OEM Tonneau Cover, Space Loss

Picked up a big refrigerator on Christmas Eve, drove 2hrs to get it (great deal). Should have fit fine in my 6.5’ bed. Was 3” short and simply couldn’t get tailgate to close. Issue is my OEM tonneau cover, even when rolled all the way back, it sacrifices 5” of space that is impossible to recover. Had to uninstall the cover on the spot to get the fridge to fit. Since the recall the process became more involved. Luckily I had my tools with me and got it off, after which fridge fit fine. I am happy the cover is more secure and won’t blow off on the highway (insane that was an issue before the recall), however now the ease of deinstallation is not very rapid. I may have to go for the SmartCap once they iron out all their issues with locks etc.

 

Yes sir a tonneau cover will do that

 

Clearly I didn’t fully understand this reality. Though, should be easy to remove as needed. All the extra attachments they added under 23TB03/23TA03 make it a PITA to remove.

 

Personally, I would have just hauled it upright and strapped securely.

 

Wouldn’t feel at all confident w/it upright on highway, lying flat far, far more stable (for me). Not even sure how I’d even strap it to be stable standing that top-heavy at highway speeds. 72” tall refrigerator plus packing on all sides.

 

Different strokes for different folks. I've hauled them upright before.

 

Hope you didn't damage the fridge laying it down. I'd wait a few days with it standing upright to avoid any problems.

 

Thanks Rockpig, also wasn’t aware I could damage the fridge laying down. Seems to be in great shape so far… although I plugged it in right away after standing it up lol

 

Ruh Roh... Supposed to give the refrigerant time to settle, like at least 24 hours.

That's the main reason I've always hauled them upright. Yes, you need to do some creative strapping, but not that difficult unless you plan on serious cornering speeds.

 

The folks you bought it from and helped you load it should have/could have told you not to lay it down on its back. Probably didn't know either though.

 

Have had the fridge running for 2 days since the Tundra transport, all seems well. I seem to have gotten lucky. Thanks for all the advice. What bad could potentially have happened? Got the swingcases and OEM Toyota tonneau reinstalled again, cases are easy, tonneau nothing too crazy but involved enough to make it a PITA. I’ve heard other tonneau’s are much easier to remove/replace. Researching toppers but they seem especially expensive after having already invested in tonneau.