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You can install this retractable, hard tonneau cover on your vehicle in about 10 minutes, and you can completely remove it just as quickly for full bed access. Aluminum and vinyl deck has strength of a hard cover and seamless look of a soft cover.
Features:
Specs:
The Switchblade retractable hard tonneau cover provides you with security and weather protection for your truck bed, easy accessibility to your cargo, and the flexibility to haul large items that require full bed capacity whenever needed. You can install the cover without assistance in approximately 10 minutes, and you can completely remove it from your vehicle's bed just as quickly. The tonneau deck is constructed of a vinyl fabric top sheet that is bonded to rigid aluminum panels, combining the seamless appearance of a soft cover with the security features of a hard cover.
Simple, 1-Person Installation
To install the cover, set the canister on the bulkhead of your truck. Make sure that it's square with your bed. Bolt the side rails to the tabs on the canister.
Secure the rails to your truck bed side rails using 2 clamps per side. Slide the clamp onto the rail, flip the pivot arm up so it is under the bed rail lip, and tighten the clamp in place with the twist knob. Shims are included for trucks with tapered beds.
Each clamp at the tailgate end of the rails has a supplemental kickstand to help level the rails and prevent overtightening during installation. To install the kickstand, simply slide it into the grip handle at the bottom of the clamp. Rotate the kickstand so the foot rests squarely against the side wall of the truck bed, and tighten in place.
Mount the top cover plate to the canister with the included hardware. Attach the drain tubes to the canister and route each tube out of the OEM drain holes in the floor of your bed.
To hold the pull strap off the floor of your truck bed, apply the adhesive hook-and-loop fastener strip onto the underside of a rail at your desired location.
Remove or Reinstall in 10 Minutes
After the initial installation, the tonneau cover can be completely removed or reinstalled in approximately 10 minutes. The Switchblade is great for whenever you need to haul large items that require full bed capacity from front to back and side to side. After your large haul is complete, you can easily reinstall the cover to protect your truck bed again.
To utilize your entire truck bed, detach the canister from the side rails by removing the bolts on either side with a wrench. Then take the side rails off your truck by removing the clamps with the same wrench. Wrap the pull-strap around the canister and use it to lift the canister off your vehicle.
Retractable Cover with Built-In Pull Strap
To retract the Switchblade, simply squeeze the pinch grips located underneath the cover near the center of the tailgate to activate a heavy-duty tension spring. The spring automatically retracts the cover into the canister at the bulkhead of your truck bed. This provides quicker, easier access to your truck bed when compared with manual retractable covers that have no spring-loaded assist.
A built-in pull strap helps you extend the cover over your bed. As you pull, the tonneau will glide smoothly along tracks in the side rails until it reaches the tailgate and secures in place. You can also use the rear plate of the tonneau cover to pull it closed.
Compact, Angled Canister
The cover retracts into a canister located at the front of your truck bed, giving you unrestricted visibility out of your rear window. The canister also protects the stored cover from the elements. And the compact, angled design allows for maximum clearance for your tools and cargo.
Water Management System
The Switchblade rails feature a water management system that channels excess water into the canister. This prevents water from getting into your bed or freezing in your tonneau cover rails during cold temperatures. Drain tubes attached to the bottom of the canister remove water through the OE drain holes in the floor of your truck bed.
Flush-Mount Design
The black powder-coated side rails sit 1/8" above your truck bed rails for a flush appearance. This low-profile design is aerodynamic to reduce wind drag, and it helps to improve gas mileage when the cover is closed.
Stylish and Heavy-Duty Construction
The Switchblade deck is constructed of a vinyl top layer bonded to heavy-duty aluminum slats. This ArmorTek deck looks like a soft tonneau cover with no visible seams, but has the strength and security of a hard tonneau cover. A large seal at the rear of the bed closes the gap between the cover and tailgate to create a barrier to prevent water from entering the truck bed.
Security
The Switchblade provides excellent protection for your cargo when used in conjunction with a closed and locked tailgate. Both the pinch grips and pull strap are located underneath the rear plate, which makes them inaccessible when your truck bed is closed. The heavy-gauge aluminum panels are better at preventing theft when compared with soft covers that can be cut or punctured with a knife. The panels are also more effective at preventing theft than tri-fold hard tonneau covers because the panels cannot be pried open at any point along the rails.
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Average Customer Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars (270 Customer Reviews)
You can install this retractable, hard tonneau cover on your vehicle in about 10 minutes, and you can completely remove it just as quickly for full bed access. Aluminum and vinyl deck has strength of a hard cover and seamless look of a soft cover.Dear Ranger owners. This product is one inch short. Be aware. If you got a one inch thick liner, this is perfect. If not, this product will not be flush with the front bed. If you make it flush, then it is one inch short. etrailer tells me to return it with xxx return fee. And they would charge me for restocking fee. Haha what an amazing policy. Now that customer received it, they know customers wont return with heavy return fee. STAY AWAY.
This is an amazing tonneau cover , works so smoothly and very easy to install. Fits my ranger like a glove and looks great ! Potential for water between rails and tailgate , easily remedied with some foam packing material and double sticky tape. Just took her through the car wash and not a drop in the bed ! As always I buy with complete confidence from etrailer ! You guys rock ! Also my gas mileage is increasing , yay
I don't feel like this product is well built for a 2021 ford ranger. There are fit issues like the cap which overlays the rales which makes it very hard to screw in. Very frustrating when you pay this kind of money and it feels like they used another model to make it work for the Ford Ranger. The rails stop a good 2 inches before it hits the tailgate. I've installed other models before and they all can be dificult but I haven't had the fit issue like I've had with this one. The retactable cover doesn't retract completely either but sticks out a few inches past the cartridge. I followed the instructions in every detail. They are a little vague so perhaps thats the issue. I wouldn't buy this product again.
