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DIY temporary tonneau / bed cover?

TDStudio

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Has anyone tried braking the old tonneau cover into 3 or 4 pieces that could be stored in the gear tunnel. Seems like we have a pretty good panel, it's a shame not to use it. I've actually never scene mine as it never worked. I was thinking of trying to get it out and play with it.
I'd say Rivian should be embarrassed that a truck that costs 90 grand should need a shitty plywood cover. Rivian is saying to me that the redesigned cover won't be out till spring. One year after my purchase. Thats not right.
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Olsonsolar

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They could have at least tested it out before putting it into production. Now it is probably costing the company millions of dollars not to mention customer anger and distrust.
 

Yellow Buddy

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[QUOTE="Yellow Buddy, post: 239903, member: 6242"
I have a working cover so I'm just here as an instigator.
At least for now.:)
[/QUOTE]

Funny enough, I've posted on here how my cover was more quiet than I expected. I've used it a ton and decided recently to even take video of me operating it w/o fear....which is when it started clunking. Teaches me...

It still works but it's certainly louder now than before.
 
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duessell

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Has anyone tried braking the old tonneau cover into 3 or 4 pieces that could be stored in the gear tunnel. Seems like we have a pretty good panel, it's a shame not to use it. I've actually never scene mine as it never worked. I was thinking of trying to get it out and play with it.
I'd say Rivian should be embarrassed that a truck that costs 90 grand should need a shitty plywood cover. Rivian is saying to me that the redesigned cover won't be out till spring. One year after my purchase. Thats not right.
I found myself wishing there were a way to just put the power tonneau drive motor into neutral so that we could just manually open and close the existing slats.

I parked next to a Hyundai Santa Cruz the other day and saw the manual bed cover on it closed along with what looked like the handle used to operate it. I'm a big fan of the KISS design principal and envied that functioning cover.
 

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Olsonsolar

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At least for now.:)
Funny enough, I've posted on here how my cover was more quiet than I expected. I've used it a ton and decided recently to even take video of me operating it w/o fear....which is when it started clunking. Teaches me...

It still works but it's certainly louder now than before.

[/QUOTE]
Oh man it sounds like you better decide if you want to keep it open or closed.
 

connoisseurr

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I stopped by Menards today to look at the HDPE panels and they'd no doubt work for this. I'd probably just do 3x panels with maybe weather stripping between each panel. I was moments from buying it and the thought crossed my mind, this truck cost more than my first house and here I am trying to do a homemade tonneau cover....wtf. Anyway, I left without buying it along with a recharged anger for this tonneau situation as a whole.
You do NOT want to use HDPE. It will begin to warp with sun contact. It has a very low melting point compared to other materials. Go with ABS or PET.
 

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I found myself wishing there were a way to just put the power tonneau drive motor into neutral so that we could just manually open and close the existing slats.

I parked next to a Hyundai Santa Cruz the other day and saw the manual bed cover on it closed along with what looked like the handle used to operate it. I'm a big fan of the KISS design principal and envied that functioning cover.
Actually, I really like this as the option for a totally manual option. Remove the motor etc. But continue to use the existing space where the panels are currently stored.

The user would manually push/pull them into place. And as a fail safe design, allow the panels to be pulled completely out from the tailgate end and stored either vertically against the cab or in the gear tunnel. Spread the word as a request if you agree.....

This in no way is meant to imply that Rivian should not create an acceptable auto cover. And it would be great if that included a clutch for manual actuation. That of course brings even more complexity to the design.
 
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That Santa Cruz cover looks great. KISS
Indeed. I like the look of this quite a lot, especially compared to what I have now. I also like the movable tailgate support cables.

 

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I think it'd be kinda cool to have some adapters that fit into the cargo rack slots and have an aditional bit on them that's metallic/magnetic, then a cover that hooks into those and has magnets to keep the corners down(so it's tight). Then you could lock it down a bit.
 

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Will get my R1T in next weeks.... will follow this as I would love to continue storing some boxes in truck bed without getting soaked and out of sight. Am I assuming right that if the panels slide in and the tailgate is closed and locked there is really no easy way for someone to get to the content? The tailgate needs to be open to remove the panels. Cutting into some hard plastic sheet would be quite the effort especially if not even knowing content.
 

SMiller22

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Picking my R1T up tomorrow and have the same issue (locked open). Think I'm going to try to get some decent Marine Grade Plywood ($50/sheet), have it cut into 4 sections, then stain it w/ some dark gray stain to match the interior wood (Ocean Coast). Will have to figure out the end tabs at the gate (saw one user hacksawed them out - crude but effective). Figure I'll affix some sort of rubber gasket at the end so it seals w/ the tailgate. Still working on how to make the slats interlock / stay water tight. Maybe try to notch them somehow so they interlock..... If it works it could look sweet....(ish?). we'll see....
 

SMiller22

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Another option might be slats of 1/2" thick manufactured wood flooring - already has the interlocking slats - just have to link them together when you slide them in...
 
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duessell

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Another option might be slats of 1/2" thick manufactured wood flooring - already has the interlocking slats - just have to link them together when you slide them in...
I like that a lot and have been thinking about it. I'm bumping into the same issue as some other options. That is, the individual boards are not long enough to span the bed. The longest boards I've found are 50.7 inches. I think 54.5 inches is needed to span the bed and insert into the tracks at both sides.

A single piece of plywood can be cut at a diagonal and then cut off ends of either piece to fill the bed but otherwise, plywood only comes in 48" widths.
 

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Just finished my go with 1x 4x8 sheet of HPDE from Menards and four aluminum braces for sag support. I had to cut extender strips for each side and just used rivets to attach those to the center piece. Then used self tappers to go into the 4’ aluminum bars that run across it. One coat of flat black paint. It’s pretty darn sturdy and I went down interstate at 85 and there no wobbles or noise. Super light, I can pick it up and slide it in/out easily on my own. Should do for now till Riv comes through with tonneau v2.0. About $175 invested..

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