Hey, guys, it's Sara with extremeterrain.com, and today, we have a review and install of the Rough
Country Low Profile Hard Tri-Fold Tonneau Cover, fitting your 2020 and newer Jeep Gladiators.
This is perfect for the Gladiator owner who's looking for the security of a hard cover
and wants one with a tri-fold style and a low profile design. This hard tri-fold style
tonneau cover features a low profile design with an easy-to-use quick clamp fastening system that
locks at every panel for ease of operation. To operate this tonneau cover, release your tailgate,
then release the cable for this back section. Repeat that for the middle section,
releasing the cable and folding it up. Now, it's in the front most position, you can latch it down.
And to fold it back out, you unclip each of the buckles and fold it out one section at a time.
Make sure it's clamped in place in the middle and at the back, and then shut your tailgate. It's
constructed from durable and lightweight aluminum panels with a heavy-duty 6061 aluminum frame and
a nice textured black powder coat finish. This hard cover protects your bed from the elements
and the contents in your bed from would-be thieves locking with your tailgate for added security.
So, as far as price goes, this tonneau comes in at around $700, which is middle of the road
price-wise when compared to other options. And for your money, you are getting a hard and low-profile
tonneau cover that locks in several positions. And as far as the install goes, I'm giving this
one a one out of three wrenches on the difficulty meter. It does require some minor trimming of the
plastic to get this installed but all in all can be done within 20 minutes. So with that said,
let's check out our install. For this install, we used an electric ratchet but a hand ratchet will
work just fine. We also used 10 and 11-millimeter sockets, a 10-millimeter ratcheting wrench,
and a razor knife or you can use another cutting tool. All right, so before we can bolt up our
brackets, some Gladiators may require you to cut out a plastic piece of your bed rail caps here.
You'll notice there's an outline right along the edge of the section that you need to cut.
You just cut along that outline to reveal two threaded holes.
I'm gonna pull this out away from the bed a bit and I'm using a razor knife. I'm gonna carefully
cut along this outline here. And you can use a similar cutting tool, whatever is
gonna allow you to cut through this plastic. We're gonna move on to cut along the top here
and once more along the outside.
Now, that the threaded holes are exposed, we can line up our rear brackets
with the openings on the side of the bed. And with the included hardware,
loosely thread them in for now, we'll tighten them down later.
Now we're working at the front of the bed.
We're grabbing our bracket for the front of the bed. This one has an L
to designate the driver side. We're lining up the post here with the opening in your bed.
You should see a threaded hole on the other side. You're gonna thread one of your M6 bolts into this
threaded hole. Hold the bracket in place, and with a 10-millimeter socket, tighten it down.
Now we can get our bed rail installed. Now, before we do that,
we're gonna install this drain tube. You'll see a post on the bottom side
of it. What you're gonna do is line up the drain tube and twist it into place.
Now we can line up the rail.
Now there are two threaded studs on the back part of your rail. You're gonna line those up with the
bracket at the backside. And at the same time, there are two openings in the bracket at the front
of your rail. You're gonna line those up with your front bracket. There'll be two threaded holes.
Starting at the front, line up your rail with the bracket and thread two of the M6 bolts in.
Grab your 10-millimeter socket and tighten them down.
All right, now you can route your drain tube wherever you like. There is a little opening
behind this D ring here. We're gonna go to there. But as long as you get this drain tube
out of the bed, any opening will work. Now we're moving on to the bracket at the back. We've it
lined up over the studs on the bottom of the rail. So it may be a little bit hard to see.
We're gonna take the included nuts and thread them over the top of each stud.
Next up, I have a 10-millimeter ratcheting wrench to tighten down these two bolts we put in earlier.
Now, with an 11-millimeter socket, we can tighten down those nuts that go to the rail.
All right, now that this rail is installed, we're gonna repeat all those steps to install the other
side. All right, now you can place a tonneau cover on top of the rails. You may want a friend to help
you line it up but it's not terribly heavy. Once it's placed on there, we're gonna fold
it out and check fitment. Now, that the tonneau is properly fitted, we're going underneath and we're
gonna line up the clamps to clamp the tonneau to the rails. Slide them in place, line them up,
and tighten it down with the knob to clamp it. And repeat that process for the second mounting point.
Line it up to the groves and tighten it down. Repeat that on the other side.
Once it's bolted down, you can unclip your tonneau and fold it out each section.
Now, this tonneau does lock in each section. So lock it down in the center and again at the back.
All right, so that is gonna do it for the review and install this tonneau cover.
And remember, for all things Gladiator, keep it at extremeterrain.com.