Does Factory Tonneau Cover require cutting holes in bed rail cap?

If you get the factory cover but choose to keep it off unless you need it, are there exposed holes in the bed rail cap? In other words, is the truck physically altered to accommodate the cover and can you tell it? And if it is modified, is it just holes cut in rubber/plastic rail cap or are there holes cut in steel body?

 

Unlike most aftermarket solutions, the factory one does modify the bed rails (plastic) of the truck to attach the studs used as part of the locking mechanism to the bed. So if it's removed, the bed rails will have cutouts and the studs will be exposed. There are many pics on the forum regarding how the OEM bed cover attaches - do some searching if you want specific details.

 

Can anyone share some pics of this? I searched and couldn't find anything. I do plan on removing the tonneau cover and possibly getting a topper down the road. Would like to understand the extent of these cuts and any implications (e.g. rainwater infiltration). I just put my order in and I'm thinking I might want to cancel the tonneau cover if possible, but would be helpful to have better understanding of cuts! Any further info anyone can provide would be much appreciated!

 

I attached a pic. There are 3 of these cut-outs per side that allow the latch-bolts to be mounted. The latch bolts are secured with 2 hex head cap screws each and would be easy to replace if needed. There are 2 threaded boss's built into the inner vertical edge of the bed rail for each of the 6 cut-outs. In addition there is a pair of threaded boss's in the center of the front bed rail (behind cab). The is for a rubber vertical support that holds up the weight of cover, probably most useful when cover in folded twice position, exposing 2/3 of bed. I originally was suspect of the cover and wondering who did work and quality. I can tell you EVERY truck has these threaded boss's in them, even the trucks w/o Tonneau covers! I guess it weighs about 75-80 lbs and I have removed mine by myself several times in 1 month. You can see in the pic (if you enlarge it) the flat base of the latch bolt is hidden by a plastic cover hiding the pair of hex head cap screws. In summary, for $650 I thought the cover was well designed with integrated attachment system put in all trucks. I am a structurally engineer and leary of anyone drilling holes into painted metal for many reasons. This design is fully thought out. It is not something put on at dealer that will eventually rust. It is very tight but a few drops of water may get in at corners. There is a hold down bolt (12mm I think) in the passenger side corner behind cab. With the tailgate up and locked you can't remove cover because you can't access release handles which are underneath.

 

Hey thanks for the picture and info! That is kinda worse than I expected, but if you keep the tonneau on it isn't a big deal. Could you by some new rails if you wanted to restore it to pre-tonneau down the road?

Sounds like you're happy with the tonneau though overall? I like it and am still learning toward it over a topper. Just doesn't make sense for me to get a topper since I only really need it for sleeping in the truck (which might happen a few times a year at most).

One more question for those with a tri-fold tonneau. I assume you can't really fold up that last third... the piece near the cab? That portion always remains down, correct? I'd imagine it'd block the window if you could fold it up so it's pro ably not possible...

 

The best way to deal with the tonneau if you have it and don't want it is to sell it to someone that does want it. When you hand it off you swap rails with the buyer and just like that it's as if you never had the tonneau at all. If you prefer to just get the rails on your own, uncut ones from the dealer run ~$145 per side. Oh, and the third panel does not fold up.

 

I have the Extang Tri-fold 2.0, and the forward section is ALWAYS down. On some others, the entire folded cover tilts up and does in fact block the window, but gives access to the entire bed. It depends on which style you prefer. If I need the entire bed, I can take the cover off entirely...it's not fun, but takes about 5 minutes.