Freaked myself out today (rear camera grid disappeared)

TLDR: My rear backup grid completely disappeared and I couldn’t figure out why. Turns out it was my fault when positioning my tonneau during install.

I discovered that during the retrax mx one tonneau cover install I had created a situation in which the rear tailgate would latch upright but not fully “click” into an umoveable lock. So it seems like there are three states the tailgate can be in: 1) unlatched, 2) latched but unlocked, and finally 3) latched & locked. When I say locked here, I mean a final “click” that occurs when physically pushing the tailgate into place and not the lock king that occurs when you lock your doors.

I had thought that leaving the tailgate up while I positioned the side rail tracks for the retrax tonneau would allow for me to get pretty even spacing off the rear tailgate to maintain a parallel track for the sliding cover. In reality I must not have fully locked the tailgate and I torqued the the tonneau track into position in a why that would not allow for the tailgate to latch and lock.

I fixed the tonneau positioning and was very careful to center the sliding aluminum track nut receivers in the existing rail system so as not to accidentally reposition my brackets when torquing torquing them down. This time my track was parallel, my tailgate fully locked and latched, and my rear camera grid came back like it had never disappeared.

 

Every once in awhile you search for help with an issue and come across someone who not only had exactly the same problem, but took the time to share the information with the rest of us. I just installed a Retrax EQ on my 2024 Tundra. Got it all up and running, connected to the cabin module and phone...etc etc etc (with some of the WORST installation documentation, I might add), and when I jumped in, NO REAR CAMERA GRID! On to the web I go, and here is the perfect answer. Turns out, you have to remove the front utility rail or the Retrax won't install far enough forward to allow the tailgate to close 'all the way'. It will close, and it will lock, but not enough to allow for the camera to work correctly, or the grid lines to appear.

So, to DBWA, a HUGE thanks! To Retrax....go back and redo your documentation and make sure you don't jump over about 20 prep steps that might be obvious to you, but us DIY guys rely on to keep from making mistakes!

 

I couldn't have said it any better! I feel like a butt now because I had been complaining to my dealer that my rear camera grid lines would randomly disappear with no explanation, they were unable to recreate the problem everytime I would take it in and now I know why! LOL