Bakflip MX4 Prelim Review

I bought the MX4 for the versatility and am willing to have a little leakage. I’ve read and re-read this thread and appreciate all those who took the time to help their fellow Tacomians.

Not trying to keep this thread going forever LMAO, but I’m wondering if anyone installed a BAKFLIP MX4 in accordance with latest manufacturer instruction, and didn’t have excessive leaking?

Manufacturer’s latest instruction recommend NO seal/weatherstrip on the bulkhead, and none on the side rails. Has anyone installed one lately and without extra sealing measures with good results (my truck is a 2019 DCLB)?

I definitely want to avoid using any caulking-type sealants that I may regret later. Any help is appreciated.

 

Installed mine a few months back with no extra seal at bulkhead and side rails. If I connected the hose and drain it under my bed, I would say it’s pretty darn dry.

But I haven’t drilled the hole for the hose yet and just routing it under my bed mat and let it drain near the tailgate. Lots of water under the mat, but almost dry above the mat.

 

Thanks Admiiral. I may try it without adding seals. It would be easy enough to add them later if needed.

 

Don't do it... IT'S A TRAP!

 

LMAO, I want to be the guy who goes on this thread and says...”installed it per the instructions and had no leaks!”

 

I had really good results putting a thick bead of silicone on the inside of the MX4 rail prior to seating it on the bed. Rain all day today and bed was dry.

 

Windchill - did you use the weather strip on the bulkhead at the cab? The instructions for mine say to use the 1/4”, but the kit doesn’t have that size. It only has some big 5/8 x 3/8” weatherstrip. Frustrating when the manufacturer instructions are wrong.

 

No, mine had a piece of weather strip stock. I also siliconed the lower edge of the bulkhead piece. I did use the foam squares at the front of the bed. I used the provided wide weather stripping to fill in the other holes at the front of the bed.

 

Installed mine last month per manufacturer’s instructions. Moderate leakage under the side rails. Uninstalled it, added the 1/4 x 1/8 foam. Much better results. YMMV....

 

Could you elaborate how/where you applied it?

 

I installed the side rails three times. First time per the instructions. The sides leaked terrible. Second time, a thin bead of black silicone under the bak rubber strips that lay on the bed rails. Still leaked. Third time, with a caulk gun and Walmart black silicone, laid a heavy bead along the inside of the bak aluminum rail. I put it right along the 90. Carefully push into position and bolt down. If the silicone goes anywhere you don’t like, it just rubs off even when dry. Use anti seize on all the bolts as well imo.

 

As per Tekoma. Post #113

 

The MX4 got installed on my 2019 DCLB today. The only remaining task is to drill holes and run the drain tubes. I was going to try the install without any additional seals, but thanks to all the advice on this thread, I opted to use some small window seal during the initial installation.

A few issues popped up during the install...

I painted the bare aluminum tie-down rail mounts a couple days ago. But when I removed the rails, the metal behind the rails had some primer overspray which would have been visible, so I took the time and that got painted too, causing a couple hour delay.

The bulkhead still had a gap on the passenger side even after the block seals were added. To fill it up, I added some layers of adhesive foam sheet. I also stuffed some of the useless BAK weatherstripping foam in the other gap to fill that in as pointed out in previous replies.

When I added a seal to the bulkhead area, that front panel appeared to be tilted upward. The cover is installed with no seal on the bulkhead. If it ends up leaking there, I’ll take it off and add some.

I’ll let y’all know after it is out in the rain if the waterproofing effort helped. It certainly looks good!

 

Here is the type of window seal I used:

 

Whoops, pic didn’t post. It is a white, D-shaped seal that is hollow in the middle and very compressible. 5/16 wide on the adhesive base, and 1/4 high (but compresses down to 1/8). I stuck it in the same location recommended by Tekoma in reply 119 of this thread. Here it is after tightened down...

 

Here is the painted rail brackets installed on the newly painted metal as mentioned above...

 

And the overstuffed bulkhead end...

 

I’ve installed the BakFlip and routed the drain lines through the existing bed drain holes by adding a fitting.
I used a 1/4” barb x 1/2”npt fittings to reduce the 1/2” bakflip hose to fit the existing 10mm drain holes in the bed. They fit the existing holes loose enough that the bed will still drain too.



A bigger issue for me was the Bakflip is promoted as a M/C hauler but you can’t load against the folded cover, so I started fabbing up a bed bar. It mounts on the rails and if needed I can mount a kicker going forward.

 

What is everyone doing to seal up these "new improved" bulkhead corner seals attached to the cover with the thick slab of foam under them that dont look like they could seal much of anything?