Retrax Bed Cover - Diesel Forum

Land_Surveyor · 08-19-2009, 10:43 AM

Folks,
I have Pace Edwards cover and was satisfied untill the joint between the aluinumin strips cought on the piece that guides the cover into the box at the front of the cargo box. The replacement is within $100 of a new cover.
I am looking at a Retrax with the Lexan cover. It seems to be more trouble free than the one I have now in taking care of the vinyl and keeping the trash out of the container at the frot of the cargo box.
Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated.
Thanks

Smokim · 08-20-2009, 12:05 PM

I can tell you more about the cover.

The Lexan slats are shiney (no texture), so if you happen to scratch it, it will show. The tonneau is not spring loaded, so you can move it into any position and lock it. The canister is rather large, but the cover does not roll up upon itself which Retrax seems to think is a good thing. The tonneau does not lock your tailgate closed. The lock comes with a cover to keep junk out of the keyhole. Installation is rather easy and is priced less than most other retractable covers. On some trucks, the rails can cover or partially cover the stake pockets. If you wish, you can order the cover with the stake pockets cut out of the rails. Or, you can order extra wide rails and cover the stake pockets.

Lock cover not shown in this display pic.

short_stuff · 08-20-2009, 06:50 PM

Have you considered this?
Peragon Truck Bed Cover - Compatibility with Accessories
I'm thinking of changing my ACCESS vinyl cover out for something more substantial. I don't know what the benefit is (if any) for aluminum over lexan, or vice-a-versa. I guess the Retrax can be locked at any point open, where as the peragon is either fully opened or closed. It looks like if it is partially open, the top isn't flat because of the accordion fold.

short_stuff

Smokim · 08-21-2009, 09:28 AM

I urge you to check around the web to get Paragon owner's opinions. I think you will have a hard time finding ANY happy owners. To me, Paragon ranks dead last as far as tonneau covers go.

short_stuff · 08-21-2009, 02:57 PM

Not to hijack the thread, but ouch! Smokim, you are absolutely right. Didn't realize there were that many problems with the Peragon. I compared the PE and the Retrax online, and I agree with Land_Surveyor. The Pace Edwards Jack Rabbit looks like the box it rolls into is smaller than the Retrax. That would be important to me because I wouldn't want to lose any more of the front of the bed than I have to. For the Jack Rabbit, the canister measures 9.75” wide by 11” high. The RETRAX™ canister dimensions are approximately 11" square. Although, 2 inches won't break the bank. I'll be curious too, if anyone else chimes in.

short_stuff

Smokim · 08-21-2009, 04:08 PM

The smallest canister is TruckCoversUSA, which is a pretty good cover, but expensive. The canister is 8" x 8". It's double-walled aluminum and can hold over 500 pounds. The aluminum slats are interlocking unlike PE Full Metal which are connected by rubber. The slats are sealed underneath by Teflon tape. The water drains to the sides and then through water channels in the rails and then out the drain tubes. The only possible downside the TCUSA cover is that it has 4 drain tubes instead of 2. You have to drill two 1.25" holes in the rear of the truck. The cover comes with two grommets though, so it will look nice. Installation is a bit more difficult though.

Land_Surveyor · 08-21-2009, 04:16 PM

Thanks for the replies and I have contacted Retrax directly and found that it is about $100 more than the pace edwards. I like the pace edwards except for the vinyl cover looks shabby after a year, the spring did not want to retract the cover if it has been closed for a while, and that darn strap is always in the way and wrapped around somthing you are trying to remove. I don't mind the shiney cover since I will most likely wax and treat like my truck hood. I have a gooseneck hitch in my bed and was looking for somthing that would retract.

Smokim · 08-21-2009, 04:58 PM

I agree, vinyl, no matter what the cover, tends to fade unless you keep a protectorant on it. Even black powdercoated aluminum will fade a bit. Actually, Retrax is probably the most fade resistant retractable cover there is.

mebtraveling · 08-22-2009, 10:01 AM

Land_Surveyor,

We just went through the retractable tonneau selection process and wound up with Retrax. Our truck had a hard fiberglass tonneau when we purchased it in April. It was too heavy and awkward to remove each time we wanted to tow our gooseneck horse trailer, so we looked at retractables and roll-ups. Retractables were the best for our wants/needs. We didn't care for the vinyl skinned aluminum retractables like PE or Roll-n-Lock, and the PE Full Metal Jacket or Truck Covers were to rich for our blood at $1300 to $1400.

On this and several other sites, the Retrax seemed to be very well liked.

We're very happy with the looks/construction of the Retrax. We have a drop in bedliner, which did complicate the installation process. I needed to make cutouts for canister at the front, the rail back by the tailgate, and each of the four clamps. If I had it to do over, I'd trash the drop in bed liner and go with a Line-X spray on liner (that still may happen).

Good luck with your decision.

bl028mccy · 09-11-2009, 08:20 AM

I have spray on bedliner and it works well.

Smokim · 09-11-2009, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bl028mccy

I have spray on bedliner and it works well.

dwelch1 · 09-11-2009, 09:43 AM

I have had a Retrax on my truck for a little over 5 years now, and still like it, the spring on my locking mechanism broke but everything still works well. When I bought mine 5 years ago, I mentioned this site and got a $100 discount. It was shipped to my house, I put it together and had my neighbor help me put it in place, not a bad install at all, I would call and inquire about the diesel stop discount? doesnt hurt!

hntnfyr · 09-14-2009, 01:14 AM

Hi Land Surveyor,
Ive had my retrax for just over 3 yrs now and I still love it. It just clears my 16K fifth wheel hitch and I can still lock the Ice chest and kids bikes in the bed when we get to the campground. The lexan is starting to show some signs of wear (a 2" crack) where the lexan meets the end of the cover. Still not real noticable though. My brother has one on his F350 and an uncle has one on his F150, both are real happy.

adamsgt · 11-17-2009, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smokim

I urge you to check around the web to get Paragon owner's opinions. I think you will have a hard time finding ANY happy owners. To me, Paragon ranks dead last as far as tonneau covers go.

I had a Paragon on my 2006 F-350 dually. Unfortunately the truck was burned to the ground when my fifth wheel caught fire. It was almost worth it to get rid of the Paragon.

vegoilrecycler · 11-17-2009, 10:48 PM

I've owned a Retrax on my daily driver F250 for nearly 3 years. I'm a contractor so I open and close my cover multiple times a day. The original cover finally came apart and Retrax sent me a replacement for $185. The rep I talked to said that they switched Lexan suppliers and the performance they are getting from the new supplier is MUCH MUCH better. We'll see. In the mean time, it paid for itself in fuel savings and convenience. Not to mention that NOTHING was ever stolen out of the bed of my truck. I've had thousands of dollars worth of tools back there and because it was not seen, no one jacked with it. Like other bed covers, it kept my luggage dry on long road trips through the rain. The space that the canister takes up in the bed is a trade off but in my business, I had to have something.

I'd buy it if I had it to do all over again.