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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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Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hi, everyone, Aidan here at etrailer. And today we're gonna be taking a look at the Pace Edwards SwitchBlade hard tonneau cover, and we're gonna see how it installs on the back of our 2019 Ford Ranger. A tonneau cover is a great way to cover up your bed and keep the contents protected either from the elements or from people walking by. This one being a hardcover is going to offer the most security because unlike a soft cover, someone can't just come up and cut through it with a knife. So if you're the type of person to leave stuff in your truck bed for extended periods of time, then this might be a really good option for you. And this particular option is going to be a retractable canister cover.
So there's some pinch levers in the middle that we can use to release it, ease this back, and the contents will roll into this canister at the front of your bed. Now the downside is that it will take up some bed space, but a lot of people like this style because the canister will just roll up and sit below the bed rails. So no obstruction on the back glass here. And it is pretty quick and easy to operate, both retracting and deploying from the tailgate. So if we load things up and we're ready to close it, all that can be done just from the tailgate.
So you don't have to walk the cover back, like you might a roll up or a tri-fold, and you don't have to go to the end to unbuckle it and redeploy it when you're done. All around, you're gonna get aluminum construction, but when the covers close, it does have a vinyl top to it, which gives it this smooth appearance, kind of matching the look of a soft tonneau cover, while still giving you the rigidity of aluminum panels underneath. That should make it pretty weather resistant too. But for the most part, a lot of people just like that clean look a bit better than seeing all the individual slats. Now we've got a unique case where our neighbor today is using this cover in conjunction with a bed slide, which with that issue of the canister taking up bed space, it's only gonna be accentuated by our bed slide today.
So space is even more important. So I'll give some measurements and we're gonna see how big this is or how much space it's gonna take up. So from the bulkhead out to the end of the cover here, not the canister, but the cover itself, it's gonna be about 14 inches. So whether you've got something like this bed slide or not, imagine you've got a big box and you wanna put it as close to the cab as you can. This is going to be pushing that back 14 additional inches.
So on a short bed like this, that's going to reduce your capacity quite a bit for hauling larger items. And then for the overall depth that the canister is going to stick down from the bed rails into the bed, that's gonna be about 9 1/4 inches. There is, of course, some space underneath there, so if you had something longer and shorter, you could fly to underneath the canister, but it will be taking up some space there too. Now rainwater can collect inside the canister, but you've got drain tubes on either end that will drain out through holes that you have to drill in the bed. Now our Ranger today had plastic plugs that we we inchesre able to drill through, so very easy to route those tubes outside and keep the water draining properly. It gives you a clamp-on installation, so no modifications needed for the clamps and installation. And the rear clamps will include kickstands, which helps support the weight on the end of those rails, making sure that if he did set something on the cover, like grocery bags or maybe some camping supplies to load up the bed, it's not gonna just buckle under the weight. Now, Pace Edwards doesn't list a specific weight capacity for the tonneau cover, but my general rule with my own cover is I'm not gonna lay on it, but I will set things like groceries up there while I get my hands free to open my tailgate and load things up. And since you're looking at a retractable canister cover, there's a lot of options within that category. And one thing I might recommend looking into is something like the Pace Edwards UltraGroove if you want to have compatibility with a ladder rack. If you're taking your truck camping and you intend to maybe put a rooftop tent or maybe carry some kayaks with you, that could be a really good option. Or if you're using your truck for work, having a ladder rack for lumber and ladders, other long items while using the tonneau cover for covered locked storage in your bed for your tools could be a really great thing to have. The SwitchBlade does not have ladder rack compatibility, so you'd have to look into something like that Pace Edwards UltraGroove to get that. If you don't need that, then the SwitchBlade will be just fine. But with all that in mind, you're probably wondering what that install process looks like. There is gonna be that minor drilling for the drain tubes, like I mentioned, but everything aside from that will not make any modifications to your truck. The only thing that you'll have to watch out for is that the clamps for really all of Pace Edwards tonneau covers, I found can be a bit tricky. If it feels like those clamps are binding up on you, you just have to change the angle you're feeding it in at and it should slide up smoothly. The big thing there is it's just finicky and you're gonna have to mess with it for a little bit, but we'll show you how we got this one installed and give you some tips and tricks along the way. Now, typically with these covers, I like to wait until the canister and everything is actually in place before drilling my drain holes. But because this is a smaller truck and we have a bed slide in here, space is very limited. So I'm actually gonna start with that. Luckily, the Ranger has these plastic plugs at the corners of the bed that I can just fully remove and drill my holes outside the truck bed, and that'll help me a lot with clearance. I'm gonna start with a small pilot hole in the center of that