How do aftermarket tonneau covers compare to OEM?

If you were referring to the T5 I have not taken any pics but did an Amazon review yesterday but it hasn't posted yet. In short the T5 seems like a REALLY good cover so far for the price. We did have torrential downs pours right after I installed (7" one day and more the next). It did let some water seep in near the fender wells. I attribute this to the way the cover and top of bedrails interact. The bedrails have decorative channels or grooves on 3rd gen. The cover covers them in the back but not in the front since apparently the bed width is not perfectly uniform front to back. this allows some water to run under that channel and under the weather stripping of the cover and seep through at the point where the bed rail grooves enter the bed. It was a LOT of rain and I had minimal water (nothing draining just some wetness near the fender wells). Everything under the rest of the cover remained dry. It fits well, doesn't move at all at highway speeds and seems like a great option to me, as I was not expecting water/air tight. Can't comment on longevity but so far so good.

 

I have a deep fear of bridges

 

Mine arrived this week. I plan on installing in the next week or so.

 

Installed my Undercover Ultra Flex. So far its been great.

 

Diamondbacks start at $1329.........I think most guys are trying to avoid spending that much. Nice covers.

 

Yeah I bought a diamondback because I wanted full security of my bed and a place to stage gear when I am camping / shooting. Everyone has different needs, and if you don't need to use the full capabilities of the diamondback, it is a huge investment. Also another thing to consider is that it is another $300 to get the black bed-liner on the cover, which is generally what you want to do for looks / to protect the aluminum.

That being said, if you are able to spend the money, I would highly recommend a diamondback. Super easy install, absolutely no water intrusion (so far), and easy adjustability.

 

How do you like the T5 cover? Pluses? Minuses?

 

It’s working well so far. It does let a little water in pouring rain as mentioned. I have not tried to seal it any better, because it’s not enough for me to worry about. Everything working well with it so far. I like that it rides on top of the bed rails, adds a little bit of extra space vs the flush fit models. Took my son camping on Saturday and it was nice to be able to lock our archery gear and other valuable in there.

 

Have they addressed any flapping from wind coming from the front? Does it flop at the leading edges at all? Thanks!

 

No flapping at all for mine at interstate speeds. Snug it down evenly on both sides toward the cab, then wait a few days and snug it down just a bit more.

 

Spent weeks researching before I got mine, this is the way to go.

 

Just installed a Revolver x4. Wasn’t clear from all the research how complicated the locking mechanism is. I don’t have much confidence in it long term. Wish I’d gotten the Backflip.

 

How do you like it? Pluses? Minuses?

 

I really like it.

Pluses:
it has the high quality low profile look
is reasonably water resistant
folds up easy and is easy to secure
Easy install

Minuses:
small leak from the seam in the tailgate: after major storms there is a little bit of water in it
the train hoses from the rails are much too large to get through the ones in the bed by the cab
4 knobs to remove it

Overall I bought it over the MX4 as I knew if I needed my whole bed i would just remove the cover. I still wanted to be able to see out my back window. I feel I can justify the cost savings for the minor amount of inconvenience to remove the cover vs flipping it up next to the back window.

 

Is the tailgate leak a design flaw or just your personal experience you think?

 

With the design of the top and the moving etc. It is tough to seal compllety unless you weld and seal everything up and entombed whatever was in you box forever!

 

Not sure about that, I see plenty of people say their tonneaus are leak proof.

 

Almost anything will leak. You just have to get the right direction, pressure, flow or time.

 

its the gaps in the tail gate. i think they just naturally leak in heavy rain.

 

I have one of these. Leaks like a bitch. I have some weather stripping arriving today. Hope that takes care of it.