...dave
07-17-2005, 05:00 AM
Well, i received my tonneau last week, so if you're interested in one, here are my impressions.
These units are available in white (for painting) or black. Since i have a black truck, i figured, score- there is no additional charge for black, and i can save big bucks over having it painted. The lid was $369, i paid an additional $17 for quick-release hinges, and truck freight (to a commercial address in coastal South Carolina) was $85, for a total cost of $471. It was delivered in a week, from Benton Kentucky.
As you probably know if you've been researching covers, this is a pretty low price for a lid. You can easily drop a grand on a fiberglass tonneau, so, is this a case of "you get what you pay for"?
Construction
The tonneau sits almost flush with the bed rails. Construction is a fiberglass-foam sandwich, inside an aluminum frame. The extruded aluminum rails have a tapered edge to look more finished. Although it looks good along the front, back, and sides, corners were cut when it came to the corners, which were cut, but not beveled to match. Likewise, they were not painted, and stand out against the black finish on this particular cover. If you were to buy one to paint, this would be a non-issue, and a couple of minutes with a sander could probably handle the bevel. In my case, i'll probably hit it with a little touch-up paint and live with the bevel issue. The fiberglass itself shows significant grain, but in my opinion, doesn't look bad at all, and the black looks good against standard Dodge black.
While the website, and indeed the instructions that came with the cover show simple nylon straps used for latching, mine came with a more attractive, but slightly more intrusive rubber and metal arrangement shown in one of the photos. i had my doubts about this initially, so i latched the lid and tried forcing it open to check the security- i was not able to force it by hand.
I was disappointed by the quick-release hinges. Rather than an actual pin-style hinge, they simply feature an aluminum tab on the lid, that fits into a slot on the piece of the hinge mounted to the bed. It works fine for now, but I worry about the long-term durability of this solution, particularly with frequent removal.
Installation
Installation is straighforward. With the detatchable hinges, a reasonably strong and careful individual could do the job solo, but it's much easier with two people. The twin hinges are attached to the front of the bed with three self-tapping screws apiece. Brackets need to be screwed to the bottom of the cover (2 pre-drilled holes per side) to hold the struts, then the brackets for the other end of the struts need to be attached to the bed rails.
Checker's instructions say to mount the lower brackets behind the lip of the bed rail, and secure the assembly with 3 flat-head screws and locknuts per side. In my case, these weren't included, but i bought some (stainless) rather than use the self-tapping screws on this particular assembly. They recommend countersinking the bolts into the bedside to ensure that they won't interfere with the lid- this probably isn't necessary unless you have an over-the-rail bedliner. Finally, the latching system needs to be attached to the cover (no pre-drilled holes) and the inside of the bed.
As an option, Checker offers a security kit consisting of two locks that mount through the top of the tonneau and latch against the lip of the side of the bed, along with a "tailgate interlock" (no idea what this looks like). The downside is that you open the tonneau first, which can be tricky since it seals very close to the bed. Facing upwards, the locks can also ice up if you live in a cold area. Personally, i decided to use the standard latch setup, and use a Pace-Edwards Powergate (tied into the keyless entry system) to lock the tailgate.
Ease of use
Day-to-day operation is easy. The latches can be a little frustrating- the rubber pieces attached to the lid are prone to blocking the lid from opening and closing fully if you forget to hold them out of the way- but they're not a major problem. The struts support the cover at full-open, and give enough lift that raising it would be a two-finger operation were it not for the latches.
Removing and reattaching the lid for hauling large objects can be tricky to do solo. The lid weighs approximately 45 lbs, and being 6.5' x 4' or so, is fairly awkward, similar to handling a sheet of plywood flooring. Removal requires removing the struts (use a screwdriver to lift up plastic caps on each end, then pull it away from the mounts). You then have to lift the lid to almost vertical to remove the "hinges". This wouldn't be a big deal if i had gotten the sides of my bed done in Rhino lining as i did with the tailgate, but without any protection on the bed sides, the aluminum frame, corners in particular, cuts paint like an axe- as such, you have to be very careful not to drag the tonneau on the body as you move it, which can be difficult with such an unwieldy object. The danger is even more pronounced when you reattach the lid, since you need to line up the tab/slot arrangement without being able to see it. i'd recommend a helper for both jobs, but especially the reattachment.
The lid is very water resistant, but not 100% waterproof. Perhaps i just messed up the rubber gasket, but there are some small leaks. Also, raising the lid when it's covered in water will dump a sigificant portion of said water into the front of the bed.
Overall impression
Checker positions their cover as a value product, which is hard to argue- before shipping, it's not much more expensive than some vinyl covers, and several hundred dollars less than most fiberglass tonneaus, particularly if you don't need to have it painted. As mentioned, i'm a little annoyed by the lack of finish on the corners, and a lot annoyed by the hinges, but only time will tell if this is justified. I love the smooth look of the flush design, and don't mind the additional work and expense of adding the PowerGate for security. i think it was a good choice for my purposes. If i had to have it painted, bringing it closer price-wise to competing products, i would be a bit less satisfied, due to the issues above.
