Small improvement to the OEM tri-fold tonneau cover

Hello everyone,

I recently purchased my 2020 Tundra Platinum, and with it many accessories including the OEM tri-fold tonneau cover.



One issue I have noticed with the OEM tri-fold tonneau cover is that the rear most tri-fold panel (at the tailgate) has some up-and-down play due to the mounting of the latches. So, I had a look at how the latches were secured.

What I found under the latch hardware was a poorly drilled extrusion. Seriously, I found three hole attempts for one screw location:



In addition to the poorly drilled holes, the right side latch was held in place with 1" sheet metal screws that were barely holding the pilot holes of the extrusion and the left side latch was held in place with 6 mm length machine screws that were threading into effectively nothing. The cover manufacturer couldn't even bother to use the same screws on two identical latches. The extrusion was also not tapped for screws on either side, so these screws took no effort at all to effectively strip out the holes and provide no holding force for the latches.

I stared at the latch system for a while before deciding how best to fix it and here's what I came up with. I found four M4 x 12 mm length machine screws at Ace Hardware, slid on four generic washers I had in the garage, and threaded them into four thin M4 x 0.7 square nuts (thickness 2.2 mm). Before slipping the M4 bolts into the extrusion holes, I drilled the holes out slightly with a 5/32" drill bit. If you perform this modification, be very careful with this step as you could puncture down through the plastic tonneau cover if you allow a bit to penetrate too deep. Also, I couldn't locate the square nuts locally so I ended up ordering them from belmetric.com - part number NSQ4THINSS. Pay no attention to the old hardware I slid into the BelMetric bag.



With the latches now securely fastened to the extrusion, most of the up-and-down play of the rear most tri-fold panel is gone. The remaining play is due to side rail flex. Perhaps I'll look into ridding my rails of that play later. Here's the finished product:





Total cost of hardware was about $6, including the $5 shipping for the nuts from MA to OR. The nuts took only a few days to arrive, which isn't bad considering the current COVID-19 situation. And I didn't feel like hunting every hardware store in my local area for thin nuts. The Tundra eats too much fuel for that.

 

Very nice! I’m glad to see somebody understands that sometimes little pieces of hardware make a big difference!!

 

Very nice! I have the same cover, I’m going to look into this! Thanks!

 

Impressive, nicely done.

 

I would dare guess that is not an OEM cover.
I'm not aware of Toyota making bed covers.
Maybe a dealer installed item.
Is there not a label or serial number on that cover that could ID the manufacturer..?
Like the one on the tailgate end in the middle, I bet it doesn't say 'TOYOTA".
That may help others that have the same cover on their trucks.

 

You are correct in that Toyota does not produce it. OEM doesn't explicitly mean manufactured by the brand (Toyota). A quick Google search (because I was curious): original equipment manufacturer, an organization that makes devices from component parts bought from other organizations.

I saw on this forum that the tri-fold is made by either Extang or Rugged. I'm not sure which for this particular rail mounted cover. The sticker in the middle on the back does in fact say TOYOTA, but it's just a sticker (and it's not even placed in the center - another sign of wonderful craftsmanship).

And this wasn't dealer installed. I installed it with my 4-year-old son. I trust him more than most dealer techs.

 

OK, I learned something today.
I always thought OEM was like a vehicle's manufacturer part.
Thanks, now I know.

I'm with you on not having the dealer install anything.
When I installed my Bedrug on my 2005, my then 11 year old daughter helped me install it.
She is now 26, it goes by WAY too fast...

 

The automotive OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) companies run assembly plants, that assemble component parts made by thousands of suppliers into either vehicles, or modular parts of vehicles, e.g. a 3UZ-FE engine. None of those component parts is actually manufactured by the OEM.

When an accessory is a unique part made to Toyota specifications, available only through Toyota dealers, and subject to Toyota QC, the OEM label is justified. It might be a stretch to label re-branded accessories having near-identical copies available in the broad aftermarket, such as the subject bed cover, step bars, bed extenders, cargo nets, hitch covers, console dividers as "OEM". But...Potato, Potahtoe, we know what the OP is talking about.

Nice engineering on the screw-up fix, OP. I like it. I have to assume that the multiple drill tries were concealed by the latch. Just saying...if that had been a true OEM part, Toyota would have made them eat that bed cover, advised them to make a drilling template with worker training, and warned them not to send any more like that.

 

Those poorly drilled holes are covered up by cable channels and spacers for the latches. I had all that hardware slid out of the extrusion before finding the holes and taking the picture.

 

nice write up

 

I've got the Toyota accessory bed cover, and the label does say Toyota. I know it wasn't made by Toyota, though. Not sure who the supplier is. It was a bit of a pain in the butt to install, not least because the dealer who installed my drop-in bed liner had stripped the heads of the bolts that hold the rails, and I had a bear of a time figuring out how to remove them. Even after that, getting the hardware aligned so that the latches would properly contact the latch plate at the rear took some serious fiddling around.