plug. (drill whirring) (drill whirring) And I've just got this clamp to the edge of the table so I can keep my hands out of the way. I'll go back through with a step bit and widen it out, periodically checking to see if that drain tube fits well. (drill whirring) That's looking pretty good. Because the bulkhead is at a weird angle there, a little bit wider isn't gonna hurt. We'll feed this down pretty far. And being at a strange angle, it'll make it easier to feed the drain tube down. Once you've drilled that out to the final size, do yourself a favor and just pre-feed the drain tube through. It's gonna be way easier to pull out a little bit of extra to reach the canister later than it will be to push the drain tube down in. Here, we've got much more control over it and we can just pop the panel back in place where it came from. Now this next step might vary a bit depending on your Ranger. This is going to be the seal filler. And you can find it underneath the canister cap in your packaging. It's kind of hidden away. But this is going to sit on top of the bulkhead between our bed rails. And, ideally, sit level with those bed rails to help create a good seal with the canister. Now this is where it might differ for you though. Our Ranger has this piece from the factory already screwed into the bulkhead, just with these two Phillips head screws. And if I we inchesre to set this on top, it's gonna sit way too high. If I emit it completely, it's gonna sit too low. With this replacing it, it'll sit a bit more level. So we're just gonna take those Phillips head screws out and entirely remove this piece. Again, you might not have to drill at all. If that's the case, then just attach the seal filler, but we'll undo this. Now you might run into removing this, where it's a bit tricky. Ours was not in very good shape. You've got this rubber grommet that we're threaded into. And as I turn the screw, it just doesn't seem to be pulling out. So it may get to a point where just a bit of brute force is maybe a bit better for you, where you're just pulling on that grommet until it comes out from that hole. I think with some pressure though, as I unthread, we're making some progress. There we go. (metal thudding) And you might choose to leave that grommet in. Ours is really loose, so I'm just gonna take it out entirely and clean off the surface area here a bit. Cleaning this off with a bit of alcohol will also make sure that the adhesive on that seal filler can actually stick properly. Of course, just wait for it to properly dry as well. We'll just peel the backing back and press it into place. Now, get it into a position you like and you're happy with. It's even. And once it is, you can press down and really let that adhesive stick into place. Then you can take the canister and set it into place. It's luckily not too large. Just make sure that the pull cord is unwrapped. And if you need to, you can always grab a friend. You wanna just set that down and basically just push it towards the cab of the truck. So it's resting on the bed rails right here and you can get it roughly centered right now, if you want. Now we can set the rails in place. And you wanna make sure you pick the right side. So look for a curved edge. That's gonna face towards the tailgate and the curve will be to the outside of the truck. So we have the driver's side right now. Underneath, there's going to be a backing on the seal underneath. No adhesive here, just protective backing. So peel that off. And there will also be a sticker that says left or right, left for driver, right for passenger. But if that sticker isn't present, that curve is how you can tell which side is which. Just take this up to the front of the canister, we will slide it forward, making sure that the cover feeds into this track and that this latch. You might have to give it just a little bit of a push, but the rail should push all the way up to this stop right here. We can take the included bolts in our kit, lock washer and flat washer to the underside. This part will be hard to see, but if you go to the corner, where the cover and the rail meet, and just go in diagonally a bit, you'll find a slot where that bolt should line up with some threads on the side rail pretty perfectly. And then we'll just follow that up with a 7/16 wrench or socket to tighten it down all the way. The clamps will consist of a couple different pieces. You've got the main cleat and the arm that goes with it. Those will just slide into one another to make this shape here. And we're gonna have a hand knob that we want to attach in there. That's gonna get its own lock washer and flat washer and feed through from the cleat side. Now on the arm side, you'll notice this divot on the back. That's where this barrel nut is going to go into. And I'm just gonna start it by hand for now. It's a little hard to do that with it all loose, but that assembly right there is what we'll take to the side rail for all four clamp locations. To find those locations, just look for these metal stoppers. And just to the inside edge of them, you should see a relief in the track underneath. That relief is where the cleat will attach. And this can be a little bit tricky to get it lined up properly, but just take your time with it. It might need a little bit of muscle to get it up in there. 