BAK 26307 BakFlip G2 Truck Bed Cover

I have had this cover for just under 2.5 years now. To cut to the chase, it was pretty good but the vinyl pieces that hold together the panels just don't last. Now, to be fair, I am a handyman, so i use the first panel a good amount of times every day. Also, I live in Houston and the sun does some damage. But still, I didn't expect the entire first panel to rip apart from the rest of it after only 2 years. It started breaking after only 1.5 years, and slowly got worse.At first, it was pretty good, looks nice and hides my tools and adds a bit of security. However, as with most things, it is just the illusion of security (which does actually help a lot, to be fair). In truth, you could break into a truck with this cover with only a razor knife. Just cut the vinyl that connects the panels.Also, right from the start it still leaked some water in when it rains. It comes from the front of it, near the back window of the truck. They just give you a cheap bit of sticky foam weather stripping to put down along the front and it's not a good seal. Now that my rear panel broke off, it leaks a lot more.

Installation--------------------Installed on my 2012 Ford F-150 XLT Crew Cab 6.5' box in about 30 minutes. The cover is reasonably heavy, but I was able to install it by myself without any trouble, but a second person could make it easier. The instructions are clear and if you google it you can find a video about how to install it also.All you do is tighten one bolt in each of the three clamps on each side bed rail, then the cover has connect to the rails in the front with two large bolts. Mine came with shims preinstalled on the rails so I didn't have to do the manual shimming step mentioned in the included directions. There is also a long piece of rubber adhesive weather stripping that seals the front of the cover to the rail of the truck just behind the real window for those of use who don't have a bed liner to fill that gap. Then there are three strips of adhesive rubber that mount to the inside of the cover to prevent it from hitting the cab when the cover is all the way up and locked in place with the two rods.Lastly there are two clear plastic tubes included that are used to direct water drained out of the rails. I routed them out the two holes in the front-most stake-pockets. To do this easily I cut four 3-4" sections of the tube (they send two 2' pieces), then bought two 1/2" plastic elbows from the home improvement store and used that to make the quick turn to the holes.Usage----------------The first time I used this I felt it paid for itself. It's so much easier than the spider net and tarp I used to struggle with. Drop the tailgat and pull the cable from either side of the truck to release the first two sections. Fold them back then pull the next cable to release the fourth section, fold it back and pull the final cable to release the fifth section, which can then be held open against the rear of the cab using the included metal rods that are connect to the bed rails. This leaves all but a few inches of the box completely accessible.If you don't need the whole cover open there are small metal rings attaches to the cover: two on the top near the cab and two on the underside of most sections. Open as much of the cover as desired then use bungie cords to attached to the metal rings to hold the cover open and in-place.Closing the cover is as easy as dropping the sections down. Typically the weight of the cover is enough to snap each section closed.Note that it's not recommended to close the tailgate with the cover fully closed. You need to lift the rear section then close the tail gate, then drop the rear section down. This is because of the rear rubber gasket that keeps water out, you don't want to catch it in the tailgate and damage it.Recommendations-------------------------I was looking for four things when I got this cover: First it had to be secure so that when the tailgate was locked the bed couldn't be accessed. Second it had to lay flat in the box, I didn't want it to stick up above the natural profile of the truck. Third it had to open in sections so I could use parts of the bed without removing the whole thing. Fourth it needed to open all then way so I could access the entire bed. This cover fulfills all of these requirements.It is incredibly sturdy, the video shows people sitting and standing on them. The hinges are thick rubber that should last a long long time. My guess at the weakest part of the entire design would be the clips used to latch the top down, but they seem to be very sturdy and unless you're latching and unlatching the cover a hundred times a day, I think they should pose no problems.Update 6/4/2013 (with a bed liner)-------------------------When I originally installed this I did not have a full bed liner, just a heavy rubber mat that covered the bottom. I decided to get a plastic DuraLiner to further protect the sides of the box and make it easier to clean. The bed liner goes under the rails. If you have a bed liner that goes above and covers the rails I'm not sure how you would be able to get this cover on. But as the F-150s already have a plastic cover on the top of the box rails, I can't imagine many bed liners would wrap above like that.In order to reinstall this cover I had to cut two notches out of the front of the bed liner as the side rails need to sit flush against the front of the box, otherwise they won't allow the tailgate to close. The easiest way is to set the rails in place and mark out the section to cut away on each side. It's about a 2"x1" rectangle on each side. I also used a hole saw to cut a hole in each side of the bed liner to route the drain tubes through to drain through the same holes as before.The cover is still working great and keeps the box dry. No problems so far.

I've owned 3 BakFlip covers for various trucks, ranging from a 2007 Toyota Tacoma to a 2013 Ford F150. The covers are a life saver for keeping your gear in the bed of the truck dry and covered. I live in the Pacific Northwest, so keeping things dry is a must.Key points:- Installation is easy and can be done with one person. Took me about 45-60 minutes.- Drain tubes and seals work well and very little water ends up in the bed, even when going through a high-pressure car wash- Provides security for gear when combined with a locking tailgate- Provides protection for the back window when fully retracted, although makes it so you cannot see out the back windowOverall I highly recommend this. Check out the YouTube videos on both installation and usage, you'll see how easy it is to install.

Product arrived from vendor (Specialty Trucks) very quickly. Packaging was all intact.Took about an hour or so to install on my own - mainly because I was taking my time and didn't want to damage anything.It was difficult to form a seal when installing the rails and the side wall caps on my truck weren't perfectly flat. The instructions aren't great but aren't terrible either, The bed looks fantastic and keeps the bed mostly dry. There are a couple of spots that seem to weep water, but not a huge amount (hence the 4 stars). Water seems to pool on the right side of the cover and I think that the standing water is what is eventually weeping through the panel cracks. It really isn't much water - I would say not even half a cups worth after hours of heavy rain. I installed it on my 2009 F150. Maybe a brand new truck would have less problems???Anyway, I wouldn't hesitate to buy again. It really is the best looking cover out there, in my opinion.2/17 Update: not the sellers fault, but it does leak quite a bit. I certainly would not put something valuable in there while it's raining.