RetraxPRO XR Retractable Tonneau Cover with T-Slot Rails for 2024-2025 Ford Ranger (5'1" Bed)

Here's the short version. Follow Retrax's install sheet (below) for your truck's exact steps, part letters and torque settings.

1. Seal the bulkhead and fit the brackets. Clean the top of the bulkhead (soap and water, then isopropyl alcohol) and stick on the bulkhead seal, flush with the inside face and snug between the bed rail caps. Fit the front brackets with an M8 screw into the bulkhead's threaded insert (or the supplied flange nut if there is none) and the rear brackets with M6 screws into the inserts near the tailgate, fixing the other end of each to the bed rail with an M6 screw, washer and nut after removing the attachment-point plug. Remove the two corner clips from the bed caps and keep them in the glove box.
2. Assemble the cover. Remove the shipping screws, brackets and white shipping tubes from both sides, and keep one shipping bracket to use as a spacer later. Pull the cover 6-8" out of the canister and hold it there while you guide it into each side rail's channel and seat the rails in the canister. Fasten the rails to the canister with the four 10-32 x 7/16" screws, then slide the front cover under the rails and fasten it through the top of the rails with the two 10-24 x 3/4" screws and the 1/8" Allen wrench, all to 32 in-lb. Leave the protective film on until the end.
3. Set it on the bed. Some drop-in bed liners need notching at the front corners to clear the canister. With two people, lift the cover onto the bed with the canister at the bulkhead and the front seal lying flat on the bulkhead; trim the seal if it runs past the bed rail caps. Slide the cover back and use the shipping bracket as a spacer to set both rails 1/8" from the tailgate.
4. Clamp the rails. Fit the clamps between the adjustment screws front and back and tighten them with a 9/16" wrench while you push the rail down and tilt it up about two degrees, which Retrax says keeps water out best. Place a plastic shim between the truck's plastic bed cap and its metal bed rail with each clamp.
5. Square the rails. Measure across the rails on top of the front cover and again above each clamp; all three must match within 1/16". If they don't, remove the clamps, turn both white adjustment screws with the 6mm Allen wrench (one full turn moves the rail 1/16") and re-clamp. With the cover closed and latched, the weatherstrip should show equally on both sides; if one side shows less, move that rail forward toward the cab. Once the rails are square, loosen each clamp's jam nut, run the stand-off bolt in until its bumper firmly contacts the bed wall and re-tighten the jam nut; Retrax says not to over-torque the bolt.
6. Drains and final checks. Peel off the protective film, push a drain tube into each side of the canister and turn it clockwise until it clicks twice; the tubes usually exit through a hole drilled in the factory bed plug or another suitable hole (check for lines before drilling). Open and close the cover and tailgate to check that it rolls without rubbing or binding, and re-check every clamp after the first week of driving (a warranty condition) and now and then after that.