold and pouring molten aluminum. Simple design...replace the plastic with aluminum.

Anyone have different ideas? I know most of the regulars use a hard cover, but I sometimes use the truck (gasp!!) to haul objects in the bed. Pop the top, roll it up, and good to go. I have a buddy at the shipyard pattern shop here, but the smallest casting they make usually weighs a ton or something, so that won't work.

 

My soft tonneau cover keeps unsnapping at freeway speeds. They will be replacing it, but I don't think that will help because thing seems to be getting too much air pressure in rear third of it due to airflow over the roof of truck and there is no support there. I think knuckleheads did not test it in wind tunnel. If it unsnaps one more time after they replace it I am asking my money back and will get something else, probably one of those designs that are flush and can be remotely (from cabin) rolled back/forth.

ZoranC

 

Hi guys I got one of the Ford covers with the H.D. logo in center and touch wood I have had no problems with it even at 80 mph I think the rails and brackets are a pi*s poor fit though, and when I remove and fit the bar on the back I have to pull the rails together a bit. Thought I had lost one of the nuts that hold the rear bar tight (ha ha) last week but found it next to a drain cover spot of luck huh.

 

Where the rear cross member is at the back, over the tailgate, is where the plastic corners first broke. I cut 2 pieces of aluminum angle, drilled a hole, then put the 5/16 nut into the channel, and tightened it up. Put some padded tape on the underside. The angles keep the tension from the cover from rolling the crossmember, which caused the plastic to break to start with. Guess the forces transferred the stress to the front.
But, you can tell they never did wind tunnel testing on it. So, 2 more pieces of angle until i can find something stronger than the plastic.

 

Sometimes I have had it unsnap at as low as 70mph, sometimes at 80, sometimes at 90, and some other times it is not unsnapping at those same speeds. Go figure.

Bottom line, I have paid good money for this piece of <BLEEP>, I did not get it for free, and I expect it work as advertised without me having to work in any way on it.

It is obvious from our experiences that this tonneau cover is defective in design. Therefore I am not willing to risk it unsnapping again and possibly damaging something, causing accident, or hurting someone. I will print this discussion out, take it to dealership and demand a refund.

ZoranC

 

Rube,

Give me a detailed design drawing. We do alot with aluminum, I'll see what I can do.

Mike