Tonneau Cover Bait & Switch

Ok, so here is what I was told at the dealership as I got one of the first ones delivered. Turns out there was a green initiative to sell certain number of tacoma's with the cover as a MPG saver feature. Mine came as part of the configured from the factory, not added. So what I would assume is the covers most of us got were already pre-configured and a small amount set aside for special orders. As fast as the Tacoma aselling, not surprised they ran out. What I will tell you is the aftermarket one seems to be more durable. I already broke a couple of the plastic ends where is folds.

 

Why is a poor design? Because using an 3rd party after market cover doesn't require the bed rails to be cut?

Maybe the Toyota Engineers thought it would be a "poor" design to have a factory cover that didn't let you utilize 100% of your new deck rail system underneath the cover.

Everyone one of the aftermarket covers I've looked at require multiple attachment points to the inside of the deck rail. To remove the OEM cover you remove one bolt. To install it you torque down one bolt...
How is that a bad design? Your bed is still 100% usable with the OEM cover removed as well.

 

I LOVE my oem cover. I didn't even know it was something you could order. The truck I ended up buying just happened to have one. I've already had to remove and replace it once, and it sure beats the heck out of the old vinyl snap covers.

 

If the intent was to use gaps in the bed rails for attachment points to the pins the bed rails could have been designed to accommodate those (removeable caps, etc), as opposed to looking like I took a hacksaw and cut out a square.

I'm an engineer myself, and I think the fact that when I remove my cover and drive around I have rough cut holes in my bed rails it appears to be a not well thought out and planned design. To each his own I suppose.

 

I get what everyone is saying about cutting the rails. As mentioned though to me it's not really a big deal, but to others it's apparently a deal breaker. 99.9% of the time I've had the Tonneau cover on, or a shell/topper, so the 'eyesore' of the bedrails is a moot point. and even if the situation did present itself where neither was on the truck, it would be for a specific purpose, say, to haul something that wouldn't fit with a topper or tonneau cover on, and once that job is done the tonneau would go right back.

And just to clarify, I am not against aftermarket covers at all. I just felt like the gripes that were previously made regarding the OEM tonneau simply weren't true. That person doesn't even have the OEM tonneau. Either way, you have to live with whatever cover you put on, so in the end go with what YOU like, not what others think it the best.

 

Its designed as it needs to be and works well. Better than aftermarket covers for installation and removal (in my opinion). The seal could be even tighter at times I feel...but its works very well.

What field of Engineering do you work in?

 

How are you "covered" for 100k miles on the cover?

 

Agreed on the functionality. It has been very good keeping water out, and is easy to open/use. I also don't mind the bolt as it's really not difficult to remove. It's the implimentation I have issue with. There would have to be more elegant solutions.

Electrical engineer, work in new design for a huge defense contractor.

 

Alright fellow Engineer!

I'm a Stress Engineer/Analyst in the Aerospace-Defense industry.

 

Now I'm curious to see which one I have. Mine had the tonneau cover when I bought it.

 

Same thing happened to me

 

I have an extended warranty. Covers everything on the vehicle.

 

Hate to break it to you, extended warranties don't cover everything. They don't cover items that are worn, damaged, or corroded. They usually don't cover any added or aftermarket equipment. If the dealer can't even order a complete tonneau cover no list it as an accessory, odds are highly against any warranty company covering it.

 

If something breaks, like a lock, latch, etc. it's covered. This was installed at the factory/port, not aftermarket, and came as OEM equipment on my truck. I asked this specific question when I bought the truck. It's covered. And parts can be ordered. Why would they order an entire cover anyway if just one component fails or breaks?! People have already broken parts off the OEM tonneau and successfully had the dealer order and replace the part under warranty.

Regardless, i won't have the truck much longer anyway hopefully.

 

I know they are installed outside the factory. That's why I'm stating this. Im not saying they would order an entire cover, however sometimes parts are unavailable or even discontinued later on and the only way to get them in that case would be a full replacement, if that's even possible down the road. A lot of 3rd party warranty companies will not cover components not installed at the time of assembly. If it's on the original window sticker then you should be ok. I'm not sure what your particular companies policy is. A lot will reject the claim. If it's a Toyota extended warranty I'm sure they would cover it. I work for a large auto group and finance managers and sales people will pretty much tell you anything to make the sale. I see customers come in all the time thinking their warranty will cover certain things or components and they get rejected by the warranty company. Everything is at the companies approval and they will not pay for anything until they give that approval. Don't take this the wrong way I'm simply just trying to give you words of advice.