'Cause I've noticed, these sometimes don't have the greatest tolerances. And if you're having a lot of trouble, you might find that disassembling this whole clamp could help. But for me right now it seems like this relief is what's not matching up super well. So I'll mess with this for a bit. Once you do have it in the track, slide it all the way forward till it hits that stopper. And start to tighten this down, applying some pressure to the rail down and out. And just repeat this for the other three clamp locations. They'll all use the same hardware. The clamps in the tailgate side will get one extra piece, and then it's gonna be this kickstand. It's gonna provide a little bit of support at the end of the rail to help level it out so it's not drooping inward like this. So this is what the main section of it looks like, and there's gonna be a hole at the bottom of your clamp that you can feed that through. And I'm just going to unthread it here until it makes contact with the side of the bed, right up there. You want that foot pad to be flat on the bed, not very crooked. So right there is pretty good. I'll secure the other side real quick. That hardware will be a flat washer, a lock washer, and a wing nut that was tightened down to keep it in place. And then the little black hand knob, we can use that to push out on the kickstand just an extra little bit. And you can watch the side rail as you do that to see whenever it becomes level. We'll then take the drain tubes that we already installed and pop these ends into our canister underneath. There should be a hole right about here. I'm gonna have to get all up in the camera's way to be able to see it, but we'll do that on both sides. Your pull strap is gonna get secured to the underside of the rail. There's a section of hook-and-loop in the middle and a piece that comes in your kit that will hook onto that, and have some backing and adhesive on the other side. Some people opt to not use this at all, but if you are driving around for an extended period of time with your cover in the open position, you could use this. Basically, just keep the handle out of the way. And I'll set it right about here. I don't want it to be too taut. Right there's good. And especially with our neighbor today using this bed slide, this will keep it outta the way if they're hauling taller items that just wouldn't fit under the cover. The end of the handle has another section of hook-and-loop that I'll wrap around one of the Ranger's tie-down points. And so all of it is just held to the side until we're ready to use it. One of the final pieces is the top cover for that canister. On the underside, there will be a sticker with an arrow saying what the cab side is. It's the side with this rubber strip and you'll just lay that over top the canister. It's not super heavy. But underneath, there's gonna be two threaded holes that will line up with two holes up top on either side. Those holes will each get a Phillips head screw. That will drop down into one of those holes, and you'll just run all those screws down to secure the cover. The last thing before we check for fitment is lubricating the sweep seals underneath. This wipe is going to be included under that top cover, same place where we got that piece from the very first step. And once you've done that on both sides, you can go ahead and undo the handle from that hook-and-loop and pull it close. (tonneau cover rustling) (tonneau cover thuds) That looks good right there. I'm also gonna check for tailgate fitment here. (tailgate thuds) Check to make sure that we're getting a good seal on the tailgate seal here. Make sure we're not running into the end caps or anything like that. And once they're happy with the fitment, that'll do it for our look at and installation of the Pace Edwards SwitchBlade hard tonneau cover on the back of our 2019 Ford Ranger. Thanks for watching.
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.Order was delivered earlier than projected, easy install, works and looks great on new 2021 Ford ranger. Good people to do business with
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.
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.
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.
Excellent product. Helped shield product from weather ( snow,rain ). Seal is not perfect so some moisture does get through, but significantly better the if not covered. Switchblade concept very convenient as can open and close as needed. As with anything required periodic maintenance. The side channels where the cover slides in do get dirty from the environment and over time require cleaning as the dirt impedes the sliding of the cover. Also do need to be watchful for the small screws at the back end of the cover (by the rear truck hatch). They do get loose over time. If not careful they come out and may cause the cover to come apart. I do not consider this as unusual. Everything requires periodic maintenance.
Given the choice I would still purchase this product. Cannot think of what might make the product better or function more smoothly. It is certainly worth the investment.
If desired can take it apart if needed to access the unobstructed truck bed. I have not had the need to take it of though.
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
Easy to install. looks and works great!!
This will be the third time that I’ve bought from etrailer and I soon will be back again, for my new F250 always taken care of in the most professional way, I ordered the retractable bed cover for a birthday present for my wife, when it was delivered it look like it been through a battle took pictures and sent it to etrailer, With no hesitation and pure professionalism they took care of me right away and still made my wife’s birthday on time the product has always been good I know I haven’t had a chance to put it on yet, but the delivery this time look like a brand new product on a mark on the box, the delivery company which I will not mention, I just got substantial raises in the way they deliver products this is sad but etrailer even took care of their unprofessionalism, so everybody that reads this hats off to Martie etrailer, They have created a loyal customer and a happy wife thank you etrailer For what you do.
Shipped immediately and arrived in a couple of days. Unfortunately the unit comes in two boxes and UPS split them and delivered them over two days. This was not etrailer's fault!
The unit was exactly as described and fit my 2021 Ram Rebel like a glove. The only problem I had was the end caps were reversed on the box cover making it impossible to get the Philips head screws to catch. Once I figured that out they went right in.
I've bought many products from etrailer over the years and have never been disappointed. I highly recommend them.
this was our 2nd Pace Edwards Retractable cover..1st one lasted 17 years great quality great service
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Charles
5/23/2022
Great price, easy install, looks great