Hope this helps (if anybody read this far!!)
...dave
These units are available in white (for painting) or black. Since i have a black truck, i figured, score- there is no additional charge for black, and i can save big bucks over having it painted. The lid was $369, i paid an additional $17 for quick-release hinges, and truck freight (to a commercial address in coastal South Carolina) was $85, for a total cost of $471. It was delivered in a week, from Benton Kentucky.
As you probably know if you've been researching covers, this is a pretty low price for a lid. You can easily drop a grand on a fiberglass tonneau, so, is this a case of "you get what you pay for"?
Construction
The tonneau sits almost flush with the bed rails. Construction is a fiberglass-foam sandwich, inside an aluminum frame. The extruded aluminum rails have a tapered edge to look more finished. Although it looks good along the front, back, and sides, corners were cut when it came to the corners, which were cut, but not beveled to match. Likewise, they were not painted, and stand out against the black finish on this particular cover. If you were to buy one to paint, this would be a non-issue, and a couple of minutes with a sander could probably handle the bevel. In my case, i'll probably hit it with a little touch-up paint and live with the bevel issue. The fiberglass itself shows significant grain, but in my opinion, doesn't look bad at all, and the black looks good against standard Dodge black.
While the website, and indeed the instructions that came with the cover show simple nylon straps used for latching, mine came with a more attractive, but slightly more intrusive rubber and metal arrangement shown in one of the photos. i had my doubts about this initially, so i latched the lid and tried forcing it open to check the security- i was not able to force it by hand.
I was disappointed by the quick-release hinges. Rather than an actual pin-style hinge, they simply feature an aluminum tab on the lid, that fits into a slot on the piece of the hinge mounted to the bed. It works fine for now, but I worry about the long-term durability of this solution, particularly with frequent removal.
Installation
Installation is straighforward. With the detatchable hinges, a reasonably strong and careful individual could do the job solo, but it's much easier with two people. The twin hinges are attached to the front of the bed with three self-tapping screws apiece. Brackets need to be screwed to the bottom of the cover (2 pre-drilled holes per side) to hold the struts, then the brackets for the other end of the struts need to be attached to the bed rails.
Checker's instructions say to mount the lower brackets behind the lip of the bed rail, and secure the assembly with 3 flat-head screws and locknuts per side. In my case, these weren't included, but i bought some (stainless) rather than use the self-tapping screws on this particular assembly. They recommend countersinking the bolts into the bedside to ensure that they won't interfere with the lid- this probably isn't necessary unless you have an over-the-rail bedliner. Finally, the latching system needs to be attached to the cover (no pre-drilled holes) and the inside of the bed.
As an option, Checker offers a security kit consisting of two locks that mount through the top of the tonneau and latch against the lip of the side of the bed, along with a "tailgate interlock" (no idea what this looks like). The downside is that you open the tonneau first, which can be tricky since it seals very close to the bed. Facing upwards, the locks can also ice up if you live in a cold area. Personally, i decided to use the standard latch setup, and use a Pace-Edwards Powergate (tied into the keyless entry system) to lock the tailgate.
Ease of use
Day-to-day operation is easy. The latches can be a little frustrating- the rubber pieces attached to the lid are prone to blocking the lid from opening and closing fully if you forget to hold them out of the way- but they're not a major problem. The struts support the cover at full-open, and give enough lift that raising it would be a two-finger operation were it not for the latches.
Removing and reattaching the lid for hauling large objects can be tricky to do solo. The lid weighs approximately 45 lbs, and being 6.5' x 4' or so, is fairly awkward, similar to handling a sheet of plywood flooring. Removal requires removing the struts (use a screwdriver to lift up plastic caps on each end, then pull it away from the mounts). You then have to lift the lid to almost vertical to remove the "hinges". This wouldn't be a big deal if i had gotten the sides of my bed done in Rhino lining as i did with the tailgate, but without any protection on the bed sides, the aluminum frame, corners in particular, cuts paint like an axe- as such, you have to be very careful not to drag the tonneau on the body as you move it, which can be difficult with such an unwieldy object. The danger is even more pronounced when you reattach the lid, since you need to line up the tab/slot arrangement without being able to see it. i'd recommend a helper for both jobs, but especially the reattachment.
The lid is very water resistant, but not 100% waterproof. Perhaps i just messed up the rubber gasket, but there are some small leaks. Also, raising the lid when it's covered in water will dump a sigificant portion of said water into the front of the bed.
Overall impression
Checker positions their cover as a value product, which is hard to argue- before shipping, it's not much more expensive than some vinyl covers, and several hundred dollars less than most fiberglass tonneaus, particularly if you don't need to have it painted. As mentioned, i'm a little annoyed by the lack of finish on the corners, and a lot annoyed by the hinges, but only time will tell if this is justified. I love the smooth look of the flush design, and don't mind the additional work and expense of adding the PowerGate for security. i think it was a good choice for my purposes. If i had to have it painted, bringing it closer price-wise to competing products, i would be a bit less satisfied, due to the issues above.
Hope this helps (if anybody read this far!!)
...dave