When i bought the new screws from a different local dealer, the parts guy said that the screws for the rails tend to be overtorqued from the assembly line, and that its important to make sure you have the proper size torx bit, and put a lot of pressure into the screw to prevent slipping and stripping. Based on what the other dealer did to the screws, I can believe this.

I'm still debating whether I prefer the old Bak RollX that I had on my old Tundra. The look was different, but it also seemed easier to roll the thing up and have access to almost the whole bed. On the oem one, you have to leave the last section closest to the cab in place, unless you remove the entire cover.

 

Sorry to sidetrack but for you guys with the newer OEM cover, I picked a used but new one up for my 2020 from an older gentleman that found it too heavy to put on/off. My question is, in the instructions, it says rail system is required but I can't figure out why. I don't have the rail system but I installed it just fine (following the instruction manual). I understand it relocates the rail system down a bit but not sure why they say it's required. I have the slots to add the rails below the bed cover if I choose to but still can't figure out why they would say its required. Unless the guy gave me extra parts or something but I don't think so. Thanks.

 

They are definitely not needed for the tonneau cover to function. They perhaps provide some additional rigidity to the overall install.

 

I ordered the Toyota OEM tri-fold for my '19 Crewmax with existing rail system (part#PK3B134H5H), it showed up this morning in perfect shape BUT no instructions. Can anyone snap a few photos of the inside of theirs with the cover in place please OR post pics of the instructions if anyone happens to have them. Again this was the manufacturer hard tri-fold tonneau cover for a 5.5 ft bed with an existing rail system already in place. I can prob figure it out with just a few pics but can't figure out how the rails they ship to me attach to the existing system in place. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

Great idea!

 

Not sure that’s what your looking for but if you need anything else I’m by my truck

 

Sir that is absolutely perfect, I owe you a drink. I would have been screwing around for HOURS trying to figure that out. Thanks so much!

 

You don't have weatherstripping stuck to the top of your tailgate by chance? If not, it must go under the very front of the cover closest to the cab. Kit came with a roll of it and forgot to ask in previous post. Thanks again man, you just saved the day.

 

It goes behind the cab. I may add additional to the tailgate because there is a little water getting in there.

 

No weather striping on the tailgate

 

weather strip by the cab

 

Thanks a bunch guys

 

https://www.toyotapartsprime.com/resources/installation/TPP/pu100-3415 toyota tundra-print.pdf

I think this might help. Not sure its the exact instructions, but it looks a lot like the ones I used.

PS: When you remove the rails, make sure you use the right torx bit, and appropriate pressure to avoid stripping the screws. Apparently the factory rails tend to be overtorqued and you need to take care in extracting the screws.

 

Thank you very much!

 

PS: When I installed mine, I had to readjust the position of the cover drain rails a bit in order to have the latches near the tailgate get under the lip that they're supposed to contact. If I remember correctly, I just loosened the rear three brackets a bit and then slightly shifted the position of the drain rails so the the lip was raised maybe an eighth of an inch or so on each side. That worked ok. I still have to use my closed fist as a hammer once on each side to ensure that the latch is engaged under the lip. You'll be able to check the action by watching what happens with the tailgate open.

 

@NEPAChuy

I just bought one of these covers, but the extruded aluminum piece holding the latch nearest the tailgate is off center.

This causes the latch to miss the rail on one side, and barely catch it following adjustment. It also causes the opposite side's latch mechanism base to rub the rail when opening/closing.

Do you happen to remember how the extruded piece attached to the cover? Are there fasteners or epoxy?

 

It’s been too long for me to remember, but I think it is a combination of screws and epoxy. I recall thinking about whether I could secure the rail a different/better way, but had no way of removing it.

If you just bought it new and there is a manufacturing defect, you can probably get it swapped out.

 

Thanks! It sucks to drive twice to the dealership (once to show the defect, and once to pickup the replacement), but I will. The cover looks nice, there just seems to be a lot of workmanship issues with it... I believe it's made by Extang, but not sure. Even on the holes that were drilled, they weren't deburred, so you could cut your hand very easily. Made in the US isn't what it used to be I guess.

 

Hey everyone. I have (what looks to be) the same tonneau cover on my 2020 Tundra. I have a slightly different "breakage" though. The track that the latch is attached to is now loose. It looks to be attached with some sort of screw and it just stripped out. My tonneau came with my truck from Memphis. Should Toyota fix it? Should I? Thoughts on fixing this?

I am trying to attach pics, but until I can figure that out...

In the OP, the latch seems to slide into a long track. On mine, that track I can just easily pull away from the tonneau itself. It is causing issues with shutting it and opening it.