BAKFlip tonneau covers: Drill drain holes?

Posting back here to give feedback.

It's beautiful, but frustrating to install. And it always has drips inside after it rains. Haven't played with it much after installation. It looks really nice, and it's practically invisible from the side.

One tip: Don't tighten the two clamps very much, the ones that attach the tonneau to the main brackets. I did, and it compressed the fiberglass panel a little too much and cracked it a little.

 

Does anyone happen to have any idea what wiring/line is below the driver side drain hole? My friend may have drilled a little to far and got his drill bit stuck.

 

Did the same exact thing for my switchblade, no water in the bed at all, and its been awfully rainy in Jersey these past few weeks. Brass fittings work well if you dont want to drill the bed.

 

I installed the BakFlip MX4 and loved it, but it wasn't a camper top. I enlarged the existing drain holes in my bed to 3/4" using a step bit and it gave a tight fit to the supplied drain tubes. Only drilled composite material. Never had a rain leak with that cover and very minor seepage during automated car washes. When I took it off my truck, I plugged the holes with black rubber stoppers of appropriate size, sourced from Lowe's. Installed the MX4 on my son's 2017 a week ago, drilling the same holes. No problems encountered; took about 30 minutes. He likes it, despite thinking he wouldn't. Probably easier to like free stuff!

 

Try it with out drilling the holes first. Just drive through an automatic car wash with nothing under there. And then, let me know because these dang drain hoses seem to always be in the way and I am afraid of pinching them off.

 

Is this the F1 model or MX4?

 

Thats exactly what I did. If you get the bed mat just drill a hole through that. No issues.

 

No, the bed rails are at different heights. The rails for the 15 wont match up to the 16 at all.

 

I didnt drill holes, and have only had minor water buildup

 

I must be a cheap ass. I just hose clamped the tubes onto soda bottles. It gets so little water in there, I just dump the bottles every so often and go on with life. No holes, no mess.

 

except when the installer drills through the fuel line

 

Modifying you’re bad to fit the drain hoses for these covers are not a good idea. If you have a warranty claim on your inner composite bad structure and the dealership house to replace it, if they notice it has been modified in any way they will not honor the warranty and it will be void and you’ll be stuck with the defect that you’re trying to claim under warranty. I recently had my inner bed structure replaced because it was delaminating in one of the corners and they were trying to argue with me that I had modified my bed. I did not and I showed him one identical to my bed on the lot and that’s the only reason I got it replaced. Please be advised.

 

You should not have to modify your truck to put in an aftermarket accessory that is designed to be a direct bolt on.

 

AFAIK soft tonneau covers don't need drain tubes muahahaha!

Seriously though a reduction fitting, likely <$5 at the hardware store, seems like the best way to go. Why drill if you don't have to?

 

That’s a valid point, but no real security with a vinyl cover. As for those reduction brass fittings well they work yes am I sold on them no. People can just buy the ultraflex covers and not have to modify their bed at all and you get a better product just saying….

 

Here is what I did - https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/bakflip-mx4-install-tips.700525/

 

I have a brand new in the box ultraflex undercover I’m selling. I located a brand new oem Toyota one. The the dealer was supposed to get me when I bought my truck…… yeah Yark Toyota is garbage for sales.

 

The three standard drain holes in the front of the bed are 5/16" diameter. It seems you could use reducing couplers rather than drilling the holes larger. I had the opposite problem when installing my camper shell -- how to seal the holes to prevent water coming in.

 

Yup brass fittings from home depot will reduce the drain hose to the size of the pre-drilled holes from Toyota.

 

Do you have a link to which size? I have a encore extang on the way but assuming all drain hose tubs are the same size