Retrax ProMX installed. Lots of pics

I got home from work today and it was like christmas in July! My Retrax ProMX is finally here and I get to move my tools from my backseat to the bed.



Before I go any further, I want to give a huge mahalo to Morrie at ************************. I was shopping around for Retrax ProMX for several weeks until I found his website. His prices were the best and he charges actual costs of shipping, not the $150-200 gouging prices others wanted to charge me because I'm in Hawaii. I will definitely recommend ************************ to anyone that is looking for a cover. Especially bradas in Hawaii, shipping is a huge issue here.

Ok enough backstory, back to the install. Retrax came with specific instructions for 2016 tacoma. First you have to remove the header rail in the bed.


Stick the included foam seal on the ends and replace the header.


It completely seals the front of the bed.


Next, slide 2 mounting cleats into the track system. The holes in the cleats are off centered but it is idiot proof with stickers showing the bottom lol.


Btw, if you want to use the factory tie downs with the cover, now is the time to install them. Put the factory tie down between the two mounting cleats. The factory tie down will not fit once the Retrax is installed. I found out the hard way...


Next, mount 2 aluminum spacers to the rails. This is what you will be bolting to the mounting cleats in the track.


Once that is done you are ready to work on the canister. Remove the white shipping bracket and tubes. Keep the shipping bracket handy as you will use that soon.


Flip the canister over and apply these foams on the bottom of the canister. I really don't know why its required as it doesn't hit anything in the bed. But they were in the instructions so I installed them anyways.


Next, time to install the rails to the canister. Slide the rails on and fasten with 2 screws.


I used the packing foam to give it some leverage. Once the rails are on, install the front cover with 2 allen head screws.


Here is a pic of fully installed unit.


My neighbor came home just as I was done with the rails. I called him over and asked him to carry it onto the bed. It isn't heavy but very awkward to carry by yourself. Once you have the canister on the bed, slide the rails back towards the tailgate until it hits the shipping bracket. It'll leave 1/8" gap between the rails and tailgate.


Mount the canister side rails onto the track. I sat on the rails while tightening to smash the weather seal. Measure 3 points along the rail and make sure they are within 1/16". It comes with several shims for adjustments but my rails were on the money at 52 7/16" so I tighten them all down and tested the cover for smooth operation.


Now time for the drain tubes. I'm still not sure where I want to drill for the tubes so I left them draining into the bed for now.


All done.


Here it is with the cover closed.


It took me just over an hour for the install while stopping to take pictures for this review. Retrax ProMX is just awesome. I drove around for a while with the rear window open and the cover is dead silent. On the way back home it started to rain so drove around a bit more to test the water tightness. Open the tailgate to only find a trickle of water next to the tailgate which is good enough for me.

Let me know if you guys got any questions. I'll try to answer as much as I can and also I'll update after some use.

Thanks for reading. Until my next mod...

 

Good stuff. I had Retrax units on two gen2's over the years and never had an issue with these units.

 

whats the security like with them?
is it more so just to cover stuff in the bed from getting wet or could it actually protect your stuff from being stolen?

 

Could you post the size it takes up in the bed? I've been looking into getting this or the rollnlock and just seeing which ones takes up least amount of space.

 

The retractor is 11"X11". The retractor size was my only complaint about a Retrax. It does lock and it is pretty water tight.

 

Just a heads up here, but it doesn't. There's a rather large hole outside of the foam under the side rails on either side facing the cab. They are pretty hard to see with the plastic side caps in place.

 

I bought the cover to keep things locked up. I think it's pretty secure with the cover and tailgate both locked. It'll take some effort to break into my bed.

 

Th

Thanks for the heads up. We had some pretty bad rain last few days. I'll go check if any water got in there.

 

The canister is 11"X11" but the cover doesn't retract all the way. It sticks out another inch past the canister when fully open. The canister also rests on the wheel well so you got about 6" below the canister.

 

After installation did the side rails sit flush onto the bed? I just installed mine and it sits about a lil under a cm up because of the foam in between. In the videos ive seen it sat flush.

 

Mine is the same. All the pictures I've seen looked flush but mine is about 1/4" off the truck. At least they don't leak.

We just had tropical storm Darby come through here last week and the cover didn't leak a drop. I'm very happy with the cover so far and I don't think I'm gonna drill the bed for drain tubes.

 

I have a 2019 Tacoma TRD OR and I want this Retrax cover and I want to fasten a ARB or Dometic fridge at the back near the tailgate on a slider. Height space may or will be an issue. What is the height between the bed floor and the underside of the cover? As I understand, the bed height is 19 inches. I guess another way to ask the question is, how much space does the Retrax cover eat up? Or do we lose any height space at all? Is there a height gain? Oh, and on a side note, this is my first and probably first of many posts.

 

Gotta get someone to stand on the rail when you bolt it to the bed side tracks. The bracket is slotted so theres play up and down. Mine used to sit flush before I added my bedrack so now it doesn't sit flush no matter what cuz of the rack feet.

 

Pretty sure it doesn't eat up any space on mine. The rails that it runs on are about an inch higher than the bed rail so it's pretty flush

 

Therefore if I have 19 inches of height before installing the RetraxPro XR, I will have at least 19 inches of height after the install. Thanks. Now I just need to contact ARB or whoever and get specifications of the combined height with their fridge and fridge slider so I don't go over 19 inches.

 

I had the Retrax ProMX on my 2012 TRD OR. Over the security and ability to lock the position of the cover wherever I wanted to on the rail. Solid build/construction.

 

CAUTION:

If you drill on the driver side drain hole using the existing drain hole there as a start point....

The gas tank fill tube is almost right underneath. (on the shortbed not the longbed)

Couple people nicked the filler tube when the drilled it out and didn't know until the truck through a code for the evap system.

 

An alternative to going through the floor of the bed is through the cab side bulkhead. On my F250 there were some nice 1” robber grommets that I went through without having to drill. Having them up keeps you from hitting the tubes when you slide things all the way in. Also shorter path out.

 

any mpg difference with the retrax?

 

Great post.
I just ordered a Pro Mx too. Got a great price so I had to order.