Truxedo Lo Pro Vs Access Vanish Tonneau Comparison Thread

slomo007 · March 27, 2008

Another forum member and I decided to help the community by creating this thread showing the pros/cons of each tonneau cover. I ended up going with the Truxedo Lo Pro QT for my 2007 Silverado, and gbvhunt ended up going with the Access Vanish for his 2007 GMC.

This post will contain information about the Truxedo, while the 2nd post in the thread will contain information about the Access Vanish.

Truxedo Left Rear Angle View:

Truxedo Rear View

Tailgate Close-Up

Truxedo Side Profile

Truxedo Rolled Up

Truxedo - 3 clamps on each side (same as Access)

Locking Mechanism

Cost (US $)

$340 shipped off ebay

Truxedo Pros:

Lifetime warranty on everything - even the fabric

Easy installation, it took about 30-45 minutes even though I have never installed a tonneau cover before

No noise can be heard while driving at interstate speed

No drilling

Very water resistant so far - have washed my truck twice and driven through rain and have not seen any water in the bed

Truxedo Cons:

MSRP price is higher than the Access Vanish

Tension adjustment knobs require a screwdriver and are a little hard to get at

Had to very slightly modify my tailgate plastic spoiler in order for it to close easier (used a dremel tool to cut a plastic notch on each end for a snugger fit)

Judging from the pictures it appears the Access Vanish is actually slightly lower profile

gvbhunt · March 27, 2008

Well, obviously my truck is not as clean....

Pro's:

Very low profile, good sturdy design, automatic latching mechanism, two additional safety latches one on each side. Easy to use tensioner that only requires fingers to turn, great fit, does not block stake holes, and works great with Spray-in Bedliner. Cannot be heard on the highway unless the rear slider is open. Also no drilling.

Con's:

So far the only thing that I have come up with was the fact that the tie-downs for the rails are of the bolt type, not the quick release but since the entire bed is still accessable I am not positive that it will be an issue for me. It does have to raise up about an 1/8" in the rear due to the tailgate protector but I believe that is a fault of GM, not Access.

Price paid = $278.12 shipped from Realtruck.com (Thanks Duck!)

Instalation tips:

Instalation was pretty easy, I recommend using two clamps initially to hold the rails up and if you have a spray-in liner it may be beneficial to have a second person as the bedsides are not perfectly flat and require a small spacer to get them to sit properly (and the adhesive does not stick well to the liner) Also take your time to make sure that you get the lift at the back of the rail right so that the tailgate and it's protector clear the underside of the liner. That step took me 3 tries to get it to fit right (once again, thanks GM)

Side profile showing height

View from behind

Latch closed and second security lock

Latch open

Unrolled from behind

Tie-down (1 of 6) and Tensioner

Wingnut · March 27, 2008

Excellent post guys.

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Hootowl · March 27, 2008

Vanish

07.RED.GMC · March 27, 2008

Michael

Thanks for the post. I have the Truxedo also and love it.....BUT.....that conflict with the OEM tailgate protector is a real bummer!! I had to raise the rails to get enough height on the latch mechanism to allow the thing to latch with the tailgate closed (this is my second Truxedo - had one on my 2001 Silverado as well - and had much better luck with water if the rubber seal was on the top of the tailgate rather than under it).

Do you have any close up pics of your "dremel mod" that might help me around this and let me get the rails moved back down (which is the whole point of the Lo Pro!!)

Thanks. Also - does anyone else have a tailgate that does not line up very well (flush) with the rear of the bed when it is closed?? Mine is a good 3/8" out beyond the rear of the bed when closed - looks like I might need to try and adjust the tailgate latch to see if I can get it tighter???

slomo007 · March 27, 2008

Michael

Thanks for the post. I have the Truxedo also and love it.....BUT.....that conflict with the OEM tailgate protector is a real bummer!! I had to raise the rails to get enough height on the latch mechanism to allow the thing to latch with the tailgate closed (this is my second Truxedo - had one on my 2001 Silverado as well - and had much better luck with water if the rubber seal was on the top of the tailgate rather than under it).

Do you have any close up pics of your "dremel mod" that might help me around this and let me get the rails moved back down (which is the whole point of the Lo Pro!!)

Thanks. Also - does anyone else have a tailgate that does not line up very well (flush) with the rear of the bed when it is closed?? Mine is a good 3/8" out beyond the rear of the bed when closed - looks like I might need to try and adjust the tailgate latch to see if I can get it tighter???

