If you’re like me, you get tired of planning your day around what’s in the back of your truck! You know… go to lunch too early, so that you can stop at Walmart first, and then hit Home Depot last, so that you’re not leaving a bucket of paint or that shiny new leaf blower sitting in the back of your truck screaming “steal me!” to anyone with sticky fingers who’s looking to commit an easy crime of opportunity in a parking lot.
So I finally ordered a tonneau cover. Of course the most secure cover would be a full fiberglass cover, but I actually need to haul stuff that’s taller than the bed on a regular basis – and I didn’t want to have to get help getting the cover off and leaving it at home every time I need full use of the bed. A roll-up cover sounded like the best fit for how I use my truck, and the TruXedo TruXport has great reviews.
I was able to get it from one of our NICOclub sponsors – AutoAnything. I ordered the cover on a Sunday afternoon, and it arrived on my porch by Wednesday. It was a super smooth transaction, and the best deal I could find!
So all that was left was installing it. I put it off for a few days, leaving plenty of time. Turns out that wasn’t necessary… installation was super easy!
Before installation:
Open Box:
Clamps that hold the rails down:
Side rails:
The corners of the side rails come without the foam backing pre-installed. So you have to stick the foam corners on to the rails.
Here’s the cover sitting in place on the back of the bed.
Now insert the side rails in to the front cross member:
The clamps and rails have teeth that help them grip well:
Space the clamps evenly along each side and tighten them down in order from back to front. According to the instructions you should tighten both rears first, then the middle ones, and finally the fronts.
Now it’s time to put foam backers on back the corners of the cover:
Total installation time box open to done was about 35 minutes. This includes one round of loosening the clamps and sliding the whole cover forward a couple of inches. I put it too close to the cab the first time.
My only other concern was that the cover would be a pain to open and close. No worries there either. It takes me about 45 seconds to open the cover, roll it up, and strap it in place with the velcro straps that keep it secure… and the same to go from open to closed.
With the Frontier’s locking tailgate, this is a pretty secure truck bed now!
For you naysayers out there – yes someone could cut the cover to get in – but does that take any longer than your typical “smash and grab” taking out a window and flipping the trunk release to get to stuff that’s “secure” in a car’s trunk? I try not to keep anything of much value in a car anyhow… if you think anything is secure in your car, you’re fooling yourself. Your best bet is to keep stuff out of sight so it doesn’t attract attention.
A couple of notes: The front rail of the cover doesn’t come completely down to the bulkhead of the bed. However, I think that’s because the side rails are made taller by the Frontier’s plastic rail caps, and the way the bed is constructed. TruXedo makes an optional seal for this if you’re wanting to make your bed area water-tight. Without that seal, you’ll get a little bit of water in the front of the bed, and a little around the tailgate. To get the absolute best seal possible, order up the TruXedo Tailgate Seal, and the bulkhead seal kit.
Priced right, great quality, easy to install, and looks awesome – What more could you want?
Here’s where i ordered mine: TruXedo TruXport
I hope you enjoyed this install article – We’ll see you in the Frontier forums!
-Heath
