Help deciding on a rolling Tonneau

Ranger1701

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Hi Ranger Forums,
I need some help deciding which tonneau cover to get for my new Ranger. I want something quite sturdy and it needs to lock, as I frequent areas that may be unsavory and I'll be carrying quite a lot of stuff in the bed. That leads to me believe a rolling, locking, hard cover is probably my best option. The folding ones just seem like you could pop them open too easy (but please correct me here if I'm wrong).

I'm considering the Embark, directly from Ford. I'm also considering the Retrax One MX, which is a lot cheaper.

A couple of questions:
  1. Is there a significant difference between these two? Or am I really just paying extra for a Ford logo?
  2. Will both of these lock and secure with a descent amount of protection?
  3. Are they both waterproof?
  4. Are both fairly easy to install for a capable DIY girl?
  5. Does anyone strongly recommend one over the other and if so, why?
  6. Some Ford dealers are offering the Embark at a 20% discount, which is a lot! Do these go on sale often and can I use the sale price from one Ford dealer to get the same deal at another, even if the other dealer is in another state?
  7. Should I get Line-X before or after getting the tonneau?
  8. Finally, would this one work just as good as these other two? It doesn't seem to lock and it looks soft.
Thanks in advance!
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FoD

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Hi Ranger Forums,
I need some help deciding which tonneau cover to get for my new Ranger. I want something quite sturdy and it needs to lock, as I frequent areas that may be unsavory and I'll be carrying quite a lot of stuff in the bed. That leads to me believe a rolling, locking, hard cover is probably my best option. The folding ones just seem like you could pop them open too easy (but please correct me here if I'm wrong).

I'm considering the Embark, directly from Ford. I'm also considering the Retrax One MX, which is a lot cheaper.

A couple of questions:
  1. Is there a significant difference between these two? Or am I really just paying extra for a Ford logo?
  2. Will both of these lock and secure with a descent amount of protection?
  3. Are they both waterproof?
  4. Are both fairly easy to install for a capable DIY girl?
  5. Does anyone strongly recommend one over the other and if so, why?
  6. Some Ford dealers are offering the Embark at a 20% discount, which is a lot! Do these go on sale often and can I use the sale price from one Ford dealer to get the same deal at another, even if the other dealer is in another state?
  7. Should I get Line-X before or after getting the tonneau?
  8. Finally, would this one work just as good as these other two? It doesn't seem to lock and it looks soft.
Thanks in advance!
Mine came with the fold up hard cover from ford. They had to install it as it had not been done before I bought. I got the line-x installed same time. If you can do both, I'd do it that way, otherwise I'd do the Bedliner first then you don't have the ding scratch chip gouge worries.

good luck
 

CWO2LT

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My truck came with the Embark from Ford and I've been extremely happy with. It was installed by the dealer after I had the bed sprayed with Line-X. The main drawback is that you lose almost a foot of bed space at the cab end due to the box for the roll up. The only leaks I've had have been from the mega gaps at the tailgate.
 
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Ranger1701

Ranger1701

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Mine came with the fold up hard cover from ford. They had to install it as it had not been done before I bought. I got the line-x installed same time. If you can do both, I'd do it that way, otherwise I'd do the Bedliner first then you don't have the ding scratch chip gouge worries.

good luck
Do you mean this one? Do you like it and does it seem sturdy and secure? It doesn't really 'lock', or does it? I worry that you could slide your hand in there and just pop the wire holding it in place. Is it waterproof?
 
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Ranger1701

Ranger1701

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The main drawback is that you lose almost a foot of bed space at the cab end due to the box for the roll up.
I was worried about that, too! Has been it been a major issue?

The only leaks I've had have been from the mega gaps at the tailgate.
:oops: Had not considered that! It looks like there's a lip over the tailgate. Is there no rubber seal?
 


CWO2LT

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I was worried about that, too! Has been it been a major issue?



:oops: Had not considered that! It looks like there's a lip over the tailgate. Is there no rubber seal?
There is a rubber seal on top of the tailgate when it closes, I'm talking about the side gaps between the tailgate and the truck bed. Losing the bed space from the cover hasn't been an issue for me because I've never really had to haul anything that was long enough to need the entire bed length.
 

RangersLeadTheWay

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RetraxONE MX owner here. To piggyback off of @CWO2LT the only leak I have is at the gap on the top part of the tailgate (probably something weather strips can fix). You also lose about a foot of tailgate space on the cab side due to the canister that holds the cover in place when retracted. Sounds like the items are pretty comparable and will probably come down to user preference. Last but not least, I highly recommend getting the line-x installed first unless you really want to reinstall your tonneau cover again ??‍♂
 

LightingBlue

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Retrax Pro owner here. The thing that makes this the deal is built in track system. Obviously you pay to play here as you need the spendy rolling/locking cover, then whatever equipment/bars/tie downs you want for the railing. But this is the way we went and it's been superb.