Sierra K.
8/31/2021
The installation sounds a bit wrong. There should not be 2 inches of a gap between the tailgate and the Tonneau rail end cap foam. This gap should only be one sixteenth of an inch. It sounds like you will need to loosen all of the clamps and pull everything back. Also, please check your end caps to see if they are on the wrong sides.
I LOVE this cover. I was worried that it would be difficult to open but this is extremely easy. Just a pinch and the tip rolls back. Grab the strap and it closes. It took about an hour to install. I highly recommend this product.
Box was torn up when I received it. But got it FAST. Not to hard to install and took about 1-2 hours. Only thing I did not like was putting holes in my bed liner for the drains. Looks good. etrailer rocks again.
Good cover. I farm so it’s in lots of dust and adverse conditions but keeps water and most of dust out of bed.
Easy to install works great.
Within three months the seals along the rails warped in the sun making it nearly impossible to slide the cover open or closed. I have upgraded my cover to a Bakflip MX4. I can’t share photos because I discarded the whole cover.
The Pace Edwards Switchblade has performed well after a year. It's still holding up and is a great way to protect your bed and belongings. I use a slider hitch from Pull-Rite to tow and as long as the upper hitch plate is removed there is absolutely no interference. Also the cover does NOT interfere with towing when it's retracted. I would buy this again and recommend it for its durability and good looks.
Just installed this afternoon, so not a lot of experience yet. I installed by myself in about 1 1/2 hours. The instructions were clear and brief. I had a little trouble getting the front clamps in place, but that was due to the thickness of a brand new spray-in bed liner, it was pretty thick. Once everything was in and adjusted the cover works good and looks like it will keep most of the weather out.
This is my second switchblade, I like the security and look. It allows more water in the bed than expected. The packaging could be better this unit showed up with serious damage to the box and the drain tubes were broken due to placement under the canister in the box. Etrailer sent replacement drain tubes soon as I called. Great service!
The bad:
1. The product showed up with damage. Box looked to be taped to fix it being dropped.
2. The metal parts that rest on the bed rail were bent.
3. They talk about shims in the instructions and the video but do not show where the shims are. I did have to remove them to help even out the distance the rails are between the front and back.
The good:
1. All parts were still in the box.
2. I was able to straighten the metal parts and install the product.
3. The installation video was very helpful.
Looks great. Should be durable enough for me and my application. Appears to be well made and was fairly easy to install. I was replacing an older well used cover for my truck that was a dealer installed after market cover that was merely worn out. My brother and I installed this Slingshot in a little less than an hour. A person with with average skills should be able to install this cover with minimal issue. Certainly is easier with two people but not difficult.
Received my bed cover last night in a wore out beat up box. parts hanging out of it. When I opened it it was full of returned items from other customers. When I asked to discount and speed up shipment on the replacement I was told nothing he could do. I have been a loyal customer and I'm not happy with the way this has been handled.
Does not fit entirely flush with the trucks bed as the picture shows. Called customer service for help with the order and they tried to upsell me on another cover. I specifically stated that I didn’t see the cover with the matte finish. Website has poorly posted pics. Buyer beware. I’ll pay $[XX] to return the cover and will buy from [online vendor]
Cover was very easily to install. However wasn’t pleased with how the cover of box was bowed and never sealed to truck bed, or the cover didn’t fit up to top cap. Wasn’t impressed with how quick the seals on the end caps tore off.
After searching for a bed cover I came back to etrailer because of the service and quality of my 5th wheel hitch that I purchased from them when I bought my new truck. I received my new bed cover and it is awesome just as described and fit perfect and took about 30 min to install it. etrailer is the place to buy all your truck or trailer needs . As you can see from the pictures it covers up my diesel tank and the 5th wheel hitch when not in use and when you pull the 5th wheel then just roll in into the canaster.
The buying process - is very easy, and shipping - is sooner than expected at my door. Installation of the cover is also very easy. The quality is very good and it looks good.
easy install, works great, allows me to keep the bed cover on while using my 5th wheel.
Seals didn’t last long. I had to replace the tailgate seal twice and finally siliconed it in place. Other than that it’s been a good bed cover.
The cover looks great and DOES work on a 2020 Ram 3500 8'bed. It was easy to install. It was missing 2 hex bolts to connect the rails to the canister but a few dollars at the local hardware store fixed that. The only concern I have is the canister cover is a little warped, either from shipping or manufacturing, allowing the cover to retract in the canister without touching the brush on the canister cover. This could allow dirt and dust into the canister later as well. All in all great looking cover that does what its intended to do.
Item's box is well made and sturdy, however UPS shipping still was able to damage the item. Metal supports that hold the canister were bent. Was able to straighten them and installed it on my Ram 3500. Everything works like it is supposed to and you can't even tell it was damaged in shipping. Would have given this a 5-star rating but shipping and receiving the item in good order is part of the process.
This is a nice enough cover and fairly easy to install but does not keep the bed of the truck dry like some other covers I have owned.
The products are great when you get the right stuff ordered twice through you guys got the wrong parts both times not ordering from you again
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Sierra K.
10/18/2021
After market products such as a bed liner may need some modifications to achieve the best fitment, especially with the thicker plastic in liners. After reviewing your photos it appears that there was possibly a step in the instructions that was missed. There should be about a 1 sixteenth inch gap between the tailgate and the Tonneau rail end cap foam. To achieve this, you will need to loosen the Tonneau rail clamps and pull everything back towards the tailgate end of the truck and then tighten the clamps. Then you can shift the tailgate seal over to the other side to center it. If the seal is too long, you can cut it to length and then reinstall it.