Is it OK to leave the Tri Fold tonneau cover on in car wash?

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wfodave

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I'm a little leery of running the truck through the car wash in general because of the height (2500 4WD), but sometimes I just don't have time to do it myself. I am really thinking the wash is going to be hard on the factory tri fold tonneau cover. Has anyone tried leaving it on for the trip through The tunnel? To be clear, I'm not talking about the super janky carwashes attached to a gas station, but the better stand alone ones like Riptide, if that helps.
Thanks!
 

RandyMarionCDJR

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That's a hard call I would say is more left up to preference. We think you would be safe to do so, but even the best of the best car washes can damage your vehicle in many ways. Best of luck to you & hopefully someone can give you a more educated answer than " I think it will work".
 

OC455

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I ran my 1500 through the touchless ones without issues. Not a fan of the ones with the brushes, always worried about the spinning brushes having something caught in one that would cause damage.
 

Tofik

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I have a Lomax trifold hard cover on a short bed 1500 and go through any car wash without a problem. No significant leaks or issues. I would be more worried about a folded (stored) cover than a closed one really.
 

Irishthreeper

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I have a Gator soft trifold on my 2500 and usually avoid automatic car washes. That said, I have done it twice and there wasn’t an issue. I think modern car washes have minimal down pressure and use fairly soft bristles to avoid damage liability
 

Pudge

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I have a bakflip. Been driving through touch less washes for 12 years. No issues. Perfect way to keep it cleaned to.
 

quickster2

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I've had many OEM tri-fold covers on the Company Car vehicles. Never had an issue through a car wash. On my personal truck the same result. I do go over it with 303 once per year usually early in the fall. If you have a radio antenna (like my 2015 has) definitely take that off.
 

GTyankee

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I also have a Backflip, i run my Ram through every kind of carwash, except for the ones where you drive in & the machine works its way around the parked vehicle

My Sign Rack might make a mess of that type of machine

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JayLeonard

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I run mine thru a Tommy's about once a week. No problems.
 
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wfodave

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Thanks everyone; I believe the jury has spoken. Off to the carwash!
 

Roboros1

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I have had a Gator Bak Flip on every truck I have ever owned with zero problems going through any Carwash of any sort. Touch less or otherwise. You will likely have a few dribbles of water in the bed but it won’t hurt the cover. As someone else said earlier. If you will drive it on the express way while it’s raining and everything goes ok then your fine putting it through the car wash.
 

Marshall

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I have a soft roll up , on last 3 trucks, I have run in throu the touchless washes, never seen a brush type one around here, never had a problem.
The air dryer/ blower is what could be a problem, but no trouble with that.
 

CapeFlyer

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My car wash will not repair/fix if what’s damaged is aftermarket. I ordered my truck with the trifold installed by the factory. I’ll see a little water when I open the tailgate at the lip but the rest of rhe bed is dry.
 

jimboschnitz

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I have an Extang solid fold 2.0 which is a heavy duty trifold and have no issues running it thru the car wash. My 2016 had a Gator soft rollup and I ran it through the wash all the time with no issues.
 

NETexas

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Have a BakFlip hard trifold on Ram 1500 and run it through a car wash that has a double set spinning cloth like strips without a problem. However once it pulled out my RAM trailer hitch block off.
 

dreygo66

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That's a hard call I would say is more left up to preference. We think you would be safe to do so, but even the best of the best car washes can damage your vehicle in many ways. Best of luck to you & hopefully someone can give you a more educated answer than " I think it will work".
I have used the touch less car washes several times with no issue, however, you may get some spray thru on the sides.
 

NavyGuy

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Another BakFlip trifold owner. I go through the car wash a couple of times a week. Have the monthly plan:)
 

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