Review on Bakflip G2 bed cover for Tacoma

I havent used any of the BAK products, but I have had 2 Extang covers (not tri-folds) and have been extremely happy with them. Their customer service and warranty is outstanding as well (lifetime on hardware, frame, etc and 10 years on vinyl). I plan on getting an Extang Solid Fold (PN# 56905) soon and will let everyone know how it turns out.

Dave

 

It would hav ebeen nice to be able to self lock as you push it down into the existing rail system?

Is that posible?

 

.... an update on ours after 3 yrs.

So-so ... the pop rivets holding the outer casing to the inner fill/liner & side rails has let go in 2 spots and I'll have to repair it (fibreglass it together) or I'm afraid one panel will come apart (2d or 3d from the rear iirc).

Ours does not get very rough use so this is a bit disappointing, I was hoping it would be a bit more robust. If I can get the time to 'glass it and, I hope, stabilize it, it should remain functional, for the most part it is still working well.

Jon

 

I have a Bak flip I am taking it off after 2years it leaks, it is warped the supports broke off ,and the rubber is coming off.And when in a Up postion it blocks your view.The tighten down slides for those supports don't stay tight. I hope they have corrected their problem..My first one was replaced because they had a glue problem.It fell apart also.

 

Has anyone noticed that this tonneau is not very secure? I have the F1 which I believe is basically the same. You just need to slip a coat hanger between the tailgate and tonneau and pull on the release cable. I was looking for an emergency release in case my Dynolock fails but this is too simple.

 

I have never owned a Bakflip, but have had 2 extangs and I can tell you that their product and support are exceptional in my experience. IF I decide to go that route vs. a cap, I will likely go with extang again.

 

I was looking to purchase a Bakflip cover, seeing everyone on the good and bad side of these covers, I'm kind of second guessing on purchasing it now. Plus they're ridicliously expensive. I was hoping the cover would last longer than my truck. Seems like after a few years they're getting replaced by something else. Not something I plan on doing.

I came across the BakFlip VP, assuming it's the upgrade to the G2???? Looks like the same one to me just a different name, maybe a few new features.

http://tonneaucoversworld.com/bakflip-vp-toyota-tacoma-double-cab-5-bed-2005-2012.aspx

 

Check out the fold a cover elite G4.

 

My BakFlip VP arrived today. Took my time installing and for the most part I am very satisfied. The Rubber seals along the top had ripples but after sitting in the sun they now follow the contours very well. It looks pretty secure, I am driving to Oklahoma (200 miles tomorrow) and will be able to test water tightness as it is suppose to rain. I coupled the cover with a pop & lock PL 8521. Because I am new to the tonneau cover scene, I do not have a frame of reference by which to judge this product. It does, however, appear to be clean and sturdy. In a couple of days I will give an update on its ability to keep the water out. I did place the drain tubes (optional) and rigged a syringe to fit into the small openings at the front base of the cab (did not want to drill out larger holes). Am a retired anatomy instructor so my "rigged" tools are pretty evident of what was used. I hope that the pictures post. Also added some rubber seal at the very front of the cab.http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/[ATTACH=full]1679642[/ATTACH]

Note ripples along the rubber seal on top rail

[IMG]http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/[ATTACH=full]1679636[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]1679636[/ATTACH]



After two hours in the sun, the ripples are gone and the seal now follows the contours of the truck
[ATTACH=full]1679642[/ATTACH]


Nice apparently tight seal
[ATTACH=full]1679649[/ATTACH]

The BakFlip VP has drain tubes which are considered "Optional." I decided to make use of them since they came with the package. To avoid drilling larger holes in the bed of your Tacoma, go to Home Depot and ask for a "Brass Hose Barb" Part Number: A-193. This works very well and fits into the plastic tubing and bed holes neatly.

[ATTACH=full]1679654[/ATTACH]

Here is the completed assembly - it may be overkill as the VP does not really call for drain tubes, but since they were packaged, why not make use of them!

[ATTACH=full]1679668[/ATTACH]
Oh, a couple of additional notes: When folded up, the third brake light is blocked. Also, there are no clamps or rings to help hold a partially folded cover in place. Still, I am happy with the product. Follow the installation videos, they are much better than the included instructions.

 

I installed the BaKFlip VP on Tuesday (September 25, 2012). Wednesday I drove 200 miles to Oklahoma and washed the new pickup at the end of the trip. Using a very powerful hand held wand at a car wash caused very little water to enter (the small amount that did enter was probably because I had not closed the tailgate completely). Today, I drove back home in constant drizzle - opened the tailgate and not one drop of water. I am very pleased.

 

How is your BakFlip VP now that you have had it for a few months? How is the vinyl cover? Any visible creases? Any leakage? Thanks!

 

Tiip10, The vinyl cover is good as new. I put several coats of "Armor All Protectant Gel" on it which seems to be doing well - going through a car wash causes water to bead up as though it had a fine wax. No visible creases and very little leakage. The only water that manages to get in is at the upper end of the tailgate during washing. I've solved most of this by placing weather stripping around areas where gaps seemed to exist between the tailgate and the frame (not the cover itself). When it rains, no water is found as pressured spray is not directed upward as it is when washing with a wand. If you drive on country roads, some dust will accumulate at the very end of the bed. In talking with tonneau dealers, I understand that this is a problem with all covers. The amount of dust, though, is very slight.

