Fold-a-Cover G4 Elite Install - 2017 Tacoma 5' Bed

Hey Guys,

Here's my write-up and install for the Fold-a-Cover G4 Elite. I'm happy with the product, the install wasn't bad, but they definitely made some mistakes in the instructions. A few things aren't clear, some are missing, and a few are just absolutely wrong. It didn't cause any harm, just took a bit longer because I had to back up and re-do a few things, but if you go through this thread, you can avoid those issues. Overall I like the product so far, but it does need time to settle in. The rubber seals seem pretty heavy duty, and will take some time to settle in, after which I may have to make a few adjustments, but I'm OK with that.

They did include a neat tailgate gasket, but I chose to not install it for the moment. I may do it later, but for now it's just not a requirement for me, and I'm happy with it at the moment.

Thread is pic-heavy! Here we go...

Process with Fold-a-Cover was pretty straightforward. Went to their site, found what I wanted, and I then tried to shop around, but nothing on Amazon or anywhere else, so just bought it direct. Found what I needed, put it in my cart, and called them to confirm the part number. Guy answered on the 2nd ring, I told him what I had and what I wanted, and the part number in my cart was a match. I ordered it on Thursday, it shipped FedEx Ground, and arrived on Monday with free shipping. Nice!

The install took about 2 hours, after I setup all my tools and said "GO". But there are problems with the instructions. Some wording is wrong, some steps are wrong, and the pics are poor. Hopefully I'll correct it here and save you some time.

Checked out the box, looked good, no visible damage. Opened it up, and was happy with their packaging. There wasn't hundreds of baggies to open, no tons of styrofoam or packing peanuts, it was pretty nicely packed and straightforward. No tape anywhere which was also nice, just saran wrap on the edges of stuff which made it easy to get everything out. I only had to cut the straps on the box and the single bag for the nuts, bolts, and brackets.




I pulled out the contents, sorted and organized everything, and took a look to make sure it was all there. The feeling was this was made and packed in the US, not only the way it was packaged, but the way everything was laid out. Nicely done and pretty simple.



Laid out all my tools, and this is really everything you should need...



Then the brackets, nuts, bolts, etc...



Ready to get started, and the first thing I noticed was the instructions. They are OK, but not great. Pics are poor, and the details are lacking. For example, on the very first step, you need to remove one of the bolts in the bed, but the way it is explained in the instructions are awkward, and the pic in the manual doesn't help very much. There are a lot of mistakes in the instructions. It's not hard to figure out, just takes extra time, and you may have to backtrack. Anyway, on we go. Remove this bolt, driver and passenger side...





Once that's out, time to install the rear bracket. Use the same two bolts you just removed, put them in the aft hole.

WARNING! The instructions tell you to just install this bracket, but if you only do that, when you reinstall the bolt, you won't be able to get the T nut with the locking post in the channel of the bracket later on, and you'll have to take it back out again (which is exactly what I had to do). So I strongly suggest installing a small T nut in the channel first with the two washers and locking post, then bolting the bracket on. Push down on the bracket to make it as flush as you can with the top of the bed.

Pic of putting the bracket on without the T Nut in the channel...





And a pic of what will happen later if you don't get the T nut and post in the channel now...



And the locking post with the T nut in the channel as it should be...



Rear brackets flush with the top of the bed rails...



Next step is to insert the front brackets onto the rails. Another problem is that it took a minute to figure out which rail was which, or rather which was the front and which was the back. After looking around, I found that they are labeled R and L, but it's not easy to see. To save you time, the open ends of the rail go forward, the closed ends of the rail go aft. Here are the two front brackets installed on the front of the two rails.


Next, wipe down the bed rails with alcohol so the cover rails can get a good seal...



Next step is to pop out your clip from the inside bed retaining rail in order to slide in the aluminum mounting blocks.

WARNING! The instructions here are backwards. They tell you to insert a long one first, then a short one, but this is wrong. You need to insert a short one first, then a long one. If you follow the instructions, you'll have to unbolt the brackets later, slide the blocks out, reverse them, and then slide them back in and re-bolt the brackets again. So pop out the tab at the back of your mounting rail, slide in the SMALL aluminum single hole block, THEN slide in the long two holed one. Push your tab back in.

How the instructions say to do it (WRONG), rear looking forward, passenger side...



