Roll N Lock Bed Cover

[2014 Ram]

guys.
i had a lineX spray on bed liner and roll n lock bed cover installed on my 2014 ram 1500 yesterday. looks really nice, but why in the heck did dodge make the bed unequal widths ?? the bed is wider at the front near the back window, which makes the roll n lock sit on the bed rails strangely, leaving a gap at the front... very strange why dodge would do this...

 

[charonblk07]

Actually, most truck beds are tapered. Both my F350s have had tapered beds the same as both my Rams. The Roll-n-lock should come with tapered rails to match, at least the one on my '07 did. If there are any gaps then the rails weren't adjusted properly when it was installed. The only gap you should have is about 1/2" between the rail and the housing to allow you to move the grabrail in/out of the housing to install it into the rails.

 

[2014 Ram]

thanks for the input..
yes, my brothers f350 is also tapered, but his panels dont show the problem i have with mine. here is a picture of mine, you can see the way the panel runs off the bed rail near the front... and in the manual that they gave me with the cover, from roll n lock, shows the sample dodge truck having the same thing.... just kind of stupid to me that they wouldnt make a tapered panel so this wouldnt show..
thanks again for the input.

 

[saintsreturn]

I am about a month out from buying one of these too... My bud has a tundra with it and it is the best cover by far for what we do. Simple, strong, and safe. I will have to check his for the taper and see what he did differently

 

[charonblk07]

That is strange, wasn't an issue on my '07. Have you tried adjusting the bracket towards the outside?

 

[rollnlock]

Hi 2014 Ram,

I am Director of Sales for Roll N Lock and saw your initial post concerning the fit of your new retractable cover. I have shown your posted picture to our technical staff and all agree that it is a correctly installed Roll N Lock M-Series retractable cover. Unfortunately, the Ram bed tapers 3 1/2 inches from front to back. As charonblk07 noted, many truck beds are produced that way. However, he is mistaken in that we have never produced "tapered rails" (our rails are extruded aluminum - and there is not a way to make them "tapered".) His 2007 Dodge did not come with plastic bedrail caps - so it is possible that he might not have noticed as much of a "gap". In fact, the "gap" you are seeing is the top of our adapter flanges. A moving truck bed cover, by design, must be rectangular - even when the bed is not. If we did not use the adapter flanges, the entire cover housing would simply fall into the bed! Both the Dodge (since 2002) and the Chevy/GMC (since 2007) require the use of adapter flanges. However, there isn't quite as much taper on the GM twins, so you typically don't see the flange. I hope that alleviates any concern you might have about the fitment of your new cover. I am sure it will give you many years of excellent service. Be sure to use only the included 303 lubricant on the rails and cover - and don't forget to register your warranty. If you have any other questions or concerns about your new cover, please call our tech staff at 800-952-7655. Thanks for purchasing one of our covers!

ERIC KRAFT

 

[ammo]

I loved the one I had one on my 2011 Silverado, the taper was hardly noticeable at all. On the Dodge it really stands out.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

[2014 Ram]

Hi 2014 Ram,

I am Director of Sales for Roll N Lock and saw your initial post concerning the fit of your new retractable cover. I have shown your posted picture to our technical staff and all agree that it is a correctly installed Roll N Lock M-Series retractable cover. Unfortunately, the Ram bed tapers 3 1/2 inches from front to back. As charonblk07 noted, many truck beds are produced that way. However, he is mistaken in that we have never produced "tapered rails" (our rails are extruded aluminum - and there is not a way to make them "tapered".) His 2007 Dodge did not come with plastic bedrail caps - so it is possible that he might not have noticed as much of a "gap". In fact, the "gap" you are seeing is the top of our adapter flanges. A moving truck bed cover, by design, must be rectangular - even when the bed is not. If we did not use the adapter flanges, the entire cover housing would simply fall into the bed! Both the Dodge (since 2002) and the Chevy/GMC (since 2007) require the use of adapter flanges. However, there isn't quite as much taper on the GM twins, so you typically don't see the flange. I hope that alleviates any concern you might have about the fitment of your new cover. I am sure it will give you many years of excellent service. Be sure to use only the included 303 lubricant on the rails and cover - and don't forget to register your warranty. If you have any other questions or concerns about your new cover, please call our tech staff at 800-952-7655. Thanks for purchasing one of our covers!

ERIC KRAFT

Thanks much for the detailed info. I love this cover a lot. Good to know that nothing is wrong. I'm just a little picky and it would be nice if you could come up with something that could be sandwiched between them so it would cover that unsightly gap.
I guess being a machinist and welder my entire life has me always wanting close tolerances. Just me..
thanks again.

 

[rollnlock]

I am pleased that you are enjoying your new Roll N Lock cover. I will certainly mention your thoughts for a trim plate of some sort to our R&D staff.

 

[saintsreturn]

Does this gap allow water in it or anything like that?

Sent from this thing in my hand

 

[2014 Ram]

Does this gap allow water in it or anything like that?

Sent from this thing in my hand

a little more than if it weren't there... but not horrible..

 

[rollnlock]

2014 Ram,

There are a couple simple little tricks to keeping that "gap" from causing a leak. If you call Dave in our tech department at 800-952-7655, ext. 223, he can walk you through them.

ERIC

 

[ammo]

I would think the bed rails could be tapered to look better on the Ram while still providing for the needed rectangular shape for the roll out.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

[rollnlock]

Hi ammo,

Yes, on the surface, that would SEEM to be a solution. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a tapered extrusion (the profile of the aluminum extrusion has to be constant end-to-end.) Our rails come from our extruder in 20' lengths which are then sawn, drilled, punched, etc., to work with each different truck application.

ERIC

 

[2014 Ram]

2014 Ram,

There are a couple simple little tricks to keeping that "gap" from causing a leak. If you call Dave in our tech department at 800-952-7655, ext. 223, he can walk you through them.

ERIC

thank you very much, and i will give him a call this week.