anyone bought an Access LiteRider but now wished they got the Access LE instead ?

I like the price of the literider at $280 vs Access LE at $385.

based on info from agricover website, the differences are

EZ dial vs XT dial for tension adjustment (does it make any difference or just a gimmick?)
Autolatch with manual slide lock vs AutoLatch II (I guess this latch and lock at the same time???)
front seal using dual fabric guard vs Element Seal and fabric guard (I don't even know what these mean)

I'd appreciate if someone can elaborate on these differences (better with pictures).

can these covers be unrolled without opening the tailgate?
is the mounting and installation of these two exactly the same? i.e. bed rails must be removed then reinstalled?

thanks!
jerry

 

No, I don't wish I had gotten a more expensive model.

No, they cannot be unrolled without opening the tailgate.

Yes, the mounting is the same.

Element seal is an actual seal to keep out water (still not 100% though) while a fabric guard is basically a flap of the tonneau cover fabric that covers the opening. I've never had a problem with water getting into the bed.

Yes, the bed rails must be removed to install.

 

thanks for the info.

can you describe the latch / lock on the literider?

is the latch separate from the lock?

when you unroll to the end, is the latch something that will click and hold the end down?
is that the same thing as the lock or is the lock another thing? if so, is there a lock for the left and the right side?

how much different is autolatch II that comes with the LE? from what little I can understand from the write up, you only need to pull one lever and it unlocks both sides at the same time or something like that.

thanks

 

Ok, after a little bit more searching and reading, I think I found the answers to my questions.

so all access tonneau use the same latch/lock except for the LE, which uses a single dial in the center to unlock both sides.
all access tonneau uses the element seal except for the literider and vanish.
LE comes with a tailgate seal

so taking the $20 cost of the tailgate seal aside, the cost difference between literider and LE is $85.

I think I'll go with the LE.

 

Unless I've been doing something wrong, my Access LE does not have a center dial to unlock both sides. There are straps on both ends that you pull towards the middle which unlocks it. It's definitely an LE model though.

 

I don't have the tonneau so this is just based on reading the writeups.

does yours look like this? If not, you probably got the regular access rollup, unless the access tonneau is different for the tacoma, since the writeup is generic for all trucks.

Any other LE owners who can confirm this?


AutoLatch II™ Lock It Up With Ease
Our patented design has an automatic, dual locking action that releases both locks simultaneously with the twist of a dial. Limited Edition is the only roll-up cover to possess this unique feature, giving you maximum security without sacrificing ease of operation. A perfect fit for a truck owner who wants the strongest locking action available.

 

This is what Luke of Truckalterations said in this post

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/30338-access-cover-literider-cover.html#post468590

 

Mine does not use that kind of latching system (unless I'm a complete moron and that latch got put on seperately and I threw it away on accident). It is 100% an LE cover though. It has the Access Limited Edition logo on the back and has the black bars. I bought it from Luke @ Truck Alterations, and definitely paid for an LE, and from all the feedback he's gotten, I would doubt that I got the wrong cover. Maybe I got some kind of factory idiot to assemble mine and I got the wrong latching system, but I just pull the straps underneath the cover on both sides and it unlocks itself...

 

now we really need some other LE owners to confirm this, as I am interested to know what kind of latch comes with the LE that Luke is selling and maybe perhaps someone who got the LE from AutoAnything which cost about $110 more than Luke's price.

 

Is that lock supposed to be on the inside of the cover (when closed)? Now I'm confused too. There's no real problem with the way mine opens or closes, but if there's an easier way that I don't have, I'd like to know about it.

 

Well this thread got me interested, so I went out and looked, and...I was wrong. It's not yellow, but I do indeed have the mechanism that you twist to open the cover. It's not in the middle (about 1/2 of the way from the middle to the end of the driver's side), but it's definitely there.

 

Pictures? I'm thinking about getting the LE as well.

 

finished installing the access LE.

Here are my thoughts.
other than the convenience of unlatching both sides with one twist, there is really no reason to get the LE. The literider is a better buy for $100 less.

The so called element seal in front, which is not present in literider, can be replaced with weather stripping if needed, but others have said there is little or no leak even without the element seal.

The tailgate seal is also not present in literider but you can get that for just $20 more.

The install was suppose to be easy, but I had to deal with two torx screws from hell, they stripped when I was removing them. And screw extractor is unable to get it out also, it just keeps scraping the screw head like its made of aluminum. I finally got the two screws out with a lot of PB blaster and hammering to the side of the torx screws.

And finally, anyone who tells you that a bed extender will still work with Access Tonneau is lying to you. I would absolutely not have bought this Access LE if I had known the bed extender will not be able to swing in and out. I am pretty sure I have read several posts claiming bed extender works fine with Access tonneau. So now instead of simply swinging the bed extender in and out, I have to completely remove it, flip it over and then install it again. If you have a bed extender or plan on getting one, get a truxedo low pro instead.

 

I've been happy with my literider so far. Even with heavy rain I haven't found very much water leaks inside of the bed. I usually just notice some trickles down the front of the bed and goes under the bed mat.

I bought the tailgate seal with it, but have been waiting for warm weather to install. I might have skipped buying it had I known how little water would get in. I may end up just using part of it to see if I can totally seal off the front and maybe use the remainder on the sides of the tailgate, which appear to be the only noticeable gaps on these trucks.

My install was a PITA too because the drivers side rail bolts were overtorqued and i ended up having to get 3 or 4 of them out with a Kobalt screw extractor kit from Lowes.

 

I have the literider on mine and its great. considering I don't adjust the tension very much I didn't see the need for the tension adjustment gimmicks.

for $280 shipped it was well worth it. I picked up a roll of stick on weather stripping at ACE hardware for $7 and added a seal to the front and around the tailgate. it still leaks a little bit of water at the corners in the front if its raining really hard. I think a little bit of black silicon caulk in each corner will solve that problem.

 

I see truckalterations increased the prices, the literider was $250 shipped when I was looking before. I got the LE for $350 shipped, but is now $385.

for anyone decided on getting the access tonneau, I would recommend just getting the literider. The front weatherstripping, you can just buy the (house) door weatherstripping from home depot, same thing. I never installed the tailgate weather stripping (which was a waste for me), because it looks like it will just be a dirt trap.

now that I have used it for a while, I think getting a tonneau that covers to the edge of the truck bed is better. the access tonneau design makes the inside edges of the truck bed a dirt, leaves, etc trap. so you should consider truxedo lopro as an option.