With this system we can fully load the bed (6' becomes about 5.2' bed with the box for the rolling cover) and also put oversized objects above the cover. This was perfect for traveling and is only limited by what equipment you get to use the bed rails (Yakima brand is direct fit with zero modification needed and a huge assortment of options)

Zero leaks, solid locking mechanism, easy install (took the two of us about 2 hours to install, and we had never even used a cover before, let alone installed one. This is a shared account with the GF and I)

Note that we used the eyebolts as tie-down spots for ratchet straps for anything we put on the bars such as bikes, and when we had a massive pile of blackberry trimmings in the bed, you can throw a tarp over the whole thing, then save your arms by using the bed-rail tie downs instead of having to dig down into the bed for the low-mounted factory tie-downs.

To scale, that bike with both wheels on is over 8' long, so it's no laughing matter to have both bikes fit on the same rack! Thankfully there is a Rack-N-Road nearby and they helped with the catalog.

track system.jpg
track system 2.jpg
RuffCycles.jpg




RoadTripRanger.jpg


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FoD

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Do you mean this one? Do you like it and does it seem sturdy and secure? It doesn't really 'lock', or does it? I worry that you could slide your hand in there and just pop the wire holding it in place. Is it waterproof?
It locks into place when tailgate locks, but a crowbar will open it right up. It really will just stop casual theft not a determined adversary and haven't had any rain or car wash to speak on leaks. Can't slide hand underneath to open that way, but doesn't mean much.
 

Czaplewskin

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I've owned 3 hard locking tonneau covers from Undercover. They have been all A++++. Leak proof, can't break into them, lightweight to remove by myself, able to hang on garage wall with included hooks, & support hundreds of lbs. of weight on top. Also leakproof. Approx. $800 & I self Installed all of them.

I'm looking into the Ford hard folding one so for Christmas I don't have to actually remove it when we cut down our tree :)

Does anyone have any feedback on the Ford OEM hard locking, folding tonneau?
 

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This is what I ended up with for around $730: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZQR9TPB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I absolutely love it. I had some water leakage from one of the drain tubes, but it isn't much and I'm going to seal it with some silicone when I get a chance. I may also be getting a little water through the front but I'm not 100% sure; there is a rubber flap on the front of the box to help seal that area off but I'm not clear if it's working or not. You definitely need a touch of patience and two people for the installation, but it wasn't horrible.
 

LightingBlue

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This is what I ended up with for around $730: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZQR9TPB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I absolutely love it. I had some water leakage from one of the drain tubes, but it isn't much and I'm going to seal it with some silicone when I get a chance. I may also be getting a little water through the front but I'm not 100% sure; there is a rubber flap on the front of the box to help seal that area off but I'm not clear if it's working or not. You definitely need a touch of patience and two people for the installation, but it wasn't horrible.
That is not aerospace grade aluminum. that thickness wouldn't be required unless structural, you wouldn't coat it as such, and there is no way at that price point they are using 2024-T3 grade aluminum.

They don't even list the grade of aluminum used!
 

Glocker

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That is not aerospace grade aluminum. that thickness wouldn't be required unless structural, you wouldn't coat it as such, and there is no way at that price point they are using 2024-T3 grade aluminum.

They don't even list the grade of aluminum used!
I'm not too concerned with the thickness of the aluminum. Each slat isn't a flat piece; it's extruded with a structure to it and each slat is hollow through the middle with an end cap. The cover has been great thus far and I'd buy it again if I had another truck needing a cover.

20200620_134248-jpg.jpg
 

Raul R.

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I'm not too concerned with the thickness of the aluminum. Each slat isn't a flat piece; it's extruded with a structure to it and each slat is hollow through the middle with an end cap. The cover has been great thus far and I'd buy it again if I had another truck needing a cover.

20200620_134248-jpg.jpg
I'm looking at getting the same cover for my lariat but I have a bedliner and I can't figure out if that would be a problem when installing the cover? Based on the install you did. Do you see any issues I might have?

R.
 

Glocker

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I'm looking at getting the same cover for my lariat but I have a bedliner and I can't figure out if that would be a problem when installing the cover? Based on the install you did. Do you see any issues I might have?

R.
I've got the factory installed bed liner in my truck and it installed without issues. I'm still loving this cover, by the way. It's a huge value.
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