 

Spot 50, thanks for the feedback. I was looking into either the VP or G2. The posts that I hear from people with the G2 is that the product is par. I really appreciate your help. I live in Los Angeles so I only go to the mountains a few times a year. When I put down the money I just want to make sure it is something that lasts. Really appreciate it and am definitely leaning more towards the VP. Thanks!

 

Just installed the BF VP. I had a few small leaks after washing my truck but nothing serious. So far so good.

 

I did research probably every bed cover under the sun since August when I got my Tacoma. I saw the one you recommended, BUT being I have the short bed and wanted the use of the whole bed when I need it and avoid having to remove the whole cover I went with the BakFLip G2. I'm no-where near techincally inclined to install so I had it professionally done from a local shop.

My Uncle has one on his Ford F-150 and a friend has one on his Dodge Ram 1500 and both of them highly recommended it. Many of my friends who own pickup trucks have vinyl covers or rollups and HATE them with a passion when asked how they liked it. They're actually looking for hard covers now.

And for the reply for the rest of the thread here, now that I have my BakFlip G2 installed, I'll throw my (long) two cents in on it hoping this can benefit others interested in purchasing the same cover....

I don't even have the cover on 24 hours and it's raining here on Long Island already so it was put to the test right out of the shop.

Since it's raining it's leaking a bit, BUT I found out the problem by reading the forums here and also from me visually checking out the cover itself. I found the drain tubes were just placed in the compartments in the bed near the front end of the cab, so where else was the water going to go? It backed up into the tubes (which looked as wide as a quarter). I need to make that home depot run for those hose pieces discussed here so that gets resolved. I wish I caught that at the auto shop and made them do the work which I might wind up just going back to them anway to give em a piece of my mind and have them do the work for me. Other than that issue, absolutely no leaks what-so-ever that I saw.

The price if you ask me was totally obsurd. Here on Long Island it was priced at $925.00 w/ installation before taxes. I knew it was going to cost maybe $100 or so for the install (these shops need to make a little bit of money also). The cover itself was almost $800 on many online websites even if I had it shipped to my house.

At the shop, the guy mentioned to me that the weather stripping rubber will seal over time along the bed. It also was explained that you need to run your fingers underneath the weather stripping should it need to be opened at all so it doesn't seal underneath itself and permanently stay that way. Right now as it's cold here it will most likely take a lot longer to seal up. I might just take a hair dryer to it and hope that will heat it up enough. The reasoning behind that was because the cover came folded into itself in the box it was shipped in from the warehouse (I'll give credit to Bak Industries, I glanced at the unpacking stages and wow it was packed nicely, kudos for that).

I noticed a slight difference in drag while driving on the highways doing around 70mph. SO hopefully it'll increase the gas mileage, although I don't expect it to change drastically.

A pain in the arse (trying to keep it "G" rated) is to gain the acess to your bed. You need to open the tailgate first, then pull the wire underneath the cover to open it up. And to close it then it's the same as to open. Tailgate closed first then the cover folds and seals over that. I know things could be worse but this is really one of the only down falls to it besides price and a big fear of leaks from rainwater.

As I've seen in another post here on the forum, concerns arose about how secure the cover really is. I have yet to try and "break-in" to my own truck and see if that thin hanger trick really does work or not to get the wire to pop the cover open. A visual of it, honeslty I think it looks pretty damn secure to me. And if anything it'll at least hamper the burglar a bit compared to ripping into a vinyl cover with a knife or some other method to steal.

Overall I'm no-where near any car or truck professional but on a consumer level I'd give this a 4 out of 5 star rating for a review. Only because of a few concerns of the water leaking into your bed, security, and the big issue, the pricing.

Sorry for the long rant. If you guys (and gals) would like I'll try to post some pictures if you'd like to see it once the weather clears up here.

 

One thing that turned me off from the VP is that I was told you need to maintain it with any type of vinyl protectant like you'd do for a vinyl bed cover. The G2 isn't in need of much maintanance.

 

I ran over to Home Depot last night and took your advice and idea to use those brass hose barbs and they were $3.04 or something each. Just make sure you get the same bag packaging because apparently the 2 different bag styles have different ribs in the barb itself I noticed. Glad I noticed that before leaving the store. Also, the drain holes in the bed are a little bit bigger than the opening for the barb, so you might need some plumbing tape or something to just keep it in place. It rained a lot here today on Long Island and no leaks, just a little bit of water from the other day that hasn't dried up yet.

But thanks for that post because it came through BIG TIME for me and saving me from going to ream the guys who installed it for me. I did have to pay $6 and change for these parts but I chose to do this on my own.

 

is yours a short bed or long bed ?

 

For the VP guys ...

Do NOT use ArmorAll on the vinyl. Silicone based products like this may make the cover look good, but over time it can lead to dried out and cracked vinyl.

Please use a water based product like "303" Protectant. You can find it at your local AutoZone, Napa, and maybe Walmart.

 

I have the short bed and the BakFlip G2 cover if that was addressed to me.