Keeping water out with 1/2 unrolled tonneau

So I'm looking at outfitting the car with a rolling tonneau and a tonneau compatible rack. (KB voodoo?) The issue I am currently trying to figure out is that we have a cooler that is higher than the side of the bed by about 1.5 inches. I'm outfitting this for a winter ski/camping trip, and we want to keep our gear from getting rained/snowed on as much as possible. Since our cooler does not need to rain/snow protection, I figured we can roll the tonneau up enough to fit the cooler near the back, then put the other stuff under the covered portion. Has anyone tried something similar? I'm a little worried that rain/snow is still going to get to parts of the bed that I don't want despite the cover.

 

Everything will get wet.

Get another cooler. Who doesn't want a Yeti sticker on their truck?

 

But we got our current one (pelican) just last year!

Do Yeti's come with a sticker or something? The pelican didn't. I feel cheated now.

 

You could get a hitch rack for the cooler if you’re not towing anything.

 

Towing a travel trailer. BUT the travel trailer has a hitch too. Maybe there's something to that...

 

Put the cooler in the trailer. [/problem] [/thread]

 

could always put a hitch on the front for the cooler
picture was poached from TW member @Chux

 

I'd rather not - it's an a-liner and they don't really have much space for it. It's also pretty hard to get in and out of the trailer - the doors aren't that wide.

 

A-liner, Pelican cooler, Tacoma with rack/tonneau.

This wins the "First World Problems Thread" award of the week.

 

Hey I never claimed to be solving world hunger. After I solve this I can get to that one.

 

The battery and propane are there. Maybe could fit something but it'd be tight.

 

http://www.kbvoodoo.com/shop/toyota...-use-with-tonneau-covers-fits-years-2005-2016
With a basket to put the cooler in.

 

Another option might be to build a "wall" of some sort with plywood that goes behind the cooler that can act like a false tailgate. Then you can drape the tonneau material over that to help keep everything else dry.

 

Go Grizzly. Cheaper and has more insulation on the bottom.

 

I vote for this option. Weld up a custom basket that puts the cooler above the trailer bumper and as far forward as possible.

 

The only problem with putting it on the back of the trailer in a cargo basket is the weight distribution - those rear mounted hitches on TTs are designed to hold a bicycle or two. A large rotomolded cooler with ice and beer can easily top 100 pounds or more. Add in the lever arm of being all the way to the back and you've just decreased your tongue weight considerably.

I would definitely want to run a weight distributing hitch if I had something heavy like that on the back.

 

You're WAY overthinking it. A 100 pound cooler isn't going to do anything if it's on the back of the trailer. Hell, a 300 pound motorcycle on the back of the trailer would most likely barely be noticeable.

 

I'm a chemist and a motorcyclist. Overthinking things has kept me alive so far.

 

Get some of these to keep your stuff in. no Tonneau cover required

http://www.rubbermaid.com/en-US/actionpacker®

 

I'm pretty sure the trailer manufacturers calculate in plenty of tongue weight. After all, most trailers have the water tanks in the back. If they're full, it's going to weigh a lot more than a cooler, and for liability sake, they wouldn't design a trailer that was unsafe with full tanks. If the OP is that concerned about it, put the suitcases in the front of the trailer.