2014+ Truck Bed / Tonneau Covers

[ember1205]

And I would strongly discourage the use of ANY four-panel cover from Bak or their sister companies. I had all kinds of issues with mine, and also found that most of the hard covers do not properly fit a standard bed unless you have a plastic drop-in liner installed. The short beds (crew cabs) are fine.

[67ChevyRedneck]

I just ordered a 4450 Extang Trifecta Cover. You couldn't ask for anything more easy to install. It was literally minutes right out of the box.

 

I like how easily it folds, it's easy to unsnap the back, and 99% of the time, with as far back as it folds, I should almost never have to removed it.

 

*if* I could improve it, I would like to see it:

 

1/2" to 3/4" wider - I had to get it centered perfect for it to cover the rear stake pocket on both sides. Overall, it looks like it was made for a smaller truck when it doesn't go all the way to the edge of the bed sides.

 

I would have also like to have seen it 1/2" - 1" longer and follow the contour of the tailgate - that would be cool.

 

We also just happened to get a damn near torrential downpour tonight and I checked under the cover and I had a small puddle at the front and some drips along the back. I think the front would be better if I had a front rail cover to take up some of the gap and create a tighter seal, and looking at other people's installs, i could probably move it back a little too.

 

Overall, I didn't expect it to be perfectly sealed, so I'm happy. Under "normal" rain, it should remain pretty dry!

Took some pics:

 

 

[WillDiet]

I had the peragon cover on my 12 cc z71 I'm putting it on my 15 cc Z71 now. Not waterproof but a great cover. Www.peragon.com

[edwin814]

I chose Pace Edwards Bedlockers because I'm too lazy to operate it manually. Though I wish it would close/open little bit faster

 

Edited August 15, 2015 by edwin814

[bubbanbrenda]

Bakflip VP on mine

 

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[67ChevyRedneck]

Something I hadn't thought about when I got the Xactang Tri-Fold... is that I usually wash/rinse the top of my cab off from inside the bed. Now I have to take the cover out whenever I want to wash the truck. Not a huge deal... just wish I had thought of that before...

[ember1205]

To anyone with a "Short Crew" and a three-panel, hard-folding cover from Bak, Gator, or UnderCover

 

 

If you were to look at your cover from the side, you would see that it is like a thin "box" with a flat top that overhangs all around. The overhang is largely rubber weather seal and is also a slight protrusion of the metal bracing around the perimeter. I need to get the exact measurement of just "the box" portion - this would be the part that is basically suspended into the bed while all of the protruding overhang parts lay flat above the bed.

 

If someone could measure the distance from front-to-back, I would appreciate it. You will need to slide into the bed of the truck, underneath the cover, and have the cover closed to get the full measurement (unless you fold it completely open, hook the tape measure under the fixed piece, and managed to close each of the three panels without the tab slipping off of the front lip).

 

On a factory bed, the measurement inside of the bed from bulkhead to tailgate is 67 7/8". On a truck with a factory spray-in liner, that measurement is 67 3/4". So, the measurement of the tonneau will definitely be shorter than those two measurements.

[crewl1]

I ordered the Extang Solid Fold 2.0 last week and received it 5 business days after ordering.
The cover I ordered is model Extang 83450 Solid Fold 2.0 Tonneau Silverado/Sierra 1500 (6.5)14-15, 2500/3500

The outfit I ordered from on eBay is pickupsurplus.com who also have a web store at TruckProUSA.com
I decide to order from these folks as they had a 'make an offer' option on the lid on eBay and I was able to get a price less than the other vendors and use a Paypal no interest offer.
I called to speak with them at their store in Alabama prior to ordering and felt comfortable with their explanation of the shipping process.
In my case the cover was not in their stock and would be shipped from Extang directly.

The cover arrived in good condition via Fedex with the box showing some transport bumps, which I documented before opening the box just in case the cover was damaged.
Fortunately the cover is packed well in the critical corners and edges, although the main sides could use more protection. In this situation the box was not damaged in this area so it worked out fine.

The cover appears to be well constructed and the rubber seals are thick and mold themselves to the truck bed well.
It does appear to be assembled by hand and on close inspection I noticed a couple of spots of glue on the frame, they are not noticeable if you dont know to look for them. My truck has a sprayed in liner and the front of the bed is lower than the side rails, so in the front two sides there is a tiny triangle of open space where the seal transitions to the side rails.
We don't get much rain here in So Cal but I will keep an eye on this and see if I need to address it for water intrusion. There are other openings in the top front of the bed anyway as well as around the tailgate that I would need to seal up if I want to make it water tight.

Installation of the cover was a breeze and I was able to do it without assistance. I selected this cover because I did not want to have to install any side rails, so all you need to do is attach it via 4 clamps.
These use a long bolt and some sort of reinforced plastic clamp.

The two front clamps are a hand tightening style and come with a warning attached that says the handle should be tightened two turns only after contact with the bed is made to avoid disfiguring the top.
After positioning the lid evenly on the truck I tightened the front clamps
I read a review where a user reported that the cover shifted if not tightened down enough, so I decided to add a square piece of rubber from an inner tube in between the clamp and bed side to give it a bit more grip.
I have taped a couple of marks on the position of the cover and will be monitoring it for any movement.

The overall fit of the cover is good, although I did notice that one side of the cover appears to sit just barely longer compared to the other side when you run your hand at the edge of rear corners of the truck.
Again this is not really noticeable but someone who is very picky might be bothered by it.
Not sure if this is an issue with the square of the truck bed or the lid, but I had a similar situation in a hard lid for my previous truck and I have come to expect issues with tolerances on vehicles and accessories like this in general.

