Forum Discussion

machunt's avatar
machunt
Explorer
Sep 30, 2013

tri fold hard cover

whats the chance of these covers being in the way when towing a 5ver/ truck has a 8 ft bed.

14 Replies

  • I had one that folded all the way forward to a vertical position right behind the passenger compartment window so I don't think it would have caused any interference when towing a 5er.
  • I have a BakFlip F1 hard cover on my 8 ft. Bed. Four folds and no problem when hooked up. Love it.
  • There is always a chance for crumpling these. If you are backing and turning when the truck tilts off camber, the clearance goes away quickly.

    I always take my tri-fold off when towing my 5'r. My trailer has 6 1/2" inches of clearance. Once I have crumpled the driver side bed rail, when backing, turning, and passenger side went down. Driver side then goes up. Clearance gone and trailer overhang went into the truck rail by one inch. $800 repair.

    Last spring it almost happened again. But I saved it. Backing down my driveway. Making a backing turn again. In order to negotiate this tight narrow turn, the trailer wheels needs to go off the pavement and into the dirt beside the pavement. We had a very wet spring, with lots of rain. Truck NOT off camber but, the trailer wheels sunk in the mud. Overhang of trailer dropped down to the driver side bed rail. After doing this once, I was watching the bed rail. And was able to pull forward before damage occurred.

    Even just pulling out of my paved driveway, my truck goes a little off camber when turning left onto the street. Trailer overhang comes within 2 inches of the bed rail. If I had the tri-fold on there it would be crushed. I can only imagine what would happen if going in or out of a gas station with a high ramp entrance.

    If you have a long bed you'll be a little better off. But my recommendation is to remove it and store it in the trailer when towing. Eliminate the risk.
  • I have one on my 6.5' box and it works great and I do not remove it when the 5er is hooked up. There are no clearance issues at all. When I hook up the trailer I just fold it up and attach the 2 buckles and leave it in place. After I unhook the trailer at the campground I fold it back down.