How you really should do it (CORRECT), rear looking forward, passenger side...


Next, lay the rails on top of your bed rails and line up the rear holes. Put two screws in each side (screw, locking washer, flat washer), and do not tighten them. Just a few threads in.

Passenger side...


Drivers side...



Now you're going to move up front, and put the front bolts into the brackets you already installed on the rails. You'll understand now why that small one-holed aluminum block had to go in first.

Here is the WRONG way as described in the instructions. Note how long the aluminum block is. Save yourself the trouble, put the small single holed one in first, and bolt these brackets to it. Leave the top screws loose, just a few threads in.


Next, take the cover, make sure not to forget to undo the snaps or you'll have a time with it, and unfold it across the bed, laying it between the rails. This is time to line it up even and straight, and for me it was tedious. I wanted to be sure it was centered, and equidistant on both sides. Then you'll have to also play with the front/rear spacing. It is much better to just make sure the rear corners are lined up, and the fronts will be correct. They won't be perfect at first because the rubber in the joints needs to settle a bit, so I again suggest just making sure the rear corners are good and going from there.



To get the rails even on both sides, I used the last mark on the bed rails, and lined them up with that outside edge. Below is a pic of the drivers side, I did the same on the passenger side. When they were in-line, I finger tightened the bolts. Then I measured across, went to the front, and got that centered, and finger tightened the bolts there as well.



It's important to note that the cover isn't going to lay flat because of the rubber. I put down some newspaper, and stacked some bricks at intervals to flatten it out a bit while I was working. Yes, I did have to move them around a bit here and there while I moved my work area, but I think it was worth it as I got everything pretty even.



Next come the middle hinge clamps. They need to be pre-assembled with the two allen screws in just a few threads, and the small metal bar insert ready to go.



Open up the front panel, and slide these brackets onto the center hinge, screw heads facing the front. They fit pretty well in there, and then you drop the metal bar in place.





When those are in, you take the mounting blocks for them, grab four large bolts, lock washers, and flat washers each per side, and put a few threads in all four bolts. The bolts that mount the block to the truck go into the long two holed remaining blocks in your bed rail. The bolts that mount the two other blocks together go up in from the bottom of the large one and screw into the smaller top one. Repeat for the other side. Here is the assembly put together loosely...


Once both sides are in, I closed all the panels, moved the bricks so the cover was level, then I crawled into the bed and laid on my back to tighten these up when I was sure it was all straight and level. Be careful to get the top block hard up against the lip on the bottom block. I tightened the top bolts first to get the blocks lined up with each other, then tightened the side ones to secure them to the rail. Here is the tightened assembly on the drivers side looking back after I got them in and opened the panels back up...



Now comes the T nuts and secure posts for front and back. If you read earlier and heeded my warnings, you'll be good to go. If not, you'll have to unbolt the rear brackets, insert the T nut and post, and re-tighten. They are pretty straightforward otherwise. You'll want to move them all the way to the top of the rail, and slightly tighten with a wrench. The instructions say to finger tighten, but then when you go to open/close for adjustment, they will move immediately, bottom out, and you'll end up moving them to the top and tightening them anyway, so I suggest just snugging them up a little at the very top position and you can adjust later from there.

Rear posts...




Once all the posts are in, you can start the tedious job of walking around several times and adjusting. First, you'll want to check for hinge alignment. I had to adjust all four of mine. Just undo two screws on the hinge, and it's got a lot of play. Work with them to get all four of them lined up, then tighten as necessary. Do this BEFORE you adjust the posts up/down. The two black nuts visible in the pic on the hinge are the two you use to line them up. You can see in this pic that this one was way off...



Once all four hinges are lined up to strike correctly, then I checked the alignment of the side rails again, and finally tightened down all of those bolts. After that, I closed all the panels, and adjusted all my posts for up/down location. It was VERY tedious, multiple times per corner to get them just right. I did use my bricks for a little help.

Another caution...the seals flap OUT in both the front and rear. Because of how it was folded in the packaging, the front seal kept wanting to fold under the panel. I had to get a plastic interior tool and smooth it out to get the front to close. I took a break, let it sit for a bit, before I adjusted. Even now my front sits up a little high, but it's because the seal needs time to form.

