Is the UnderCover Ridgelander the answer?

Where do the bikes go? We spend a lot of time in the summer pulling our travel trailer around. My Tacoma has a Leer cap with bike trays. That's worked pretty well for the last six years, but now I have the Tundra for towing.

I'm not doing another Leer cap, I don't think. It's nice to be able to see and the truck will feel like a tank with one. I like the MX4, but I don't like using up the limited bed space with the bikes in there hanging off the tailgate. And I'd have to leave it open partially on the road, which would get camping stuff wet in the rain.

The Leer 550 tonneau cover with racks would work, but I don't think Leer is selling it anymore with racks. Retrax has a nice option with racks, but it's pricey (feet and crossbars not included) and you have the canister taking up space. The Retrax rack also stays in place while the cover retracts. I prefer the Ridgelander set up with the racks attached to the cover. The Ridgelander includes the Rhino Rack feet and Vortex bars.

So I think the Ridgelander might be the answer. Interested to hear thoughts and see any pics.

 

I’ve been looking seriously at the ridge lander as well. It seems to be a little overpriced for what you get but still pretty awesome.

 

It is crazy how expensive some of this stuff is. A fancy Retrax cover and you're spending more than a Leer topper.

I came up with an alternate plan yesterday.

 

I have a Pace Edwards retractable cover with a Yakima rack above it. I can open the retractable to get at things in the bed with the bikes loaded and I can lock the cover to help keep things in the bed secure.

 

Does the canister take up much space?

 

The canister itself is not too big - maybe 10" high. The cover does not retract all the way since it needs to stay on the track and you lose about 10"-12" on the top. The crewmax has a really short bed anyway so I need to drop the tailgate to carry anything large so I do not miss the space that the canister takes up.

 

I read a couple reviews that the hydraulics can't support the weight when it's loaded up. One guy had to use a stick to hold it up. That's dumb.

Interested to hear from folks who own this cover and use it. The Ridgelander doesn't appear to be the answer.

 

To wrap this up - I called UnderCover and customer service said the cover is not intended to be opened with cargo on top. Struts are not strong enough.

Practically speaking for me, when our three bikes are up top, my wife will have a problem getting a beer out of the cooler in the bed.