I have a cheap version of this cover. (2 pieces of 1/2 inch plywood, hinged in the front with a special bolt to hold them down.) Did you ever do an ABA test with the cover? I thought from the first part of the post that you were going to make it arched in the front.
I will post some pics of the "poor man's hard tonneau cover" in a few days. (Total cost: $30 more or less.)
You will see the modified bolts that I used. A piece of angle iron welded to a nut, allows for blind fastening, very secure. The leading edge is held down with a bungie cord stretched across the bed hooked over the J hooks in one of the detail shots. Place the un-anchored end to the front! I originaly tried to do it to the rear, but every time I used the brakes I had to climb under it to get whatever was in the back.
Still working on uploading the photos...