Car Cover + Rain = Doughboy pool in bed

[MikeyInMarin]

Hi,

I think this is my first post, but I've been a member since I got the truck in 2011.

Anyway, I can't park 2 cars in my 2-car garage for the usual reasons, so the truck stays outdoors. I am on my second car cover (first one fell apart) and have the same problem as with the first. When it rains the cover catches the water, drags the cover into the bed, and makes a doughboy

I put plastic 6 grommets in the first cover to let it drain into the bed. That worked (no more doughboy), but it weakened the cover (it started to tear).

I don't want to do that with the new one (the manufacturer says it will void the 5-yr warranty). They said to put plywood over the bed. I just had the truck painted last year and don't want the plywood to scratch/wear the top of the bed.

I can't be the first to have this problem. What did you do?

[OARNGESI]

can you put something in the center of the bed under the cover that's higher than the bedsides so when it rains it runs off before it ever pools up. kind of like where it snows a lot they build houses with really high pitched roofs.

[serge]

Originally Posted by OARNGESI

can you put something in the center of the bed under the cover that's higher than the bedsides so when it rains it runs off before it ever pools up. kind of like where it snows a lot they build houses with really high pitched roofs.

Something like a small round plastic picnic table.

[acemang]

Only thing i know of is people using tonneau covers.

[OldCreek]

Cut some slits in the cover and SEW the edges like a button hole.

[MikeyInMarin]

Somebody at work suggested putting a pole in the middle. The problem is when the wind blows hard, it could put too much stress on the cover; the cover blows off often (even strapped down, it becomes a girdle behind the cab).

Hmm, maybe a small plastic table would work though. It's also easy to try.

[lowrollin70gmc]

You could build a small platform in the bed, say a 4x8 sheet of plywood made into a table about 6" taller than the bedsides. You wouldn't have anything touching the paint and no puddle.

[kentucky_smith]

Get one of those big blow up balloons they use for pool covers

[Hawghauler]

get some pvc pipe and fittings and make a tent frame. costs less than $20

[derotoreut]

I would use plywood or OSB across the top of the bedsides. Just use something to stand it off of the bedsides. Maybe something in the stake holes, or use some truck cap foam between the plywood and bed rail. Maybe even large rubber bumper. This way you don't have to cut your cover… You don't have to worry about any areas for the cover to sag into when it rains.

[tlcrz1972]

Take a couple of automotive inner tubes, air them up and stack them in the middle of the bed under the cover higher than the bed sides.

A couple of pool/beach balls would do it too.

[Already Gone]

I don't know one of these would be in your budget but I've seen a few posts on here with board members talking about these and and doing a little net surfing will get competitive pricing. If you are planning on keeping your truck long term I'd protect the box, as water causes rust and rust never sleeps.....



http://extang.com

[litew8]

Stand a 2x4 up in the middle with a piece of thick rubber sitting on the top end. Tarp over the top.

[seamus2154]

I would say a large beach ball or small plastic pvc table would work and the wind wouldn't matter. I also would bunji cord the back of the cover taunt towards the back and the water will run off.

[Andy4639]

2 Tractor tire inner tubes with big beach ball dead center of bed. Should be enought to make the water run off and not hurt the truck. Best thing would be a hard bed cover though in the long run. Car cover will scratch the paint over time if left out side all the time. Sooner are later.

[Gokart Mozart]

Lower the tailgate. If the cover tears, it has a 5 year warranty.

[MikeyInMarin]

Wow, thanks much for all the creative ideas! I really never would have thought of them.

Since I want a solution that's small so I can keep it in the bed normally, I might do a variation on derotoreut's idea (stakes & plywood), but with a rope perimeter in eyelets-on-stakes instead of plywood.

Thanks all!

[magwakeenercew2jh]

Originally Posted by MikeyInMarin

Wow, thanks much for all the creative ideas! I really never would have thought of them.
Thanks all!

Hey, Mikey.

Marin native and expat, here. We're up here in the mountains a few hundred miles from you now.

I struggled with this one for a couple of reasons and over more than a few seasons. I know a tonneau isn't for everyone.
In fact, it's not for me much of the time.

I have heavier snow than in this pic a couple of times a year or more. I also just had the paint work done...and put in my
version of a wood over steel bed floor. Not everyone's cup-of-tea, I know. It was a temp thing that I like enough to keep.

As of now, I don't drive RAT in the rain. I figure that'll change after the $ting of the paint cost wears off.

I, too, have to park outside most of the time.

I had this tonneau from my last short bed (72). It only cost a little more than a hundred bucks. The tonneau cover fends off all
rain and snow, and keeps the groceries and other purchases out of the hands of hungry parking lot gremlins. I usually pull it off
(takes 15 minutes tops for the whole thing, rails and all) for spring and summer.

If it's on and I have to haul something in the bed, I can roll it up like a cowboy's bed-roll.

Like I say, not for everyone. But it works. And aesthetics aside, it would work well for your purpose .

[brad_man_72]

Park the front wheels on some ramps, that way the water will drain out the back with the gate down.

If your cover is blowing in the wind it is probably doing more harm than good anyways.

[BBrendal]

Two plastic chairs put back to back in the bed will be high enough to let h2o roll off.

[special-K]

Anything you put under the cover in the bed,other than completely covered with plywood,will still allow water to pool at the lower points. With no drainage the pool gets bigger and heavier and the tarp gets pulled down lower. My truck isn't a show queen,or even restored,but I do want to preserve it while it has no garage to sit in. My concerns are leaves in fall and other tree debris as much as rain water. I only cover the cab and just make sure the drain holes in the front of the bed are clear,since I park it with the front lower. Parking with rear lower is best for bed and roof gutter drainage. But if your bed is painted good then I wouldn't be concerned as long as the water isn't held from draining. Driving an outside vehicle is also important to drying out moisture held within the body

[Pargolf]

Make a sawhorse that is the length of the bed?

[Gumby]

IVe fought that forever, nothing but a bed full of junk, sort of stops it, it still finds places to sag, hard cover is the only sure fire cure.

[swamp rat]

Make a saw horse out of 2X4'a and the store bought brackets, make it as long as your bed, then buy the adjustable tarp tie down clamps you can get from a hardware store, attach them to where you can string a rope thru them to make the cover tight.

If you have steak pockets you can bend smaller diameter PVC pipe to make 3 hoops about 3' tall in the center.

Or do what i do, buy the 20'X10' car covers and separate enclosure kit, just be sure to lash them down if the wind starts to blow. Oh, i got the ones offered by Amazon Prime not from Northern tool.

Amazon.com: Key Parts 25757 10 X 20 Canopy 6-Leg:...
Amazon.com: Key Parts 25775 Enclosure Kit 10X20:...

[kelsfine69]

How about one of them old wooden spools that wire comes wound on? Most places throw them out.