Review Fold a cover G4 elite

I had decided on the G4 Elite Fold a cover for my 08 DC long bed. I ordered it through Mobile Living in Concord. The price is fixed from the manufacturer but you can get deals through the internet shops as they will more than likely throw in a freebie and or free shipping. The manufacturer does from time to time offer a rebate to their carriers so make sure to ask if they have any specials. I missed the December special which was $50.00 off so Mobile Living installed it for free.
Cover cost $800.00
tax $66.00
shipping $.00
installation $.00

I cant take any credit for the installation, I for the most part just sat back and watched (they hate that). I reviewed the installation instructions/process as it is available online many times before I placed the order and they followed it to the tee.
First they slide all the brackets in the bed rail and mount the locking brackets near the tailgate.
Then they set the side rails on top of the bed rails and drop in the cover and close it.
At this point you can now center the entire cover front to back and left to right while opening and closing the cover. Once you have everything centered you can mark the outside edges of the cover rails with blue tape.
Working from inside the bed and under the cover you can now slide all the brackets to line up with the pins on cover and lock those down.
Now take the cover off and install the rails using the 3M tape. There is an opportunity here to actually screw the rails into the bed if so desired, although the instructions don't state this I definitely think this can be done. I am going to look at this as I think this will add to the overall security of the contents of your bed.
Now the cover gets puts back into place for final fitting.
One of the lat steps is to align the center locking flag on the 4th panel to a cleat which gets riveted to the top dead center of the tailgate when closed. This disables the tailgate from opening while the cover is closed. IMO this is not a tailgate lock and you should use a Pop n Lock in addition too. (That will be my next add)

https://www.foldacover.com/ApplicationsParts/tabid/57/Default.aspx

Here is the cover closed and locked.


Close up of the recessed keyed lock. They are weather tight as the key cylinder has a snap down lid that covers it completely and protects it from the elements.


Here is the 4th panel open. My bed extender clears the cover no problem. You can also see the locking mechanism that runs from the underside of the key to both left and right side rails.


Here is where the 4th panel with the lock actually secures to the pin that is bolted to the inside of the bed. This locks on both sides and is very secure.


This is the cover in the opening process, the 3rd panel has retractable locking flags (difficult to explain) that release when the 4th panel is flipped over. Then you lift the now closed 4th and 3rd panel which will carry the 2nd panel and fold down on top of the 1st panel


The hinge pin that connects the 2nd to the 1st panel is secured to the underside of the bed rails. This is the main pivot point for the entire cover, this allows you to fully open the cover up onto the 1st panel, or fold the 1st panel onto the 2nd.


Cover open.


Cover open.


Here is the cover with only the 1st panel open. I like this part as I can access my gear very easily with out having to open the entire cover or tilting a one piece cover then having to crawl or reach to the back to get at it.


Another shot with just the 1st panel open.


There are two types of seals between each panel. the seal type is different for the direction of fold.
One


Two


These are the guide rails that are installed using the 3M tape, these are guide rails and a means to create the weather seal. The structural strength comes from the 3 mounting brackets that are bolted to the underside of each bed rail.


Here you can see that you can still use your stock cleats.


All in all I am very happy with how the top looks and performs, more importantly I can now carry my dive gear with me at all times and know that is secured and hidden.
I will be closely watching my mpg and will report any change. Hopefully it will rain soon so I can see a real water test on these seals.
I hope that you find this useful and if I can answer any questions or take anymore pictures just let me know.

 

Nice review! looks good i want one but im always helping people out with thier crap.

 

very nice, thank you. did you decide to lock the tailgate with the little hook too? that setup looks ideal for the long bed. I wonder how it would work with the short bed.

 

great review! can you post the price you paid and the ease and difficulties during install ( how hard was it, what did you like about the installation, etc). thanks!

 

Guys I've added some more information to the review in regards to price-installation-and the tail gate lock.

 

Great review! Been waiting on my G4 to arrive. Hopefully it gets here soon, so I can stop using a tarp to cover my bags when I travel lol.

 

going to mammoth this weekend, i wished i had bought this too because im also going to be using tarp to cover my stuff from snow and rain

 

Your telling me. I was up at Mammoth this past weekend. Good thing no rain, cause I was using a tarp, but bad thing cause there was no real good fresh snow. lol. Should be good this weekend after the rainy weather we are having right now.

Just a heads-up to future Fold-A-cover people. I purchased mine from Tonneau Covers One. Price was like $703 w/ free shipping. Great price, slow shipping. Ordered 2 weeks ago, and they are finally having it shipped out tomorrow (supposedly). Just thought i'd share that.

 

do you have any more pictures of the cover closed up close and from a distance? I have the same color and would like to get an idea of what it looks like overall.

 

also, how is clearance under the covers? I have some rubbermaid bins i want to keep in there. They come up to just below the center of the side cleats. will this interfere with the cover any? maybe the handles?

 

I'll post some pics for you tomorrow, the last pic shows the stock side rails and the cleat to give you some idea of clearance.

 

That looks really nice!

 

Thanks for the write up - can you remove the whole cover without tools?

As in, you are traveling with the cover and buy a large item that takes up the whole bed?

 

ARTX-
No you cannot, that was one of the things I was hoping to change, the main hinge is in the seam between the first panel closest to the cab and the 2nd panel behind it.
This hinge is bolted to the inside bed rail and sliding track, this hinge is the primary mechanism allowing the cover to fold and securing it to the truck.
I hope that helps.
BTW your 1st post, welcome to TW.

 

is it easy enough to carry a couple basic tools to remove if necessary then? I saw one of these on a silverado the other day. it looked NICE. now i just need some money.

 

In addition to Roy's question:

With the right tools, how long would it take to remove this for transporting large loads?

(haha... large loads)

 

Hey guys sorry for the delay, if you fold the three sections back and expose the two main hinges all you need to do is remove 4 7/16" bolts, 2 on each side.
Once these 4 bolts are removed the entire cover can be pulled off and laid down on it's side in the bed. This can be dome in about 15 min or less.

 

Yup, pretty easy. But im gonna stop by the hardware store and see if theres a wing nut/bolt that I can buy to replace the 7/16" bolts...make it alot faster and no need to carry the tools.

 

i almost have the boss convinced to buy mine

 

Does anyone know the difference between the G4 and the original LS?
The pictures look exactly the same and just from what I've read on fold-a-cover's website, the G4 doesn't offer anything extra, does it?

I had a dealer tell me he could do the LS for $658 to my door, compared to $800 or so for the G4.