The simplest and most budget-friendly thing you can do to improve the looks of your truck is to cover it with a tonneau cover. Although the problem arises when you are not successful in installing the covers correctly and tonneau covers flapping starts. If not installed properly it becomes lose and chances exist it will fly in the wind if the flapping continues.
So how tight should a tonneau cover be to stop its flapping? While you are installing a tonneau cover make sure that you tightened every screw evenly. Keep in mind if you don’t tighten the cap carefully it may get stretched by the temperature. The stretching will make it lose and the cover will start flapping. That’s how tonneau cover problems initiate after the installation process.
How you can stop a tonneau cover flapping?
Mostly the tonneau cover flapping occurs in soft covers as they are lightweight sheets. If you are using a tonneau cover for five-six years, it’s better to change it with a hard or retractable cover. They are a little costly but saves you from many tonneau cover problems. Moreover, the hardcovers are durable and long-lasting.
The only solution to solve the flapping of the cover with the screws tighten them. When a tonneau cover flaps it damages the materials present inside the covering. Moreover, you might have ended up having water leaks inside the truck as it affects the security of the truck.
It’s advisable to change the model of the tonneau cover into a solid hardcover.
Installing a Tonneau Cover:
Tonneau covers come in a set of rails. You attached the rails with the truck bedsides. Mostly every kind of tonneau cover has rails, even the massive clamshell-style has a rail system. Rails of tonneau are of different types such as:
- Tri-Fold
- Roll N Lock
- Rollup
If you have tri-fold rails it means the covers will be closely tied with the truck bed. This tri-fold allows minimum to know flapping to the tonneau cover unless there is some problem while securing the cover.
In the case of Roll N Up, you have solid pieces that move like a puzzle. You will not experience any kind of flapping in these rails.
Lastly, the Rollup rails have the most problems with a tonneau. You will experience a lot of flapping in the case of these rails. It has prolonged bouts which erode and degrades with the weather calamities.
Steps for installing a tonneau cover:
Follow the following steps to install a tonneau cover that has long-lasting life and doesn’t experience flapping.
Clean before installing the cover:
Before installing a tonneau cover clean the truck bed rails. It depends on the age of your truck how dirty they are. Sometimes when you buy covers they came with cleaning solutions and wipes. If there are bed rails, you have to remove them and fill the holes to prevent damage to the tonneau cover.
Weather Seal:
Some covers have drawbacks in that they erode and flap. This happens as they are not resistant to weather and snow and rainfall on them making them weak. Try getting a cover that has a weather sealant feature it will extend the life of your tonneau cover.
Seat the rails:
After the cleaning of the truck surface now you can start setting the rails beside the bedside. Nicely place the rails close to the bedside. Just place them close to the edges but do not screw them yet. As leaving them a little loose is necessary to perform the below-mentioned steps.
Clamp the tiny metal pieces:
You will notice when the tonneau cover arrives its packing has a mini bucket filled with small metal pieces. Assemble these pieces. Take each end and connect it to the long back piece that corresponds to the brace you are constructing.
Clamps go home:
As you are working with newly assembled clamps it’s time to clamp down the rail for the tonneau cover. For your information, you are using these claps as holders for placing the fabric in them.
After clamping the clamp double-check that the rails in order to avoid any mishap later.
Align the cover:
It is the most important step while installing a cover if you do it right your cover will be protected against flapping and wind damages. If you don’t align it properly you have to invest a huge amount of time to adjust the issue.
So to properly align the tonneau cover start from the corners and work your way down. If the cover is evenly aligned at the top and the center it is means the installation was a success. Make the cover tight now so avoid the flapping. Moreover, now is the time to add as many clamps as you want to adjust the cover.
Tighten the Clamps:
Once you successfully install the cover and aligned it properly tight the clamps to make them permanent. You can use tools like a wrench and socket to tightens the clamps. However, keep in mind to don’t over tighten the clamps as it is damaging and will decrease the effectiveness of the clamps if broken.
Before tightening the clamps make sure that everything has the correct position.
Rail at the center:
It’s not that important step but if you are doing everything to stop the flapping try this too. Try to properly place the rail system because if it is not placed properly your life of the cover will decrease. Moreover, the improper rail system also causes damages to the truck. To properly align the rail otherwise you have to put in several hours to make your mistake right.
Tailgate Clamps:
The clamps that reside just inside the closed tailgate should be tightened next. These clamps will secure the cover and rails to the truck. To say that these must be as tight as possible is an understatement. The cover’s life depends on the tailgate and other clamps being capable of holding down the lid.
Weather seals:
Now as you successfully installed the tonneau cover at your truck bed and it is expected that it will stop the tonneau cover flapping. Performs some additional steps which are not necessary but will be beneficial for your truck cover durability.
Inside the packaging of the tonneau cover, you will find some tubes and gutters which you can use to allow water to exit from the tracks. Removing the water from them is important to keep the function and work accurately.
Trial Test:
As you have installed the tonneau cover and it looks its seems fine it’s time for a test run. Perform the final testing to be assured that you installed the cover successfully and it is not flapping.
A simply rolling and unrolling pf canopy will be enough to check the setting of the tonneau cover. While testing if the traps become uneven and don’t run successfully it means that there is an issue. Adjust the problem by losing some of the clamps and fixing them again properly hopefully this will solve the issue and tonneau cover will stop flapping.
Also Read: Tonneau cover vs Camper shell
Conclusion
Many truck owners complain about the flapping of the tonneau cover. The flapping mostly occurred when the tonneau is not installed properly. Flapping produces noise while driving and decreases the life span of the cover. To make your truck more presentable and protect the cargo properly perform the above-mentioned step to install a cover properly.
A key in installing a tonneau cover is aligning the cover correctly and tightening the loose clamps. A cover installed properly will not only prevent it from flapping but will also increase the life span of the tonneau cover.
Leave a Reply