The rear of the cover is fastened with spring loaded hand clamps that fit into a position right next to the end of the bed. The positioning of the rear clamps is exactly where it needs to be on this truck as any shift fore or aft and it would be blocked by the bed corner or a rail support.

Because the rear clamps are spring loaded they do allow the lid to be slightly lifted in the back when clamped. There is a video of this in action on utube, but my lid only allows about half the travel his video shows, perhaps due to closer positioning to the end of the lid on our Silverados vs the position on the Ford.

I think there may be a way to limit the spring travel by either tightening a lock nut at the base of the handle or inserting a spacer, but after closing the tailgate the allowed lift is minimal so I am going to leave it for the time being.

In the folded position the cover is held by two straps that clip into receptacles held by screws at the front edge of the cover and it appears secure. Rear visibility in the folded position is unobstructed as I can still see the very top of the tailgate through the rear view mirror. In the folded open position there are 48 inches uncovered on my 6.5 foot bed.

I will be ordering extra clamps and strap clips to have on hand as spares just in case, as I plan to keep this cover past it's support life. Overall I am happy with the purchase.

More pics I took during the installation are here http://s1289.photobucket.com/user/res1g8hf/library/Silverado

 

[wrc7732]

So, I finally bit the bullet on an Undercover Flex. Knowing full well that it likely would not be water tight.

 

And of course, it's barely rained all summer, and this week the bottom fell out on us here in the ATL. Good hard downpours everyday, at some point, for the last 4 days.

 

As expected, I suffered some water intrusion. And it was all in the corners. I'm not surprised at all by the tailgate intrusion. The gaps between the tailgate and the body of the bed are so massive that I don't know how I'm going to seal that up. I climbed in the bed and closed the gate with the tonneau closed, and couldn't believe how much light I could see coming through the tailgate gap.

 

Anyway, moving onto the cover itself. It's okay in its design, and I would say of average build quality. There are a good few spots of glue that seeped out of their crevasses, and what appears to be dumdum (black sticky stuff) sealing the panels together, that sticks to the rubber seal like gum when you open it after it's been baking in our hot GA sunshine.

 

The biggest area I see that needs improvement is the ends where the top meets the bed caps. There's nothing applying any substantial pressure to the rubber seals, so the seals don't seal very well. The corners are the worst. Mainly because they aren't really finished, and the shape of the cut end of the seal doesn't meet the bed cap at all.

I installed a front rail cap to help make up for the height differential, and ended up with foam tape on the tonneau seal also. The front rail cap I bought is the BAK PCBHP3, and I'm not very happy with it. It's a different color and texture, despite saying OEM look, and it's too narrow at the ends which flares it out at the sides. But it was $38 and will have to do until I can find something better (which I'm struggling to do).

 

All in all I'm happy with the look of the tonneau on the truck. I had decided on a hard, over cap, tonneau, but when I went to the store, I just didn't like how they met the bed, or how they looked (lower edges are too straight cut, should be rolled and tighter fitting I think). I also really wanted something I could flip out of the way if I wanted to carry something tall in the bed.

 

I'm debating making some modifications to improve upon the ends where the tonneau meets the bulkhead and tailgate. But we'll see. I'll post again if I come up with anything useful.

 

Anyways. For now, here it is.

 

 

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[Aaron1085]

Doesn't sound impressing....makes my basic nylon/plastic type tri fold installed at the dealer look impressive.

 

 

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[crewl1]

Doesn't sound impressing....makes my basic nylon/plastic type tri fold installed at the dealer look impressive.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

Do you have a picture? I didn't get this option at my dealer.

[chuckl1218]

As I mentioned before, there is a bed sealing kit available that really helps seal the front lower edge of the bed, stake pocket openings and tailgate using mouldings and foam blocks. I used the kit on my previous truck and now on my '14 Silvy. It really helps keep,out the dust and water. Also a good moulding ( or gasket) seal across the front bed rail helps seal the front corners. I don't have a front rail cap, but the moulding both fills the gap and seals nicely to the painted surface.

I used this kit for the tailgate http://www.amazon.com/Extang-1140-MaxSeal-Tailgate-Seal/dp/B000CN5QG8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1440190843&sr=8-2&keywords=tailgate+seals+for+pickups

And this one for the rest of the bed http://www.amazon.com/Access-Cover-TrailSeal-Tailgate-Pickups/dp/B003I676OQ/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1440190843&sr=8-14&keywords=tailgate+seals+for+pickups

The total bed kit moulding for the tailgate doesn't stick well. I hope this helps.

Edited August 21, 2015 by chuckl1218

[towdog333]

I just came back from TN to PA and most of the trip was in downpours driving mostly on US 81 , my undercover flex kept everything dry in the bed and I was loaded with suitcases and lot of everything. Yea I do get some rain when the truck sits still cause there are gaps at the tailgate

[jonboy77]

The backflip is awesome and the trifecta is a good cover. I just (last week) got a Steffens quad fold because I wanted the caddy. You really need to checkout this cover if your in the market for a hard cover. But get the caddy with the treys. It's worth it.

[TruckDaddy]

The backflip is awesome and the trifecta is a good cover. I just (last week) got a Steffens quad fold because I wanted the caddy. You really need to checkout this cover if your in the market for a hard cover. But get the caddy with the treys. It's worth it.

 

He's referring to the Fold-A-Cover. The G4 model is the one to consider, not the LS model.