Installation of Jason Tonneau Cover Greatly Improves Looks and Use of Pickup Truck
By Harold Merton
The popularity of pickup trucks has increased fantastically
in the past few years and more and more people are moving to this type
of vehicle not only as a tow vehicle but also as a "towed"
vehicle. As we visit large, luxurious RV parks in North America we see
a great many pickups being towed behind large motorhomes and motorcoaches.
During our conversations with the owners of these rigs, many worth well
over $200,000, I find that they are looking to add accessories to their
pickups. The number one thing on their list is a good tonneau cover.
Most of the people we spoke with had not yet found what they were looking
for so their cargo areas was not secure and not out of the weather.
An RVer with a quality motorhome doesn't want something that looks cheap
on the vehicle they tow so the search is on for a quality hard tonneau
cover
that will add to the look of the vehicle as well as giving them a secure,
lockable cargo area in the back of their truck. Then there is another
group of RVers who use pickup trucks to tow travel trailers. They too
want either a tonneau cover or a truck cap for the same purposes. There
are a number of fine quality covers out on the market and we think we've
found the best! Our consultant for truck accessories is Lyal Apthorp
of Trailer Hitch Center in London, Ontario. Lyal has been a Scope advertiser
for years and his shop is a virtual cornucopia of truck accessories.
When I spoke to Lyal about a good quality hard tonneau for a new pickup
that we have in the Scope family he immediately started raving about
the fabulous products produced by Jason Industries Inc., of Elkhart
Indiana. Trailer Hitch Center has been selling and installing Jason
product for two to three years and when Lyal says a product is good
you can be sure it is because he sees them after his customers have
be giving them a brutal experience for some time.
When I started to look at the Jason covers I was pleasantly surprised.
They looked good and they appeared to be sturdy enough for the use our
readers would put them to. As I looked further I found that the construction
of the covers is substantial. When you look at the cut-away illustration
of the product you can see that there are many layers to the product.
Photos by Harold Merton
The final finish which is painted to match the vehicle
right at the Jason
factory is a DuPont chroma premier clear-coat finish. Under it is a
chroma
premier paint base-coat, under that a high performance primer gel-coat,
followed by a structural strength primary fiberglass layer, a 1/2"
honeycomb
roof support, a double-layered bonder fiberglass reinforcement and a
rolled,
smooth interior finish. There's 30 years of spirit and passion in Jason's
products. There are three distinctive lines in the Jason product offerings.
The
Dimension is a stylish design that enhances the automotive appearance
of the
vehicle.
It offers cargo protection, security and utility. It comes with a standard key lock mechanism and slam latch system with cantilever arms for easy operation. There's an optional wing key lock system.
Dimension also features a clamp-and-go frame mounting and a pull-down assist closure strap. The Hugger Limited series offers a wrap-over contour design with incisive simplicity, intriguing eloquence and seamless anticipation. The automotive style lock mechanism is companioned with a slam latch system with cantilever arms for ease of open and close operations. It offers cargo protection, security and latch and has clamp-on mounting hardware. This line has a monochromatic edge and pull-down assist closure strap. However the most fabulous in our opinion in the Rage! series. Engaging the individual truck's theme Jason's design team used it as the epicenter for the Rage. The result is a tonneau cover as unique as the pickup truck that it is intended for. The style of each model is defined by that specific truck's design.
When you take a look at the picture reproduced with this
article you'll see that the raised deck design of each cover is complementary
to the specific truck. We had the Rave installed on a new Ford F150
4x4 crew cab used by my son Shaun and the finished look is absolutely
outstanding! But let's start at the beginning. Once making our decision
on what we would like we supplied Trailer Hitch Center with the factory
paint code number of the vehicle. He then ordered the tonneau from Jason
in that color. At the Jason factory their staff painted the cover in
the appropriate cover then packaged and delivered to London, Ontario
on their own trucks. In this way they know how the product is handled
and the result was a perfect cover arriving at our dealers.
I made an appointment and took the vehicle in to Trailer Hitch Centre
and
their two technicians Jason Apthorp and Mike Hebert began the installation.
The first thing Jason did was wash the top before they even started
installation. That set the standard for the quality of installation
we would receive - top notch!
Both Jason and Mike carried the product and gently set it on the back
of the truck. They adjusted the position a bit this way and a bit that
way until it was perfectly aligned. Then it was time to begin installing
the hardware that holds it to the truck and allows the top to open and
close. The model we had installed had the clamp-and-go rail mounting
hardware so there was no need to drill holes. If we should want to remove
the cover for any reason in the future we simply have to remove four
wing nuts and two cantilever arm lock pine and we can remove and install
at our whim. Our cover is also equipped with the carpet interior and
remote lid opening. This can be very handy if you are heading to the
truck with an arm load of magazines or other cargo. It took just a few
minutes of work for them to install the hardware then they wired in
the power line for the top release system and the light inside the cover.
In just about an hour we had the new Jason tonneau completely installed
and we were on our way. Cost is certainly a factor in the purchase of
a cover like this. Lyal tells me than many of the Jason's he installs
run in the one thousand dollar range. The Rave, being the top of the
line, is a bit more and the optional accessories like the carpeted interior
and the remote unlocking and opening system puts it up a bit more but
it is worth every dollar! Jason offers a limited lifetime paint and
fiberglass structure warranty with three year warranty on hardware and
gas shocks. As Jason's brochure says "Consider the possibilities
... We did" This not only applies to Jason but to us as well. We
considered and we chose Jason and we're very pleased that we did. Special
thanks to Jim Fike of Jason for his assistance in this story. This is
one vehicle that will look good in the driveway or in the campground
and it is a lot more convenient and secure as well. If you are in Ontario
them give Trailer Hitch Center in London a call. In other areas visit
Jason's website at www.jasoncaps.com
Jason Industries Inc.
1500 W. Lusher
Elkhart IN 46517
800.745.2766
Trailer Hitch Centre Ltd.
1933 Gore Road
London, Ontario N5W 6B9
800.265.9731
www.trailerhitch.ca