Tonneau Cover Installation Questions

[JDW]

It's not really a problem for a tonneau, many have done it.
If it does worry you, get one as I mentioned. They mount inside the rails, not on top.

The ones you linked seem to mount the same as any other tonneau. The side rails sit on top of the bed caps and clamp to the sides of it.

I've watched a lot of YouTube videos on installations of a variety of covers and none seem to do anything to fill the voids on the top of the bed caps.

I imagine if I fill the voids on the sides of the bed caps it should be ok. There would be no difference in load on the top between a cover specifically designed for the new gen trucks as compared to the an older clamp on style cover.

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[RangerDangerStranger]

The bed rail covers are not made out of frosting. They're pretty hardy meant the last life of the vehicle and can tell take some scratching and pounding. There's no reason why a cover can't be put on top of them. The cover clamps also clamped to the steel rail seam. The rail covers are simply sandwiched. They can take some loading.

 

[Jason B]

The ones you linked seem to mount the same as any other tonneau. The side rails sit on top of the bed caps and clamp to the sides of it.

I've watched a lot of YouTube videos on installations of a variety of covers and none seem to do anything to fill the voids on the top of the bed caps.

I imagine if I fill the voids on the sides of the bed caps it should be ok. There would be no difference in load on the top between a cover specifically designed for the new gen trucks as compared to the an older clamp on style cover.

I took a couple of pictures of my Gator SRX. As you can see, nothing sits on top of the rail.
As for the caps, some have sealed those up with silicone. I didn't, as I added the cover for looks, not necessarily for keeping things dry.

 

[JDW]

I took a couple of pictures of my Gator SRX. As you can see, nothing sits on top of the rail.
As for the caps, some have sealed those up with silicone. I didn't, as I added the cover for looks, not necessarily for keeping things dry.

Ok, yeah, yours is different than the other ones I've seen installed. Yours really bolts completely to the side, eh.

I'm not worried about water or dust, more just want to hid things from prying eyes.

 

[Arsenall11]

This is all mounted to the top of the caps.

 

[Albatross Bill]

I think you should separate the tonneau cover from the bed cap stake pockets. The type of tonneau cover you choose should match your intended use and how secure you would like the contents in the truck bed to be. If you want to install items above the truck bed that is where the stake pockets and shims or similar come into play since the bed caps won’t handle a lot of weight. While the plastic bed caps will handle a little weight, I would be careful with how much.

All covers have their pluses and minuses. For example on the 2022 Ranger I had we installed a Retrax Pro XR cover. That cover was nice however, it had its some limitations in that it limited the available space in the truck bed and I kept knocking the drain hoses off when putting items under the cover box. That being said it was a very secure cover which could be opened the amount needed based on what was placed in the truck bed. It also had T-Rails which I installed cross bars to hold a roof top cargo carrier. Worked great on trip from South Carolina to Arizona and back.

But because of the warnings about the bed caps on the generation 6 Ranger, I didn’’t think uses T-Rails that were supported by the bed caps was a good idea. Especially to handle loads of a couple hundred pounds. So this time I went with a TruXedo Sentry CT cover where I could install separate rails mounted to shims in the stake pockets holes. I really wanted the Diamondback cover but since it sit on top of the bed caps, I questioned how much weight could be put on top of the cover. I’m sure I over think things but that’s what engineers do.

Some other considerations are how the truck is going to be used. If loads are above the truck bed and are supported by the bed caps, one has to factor in the loads applied as the suspension changes positions and also the effects of cycle fatigue as the loads constantly change positions while driving. I do believe this is why Ford recommended installing the J-Braces if loads above 88 pounds where applied to the truck bed. The J-Braces add rigidity to the truck bed frame to handle the constant cycling of the load.

Hope this helps with your cover selection.

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