Sure do, imagine this on both sides:

It still shuts a little hard but not too bad. I noticed the edges were the only parts rubbing, that's why I decided to just cut them. The middle doesn't seem to rub nearly as bad, it just sits flush against it.

And yes, you should be able to adjust the tailgate latches on both sides to get it to close tighter.

07.RED.GMC · March 27, 2008

Thanks Michael - that helps. I may need that "mod" once I get the tailgate latches adjusted and it closes tighter.

mjbailey20 · April 2, 2008

hi i just installed a vanish on my '04 ext cab short bed and I had a question on how well the front of the bed is supposed to seal mine doest seem to have a tight seal like the tailgate. Any help would be appreciated.

gvbhunt · April 3, 2008

hi i just installed a vanish on my '04 ext cab short bed and I had a question on how well the front of the bed is supposed to seal mine doest seem to have a tight seal like the tailgate. Any help would be appreciated.

Well I cannot speak of how it fits on an '04 but on my '07 there is really not a seal, there is a flap of the tonneau material that drapes over the front of the bed. So far I have not had any water come in from that area, it just comes in around the tailgate.

mjbailey20 · April 4, 2008

Well I cannot speak of how it fits on an '04 but on my '07 there is really not a seal, there is a flap of the tonneau material that drapes over the front of the bed. So far I have not had any water come in from that area, it just comes in around the tailgate.

Thanks for the reply. On mine it seems like the bar on the front pulls up a little bit when the cover is latched and looks like a gap is there where water could leak in. I didnt get too much last time I washed the truck. Im not sure if its supposed to do that or not. Maybe I could put some weather stripping on there?

WilliamsVMAX · April 4, 2008

Michael

Thanks for the post. I have the Truxedo also and love it.....BUT.....that conflict with the OEM tailgate protector is a real bummer!! I had to raise the rails to get enough height on the latch mechanism to allow the thing to latch with the tailgate closed (this is my second Truxedo - had one on my 2001 Silverado as well - and had much better luck with water if the rubber seal was on the top of the tailgate rather than under it).

Do you have any close up pics of your "dremel mod" that might help me around this and let me get the rails moved back down (which is the whole point of the Lo Pro!!)

Thanks. Also - does anyone else have a tailgate that does not line up very well (flush) with the rear of the bed when it is closed?? Mine is a good 3/8" out beyond the rear of the bed when closed - looks like I might need to try and adjust the tailgate latch to see if I can get it tighter???

Sure do, imagine this on both sides:

It still shuts a little hard but not too bad. I noticed the edges were the only parts rubbing, that's why I decided to just cut them. The middle doesn't seem to rub nearly as bad, it just sits flush against it.

And yes, you should be able to adjust the tailgate latches on both sides to get it to close tighter.

I have the Truxedo Low Pro QT as well and I didn't need to modify anything on the tailgate at all...Hmmm I wonder is it due to the fact that I have Spray In Bed Liner???

moose201 · April 5, 2008

Would the Truxedo Lo Pro be compatible with the factory Bed Rail Protectors?

slomo007 · April 5, 2008

Michael

Thanks for the post. I have the Truxedo also and love it.....BUT.....that conflict with the OEM tailgate protector is a real bummer!! I had to raise the rails to get enough height on the latch mechanism to allow the thing to latch with the tailgate closed (this is my second Truxedo - had one on my 2001 Silverado as well - and had much better luck with water if the rubber seal was on the top of the tailgate rather than under it).

Do you have any close up pics of your "dremel mod" that might help me around this and let me get the rails moved back down (which is the whole point of the Lo Pro!!)

Thanks. Also - does anyone else have a tailgate that does not line up very well (flush) with the rear of the bed when it is closed?? Mine is a good 3/8" out beyond the rear of the bed when closed - looks like I might need to try and adjust the tailgate latch to see if I can get it tighter???

Sure do, imagine this on both sides:

It still shuts a little hard but not too bad. I noticed the edges were the only parts rubbing, that's why I decided to just cut them. The middle doesn't seem to rub nearly as bad, it just sits flush against it.

And yes, you should be able to adjust the tailgate latches on both sides to get it to close tighter.

I have the Truxedo Low Pro QT as well and I didn't need to modify anything on the tailgate at all...Hmmm I wonder is it due to the fact that I have Spray In Bed Liner???

I didn't have to modify it.

I chose to, in order to make the tailgate close a little easier with the cover closed.