The last step I did was to time the hinges so they all opened at the same time. Flip up the front and rear panels, close the hinges by hand, then pull the latch. I could hear both the front and rear passenger sides had a very clear delay, about a half a second. The adjustment for the timing is the long nut that comes out of the rubber boot and the lock nut that holds it down. Break them loose. Turn it clockwise to slow it down, counter-clockwise to speed it up. Here is a pic with the locknut loose...just turn that long nut whichever way you need to go, lock it down, re-work the latches, and listen for the delay. Once they are matched, you're good to go. Tighten them all back up.



And it's done! In reality I spent another 15-20 minutes just checking and adjusting stuff here and there, but that is really about it. The absolute last thing I did was peel off the decal, closed it all up, locked it, and I'm going to leave it while all the seals and gaskets set into place. I believe I may make adjustments afterwards as some places are not 100% straight, but while it settles, it's about as good as it's going to get...






Time for a cold one!

 

Thanks for the detailed write up! Once I get a new Tacoma, this tonneau has been the top of my list.

Do you have any pics of it open (after installed)? Also, are you able to open the tailgate without opening the cover?

Let us know how it performs after some rainy days!!

 

My favorite thing about this is Guinness.

 

I didn't seem to have the problems you did. The instructions said to watch a YouTube video first which sucked, that video was totally different then the instructions that came with the cover. The only problems I had was I didn't read the instructions correctly. Did you put locktite the bolts? I did per the instructions.

 

I have this cover and I am very happy with it. I did get a bit of a squeak from the secure posts at the front after about 6 months. I thought my leafs were starting to squeak but realized it was where the latch grabs the secure post to hold the lid closed. I just had to readjust them and put some dry lube on and it stopped. I really like how the front and back parts open separately and can lock. I made a storage box for my bed and just shut and lock the cover as a lid for the box.

 

good to see the logo can be removed. Can the straps toward the front be hidden or removed?

 

I do not have additional pics as of yet, it was pretty busy around here today, but I'll get some.

Yes, I can open the tailgate without opening the cover, no problems at all. I can close it without opening the cover, but then I have to open it anyway because it pushes the seal in.

 

I don't know what they did to the instructions, but there are clearly errors. It's not like it was a disaster...it just cost extra time to repeat the things that were printed wrong or missing.

I did not put locktite on the bolts, but it was a conscious decision. The cover wasn't laying completely flat yesterday because of the seals, and when they wear in, I know I am going to have to make adjustments, so I'm just holding out for that before I do locktite them. Thinking out loud about this now, the middle bracket can't get locktite because that's the one you undo to temporarily remove the cover if wanted. Sorry...that was just a note to myself.

 

The logo came off without too much hassle. I didn't even have to use Goo Gone, just a Clorox kitchen wipe. I suppose you could fold the straps in under the front cover, but they are supposed to sit as-is.

 

Neat box you made. I'm thinking of doing something similar. I was going to get their hideaway box with this cover, but two things stopped me. First, it wasn't available for our trucks anyway for some reason, but then when I was looking at it, it looked like just a long potting box like they sell at Home Depot, and then there was no way I was paying up for that.

 

Why not bakflip mx4? Just curious, trying to decide...

 

Excellent write up. The cover looks awesome

 

Some of the things I liked more about the Fold-a-Cover were the panels, mounting, and the locks. Plus, it looks like you have to open the tailgate to open the MX4, which I didn't want.

 

A unique feature of the G4 Elite is that it has the option to open from either the tail gate (as normal) or you can open the front panel (the panel closest to the cab...as you can see in Kreitzmtaco's pictures).

 

.... I'm sold, maybe, no drilling on this installation correct?? I'm getting confused I saw a video where A guy drilled what looks like a latch to his tailgate...?

 

No drilling, you only drill if your tailgate doesn't lock.

 

Yup, just like FHC said, no drilling. Everything bolted into existing hardware using either the in-bed mounting rails, or a few existing bolts in the rear of the bed near the tailgate.

 

Had mine installed at distributor for same price as on Amazon

 

Thanks for posting this @TheTraveler. You are not kidding when you say the process to get everything lined up and tighten correctly is tedious. Other than that the install process was pretty simple and painless. You're write up definitely helped.

 

Installed my G4 today- this great write up was very helpful, thanks for posting it!