Truck cover review - When I buy a truck one of the first things I do is to get some sort of cover put on. I have had several different ...

When I buy a truck one of the first things I do is to get "some" sort of cover put on. I have had several different types (soft tonneau, rollback, one-piece lift, etc). Of those, my favorite had to be the Re-Trax I had on my last one. The only thing I didn't like about that was the big cannister the cover rolled into. In a 5' long short bed, every inch matters. So I decided to try a new type. Enter the BakFlip G2. What searching I did showed this one to be the better of what was out there in this type of cover. It wasn't cheap (I paid right at 7 bills for it...almost double some of the others) so I had high expectations.

Review (1-10 with 10 being best):

Packaging and Installation: 10
It took about a week and half to get it and when opened, it was very well packaged with plenty of padding to protect it from being thrown around in the back of a van getting here. I was pleasantly surprised that there was not a huge package of bolts and a 30 page installation manual. In fact, the only thing in the box was the cover itself, a couple of weatherstripping pieces, one small box consisting of only 2 bolts and another with 6 clamps.This was a breeze. Took me all of 20 minutes to install the clamps and rails, line up the cover and bolt it all down. Overall -super easy!

Appearance and Quality: 5
I think I remember reading somewhere that you could stand on this (I could have made that up in my head though...). Anyway, I'm not all that big and I sure as hell wouldn't stand it. It looks like it could maybe take the weight of cat, but that's about it.

The panels consist of a what appear to be some kind of foam core sandwiched by cheap looking stamped metal. Each panel latches into the rail you install to lock it down. Instead of latches to open the sections, there is a cheap metal tension wire that you can "pull" from either side to release the latches. I expected some actual latches at this price point. The plastic tabs on each side of the panels (attached to the tension wire) that lock it in place have already started to bind. They are getting stuck inside the plastic housing that holds them. "Unsticking" them requires jiggling the wire and occasionally a screw driver to push them back in place.

Functionality: 6
Right after I installed it, we had a torrential downpour. I went out after to see how well it did and there was not a drop of water. So that portion rates a 10 - very waterproof. What gave it a score of 7 is the extremely irritating fact that you have to lift the panel EVERY time you close the tailgate. That's a real bummer for me. Considering the current state of the latches, I expect it to break from all the opening and closing in a month or two. Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised, time will tell.

The way the panels fold on themselves is nice and is perfect for times where you want to haul a tall piece of equipment/furniture. You do have use bungee cords if you drive with it partially open (bungee cords, really - on a $700 dollar cover?).

Overall score: 6.5
The long and short is that I expected a little more for as much as this thing costs. I wouldn't tell you to absolutely never buy one, but I would likely not repeat the purchase myself.

Thank you for the very thorough review!

Given your comments, I am actually a bit surprised by the 6.5 rating. It seems a bit bit high, given your final recommendation. I really do like that it is watertight. That is a big plus. My 2 roll up covers both leaked. My Access was not too bad (a few drips). The current OEM cover leaks pretty badly in the front corners. But both of those were about $400. I agree with you, that at $700 the expectations are higher.

Do you have any pictures of the cover?

I can see light up at the front of my Extang Revolution but do not get water in the bed at all while parked during a heavy down pour, but I am not sure if that would be the case at highway speeds. That is really the only thing I am worried about with mine.

I love my Bakflip! I just walked down the center of my G2 (never wanted to try until now), and it did flex slightly but it held up just fine...I weigh 220 lbs. After using it a year now, I haven't seen the latch issues you're talking about, and lifting the last panel before closing the tailgate isn't much of a big deal to me.

I give it a 9....it's pricey but very secure when you also use a tailgate lock.

I have the F1 and couldn't be happier. It's tough, doesn't get hot to the touch, enables me to use my bed, and secures it too. Sometimes I do forget to tilt the last panel up before I shut the tailgate, but it hasn't caused any problems.

Well good to hear that you guys' covers have held up. Hopefully I'll be surprised in the long run or maybe I just got a batch with a bad latch. Still don;t much like having to open it every time I close the tailgate and I wouldn't be brave enough to walk on it. With my luck it would be like walking on drywall.

doc-o-pharm wrote:Well good to hear that you guys' covers have held up. Hopefully I'll be surprised in the long run or maybe I just got a batch with a bad latch. Still don;t much like having to open it every time I close the tailgate and I wouldn't be brave enough to walk on it. With my luck it would be like walking on drywall.

Have you contacted the company about the sticking latches? Might be an issue they can resolve.

doc-o-pharm wrote:Well good to hear that you guys' covers have held up. Hopefully I'll be surprised in the long run or maybe I just got a batch with a bad latch. Still don;t much like having to open it every time I close the tailgate and I wouldn't be brave enough to walk on it. With my luck it would be like walking on drywall.

great review, I'm waiting for my G2 to arrive. Have you tried some grease for the latch slides may to remedy your situation?

I did a ton of research over the net for which cover to get like probably everyone else and choose the Bakflip. To me the price difference between other softer trifolds was warranted for the added security. If money was no object I'd scoop the F1 instead. Being water tight isn't that big a plus like the low profile look of it was.

My truck came with a roll up cover with the Chevy emblem on it, I got tired of it flapping around and tired of rolling it up every time I needed in the back. 3 weeks ago I got a G-2, then went on a trip, between K C and De Moines, it rained hard but no leaks. My wife has the Tri Fold cover on her mail truck and it is nice, but i like the G-2 better, and I can use the hole bed with the G-2, not with the Tri Fold. Yes I am still getting use too having to open the last panel to shut the tail gate but that is miner, U can close the tail gate with out opening the cover but then you have some of the rubber flap getting folded under. I like the G-2 very much

sorry but I made a mistake , the cover that is on my wife's mail truck is a FOLD A COVER, not a Tri Fold. The FOLD A COVER has the advantage of letting you open the front part to get something out of the front of the bed without opening up the hole cover, but you still don't have full use of the bed with the FOLD A COVER open, like you do with the G-2 . Anyway sorry for the mistake