[soldthetaco]

I had some tools that I hope to leave in the vehicle, I thought the tonneau cover is so handy in this case, shielding the cargo from direct sunlight, must be good.

Well, it blocks the sunlight for sure, but also traps heat like an oven

surface temp

inside temp

pretty much the same

No wonder we get an in-bed cooler, tomorrow at noon I'll fill the in-bed cooler with ice and see how long the ice holds

 

[LovinLife]

Thought the tonneau would reflect some of the heat- Wrong!

Thanks for posting. Keep up the good work. (Very interesting)

 

[Wontonpierre]

I transported a couple 4-packs from my fridge to a friend's house 20min away in the bed but not in the cooler. I was surprised how quickly they went from cold to warm. Can confirm that tonneau bakes.

 

[JASmith]

Its supposed to be a high of 97oF in Houston today, same temperature as the insides of a Tauntaun for you Canadians, and I have one of those tri-fold tonneaus that is also black but I believe made of fiberglass panels (edit: nope, aluminum panels so would surely be the same I'd think), and will see if its equally hot. I'm not surprised a black aluminum rollup tonneau would transfer the heat through, but I imagine all black tonneaus would too as the problem is likely mostly just that any shade provided is counteracted by any radiated heat getting trapped in that waterproof airspace. Heck, even the insides of a black SUV with heavy tint would probably get that hot if there's no windows cracked open.

So they make those little mini solar plumbing vents, about $50. Makes me think if someone were to make a trifold cover, there's usually a little bit of space on the end piece by the cab, where you could perhaps install one in the center painted to blend in, and the fan would exhaust gas upward and out along with natural convection helping, and it could draw in cooler air through the cracks and drain holes and what not in the bed. If you had one of those hampton gray SC's, you could perhaps even find a matching vinyl for the light silver grill up front and match that on the roof and tonneau cover of the vehicle.

 

[Sparkland]

The Ultraflex tri-fold cover (carpeted underside) keeps the bed of my Ridgeline relatively cool. But the cover itself is significantly thicker than the SC tonneau cover. Maybe someone will design an aftermarket tri-fold/dual fold cover for the SC. A dual fold would cover would be sufficient.

 

[modshack]

It's Black, It's metal. This should not be a surprise..

 

[Walking Black Bear]

It's Black, It's metal. This should not be a surprise..

It's not just metal, it's aluminum ... like a lot of frying pans ... noted for its heat transferring characteristics.
I'm thinking the constant barrage of YT talking points about throwing ice in the brunk is skewing expectations to thinking it's somehow insulated vs. just drainable.

 

[JMII]

I'm thinking the constant barrage of YT talking points about throwing ice in the brunk is skewing expectations to thinking it's somehow insulated vs. just drainable.

Yep, it can hold ice... but it will not keep ice, at least not for long.

 

[LovinLife]

I'm thinking the constant barrage of YT talking points about throwing ice in the brunk is skewing expectations to thinking it's somehow insulated vs. just drainable.

Great point. Has made me re-think when it is (and is not) appropriate to throw groceries in the back. Would have learned the hard way.

 

[JASmith]

Great point. Has made me re-think when it is (and is not) appropriate to throw groceries in the back. Would have learned the hard way.

The covered bed area is just getting hot because heat is allowed to build up with no way to release the hot air, same reason you can't leave a kid in a car in the sun as it just builds and builds and builds.

When you're putting in groceries, you're opening the tailgate and possibly even the tonneau, releasing all that hot air instantly and immediately, so when you close it there would just be some residual heat in the surface but really not much at all so I wouldn't worry.

I also have a soft cooler that I bring with me on Costco trips, a pretty big one, and I toss a couple of these letter paper sized frozen gel packs in the bag, so the bag itself is cold by the time I get there and keeps any frozen stuff nice and cold on the return trip. So that's also an option to throw in the back.

 

[LovinLife]

I also have a soft cooler that I bring with me on Costco trips, a pretty big one, and I toss a couple of these letter paper sized frozen gel packs in the bag, so the bag itself is cold by the time I get there and keeps any frozen stuff nice and cold on the return trip. So that's also an option to throw in the back.

Was thinking the same thing. Insulated bag + frozen gel packs = Problem solved.

I 100% guarantee you I would have learned the hard way (had I not read the above posts). Thanks. 😁

 

[JMII]

FYI the manual specifically warns the items under the tonneau can get very hot. Pages 5-116 and 5-117

 

[Sparkland]

FYI the manual specifically warns the items under the tonneau can get very hot. Pages 5-116 and 5-117

Not really anyway to effectively insulate a rolling cover. I wonder how warm rolling/retractable covers such as the Retrax get inside the bed? They seem to be made of similar materials.

 

[JMII]

Never really paid attention when I had my Roll-N-Lock. I know the outside got stupid hot, but that was to be expected - all black metal sitting the in FL sun = 🔥

 

[soldthetaco]

in-bed cooler test

ambient temp was at 98 F

start time = 2:46 PM

t = 3:37 PM

t = 4: 43 PM

final time = 6: 03 PM

I didn't not drain it, the drain plug is slowly allowing water to leak, maybe that's by design?

I was expecting that in 2 hours all the ice would have melted but somehow it lasted quite some time.

 

[LittleBokey]

in-bed cooler test

ambient temp was at 98 F



start time = 2:46 PM

View attachment 2096

t = 3:37 PM


final time = 6: 03 PM

I didn't not drain it, the drain plug is slowly allowing water to leak, maybe that's by design?

I was expecting that in 2 hours all the ice would have melted but somehow it lasted quite some time.

I could not help but notice the beer is missing.

 

[Sparkland]

in-bed cooler test

ambient temp was at 98 F

View attachment 2095

start time = 2:46 PM

View attachment 2096

t = 3:37 PM

View attachment 2098

t = 4: 43 PM

View attachment 2100

final time = 6: 03 PM

I didn't not drain it, the drain plug is slowly allowing water to leak, maybe that's by design?

I was expecting that in 2 hours all the ice would have melted but somehow it lasted quite some time.

I don't think it would leak by design. Sounds like a visit to the dealer to find the missing beer.

 

[PITAGinger]

Couldn't you plug something in for those with the activity package to keep the back area cool when driving?

 

[Macsterguy]

in-bed cooler test

ambient temp was at 98 F

View attachment 2095

start time = 2:46 PM

View attachment 2096

t = 3:37 PM

View attachment 2098

t = 4: 43 PM

View attachment 2100

final time = 6: 03 PM

I didn't not drain it, the drain plug is slowly allowing water to leak, maybe that's by design?

I was expecting that in 2 hours all the ice would have melted but somehow it lasted quite some time.

WOW. Somebody finally did it… THANKS!

 

[Sully]

You could always insulate the lid of the bed cooler with Styrofoam . That might insulate the cooler from the bed/trap cold air somewhat and give us a little more time.