Fold-A-Cover Elite

@stea

was your gap less than 1 inch? i haven't checked but i am guessing that "sandwiching" the flimsy windshield wiper filler might not be enough to cover/fill my gap. can you post a pic? how did you attach the strapping to the panel?

i actually bought a 1 1/4 O.D. washing machine discharge hose and was thinking of gorilla gluing it to the underside of the lip of the cover. the hose would compress a tad making a better water seal but wasn't sure if gorilla glue would hold up over time.

thx

 

The gap was about an inch. I riveted the strapping on. I will plasticote the strapping once it warms up here. Rivets are spaced about 3 inches apart. The design (angles) of the weather stripping doesnt allow the stripping to flap over the top of the tailgate. Once mounted it fits square down to the tailgate and folds back in. Ill will get a pic tomorrow for you.

Cheap, cheap design for the moulding. Its like they just used whatever was in the back room to get rid of it. Im on the hunt for a more appropriate moulding.

 

Lil red truck

 

This is a pic with 1" aluminum tube attached to tailgate with out a seal.


These pics show a 1" tube attached to front rail.


The above shows from front of bed looking in
Now this last one shows the seal I put on the door for the front of the bed.


I am re thinking on how to do the rear at the tailgate.
Stea put a strip over the stock seal, I am thinking instead of a strip how about a inverted L with the short leg as the strip and the long leg being a block to anyone trying to stick something in between seal and tailgate to break into the rear area. I was thinking of a 1/2 X 3/4 L shapped strip of aluminum.

Vince

 

Vince, I think the L would be a better idea. Go with 3/4x3/4 though. My straps for the weatherstrip sit at kind an angle due the thickness of the weather strip. A 3/4 would bridge the gap to the panel frame and sit more flush. Use the weather stripping and it will cover the angle piece and look more clean.

 

shea/ vince,

thanks for the pics. i appreciate the help in working out this gap issue. i agree that it really is a shoody workaround by fold a cover company to add a flimsy giant windshield wiper to make it 2012 compatible.

@shea

great idea to rivet. can you tell me what size rivet you used? i am leading to use the washing machine discharge hose 1 1/4" O.D. . i'm thinking of using the strapping in the center of the hose then rivet to underside of cover. only thing holding me back is how well the hose will compress in cold temps when clsing the cover.

nice job fellas, it is much appreciated.

jim

 

Jim, rivets are aluminum. 1/8 diameter x 5/16 long IIRC

 

Just ordered my G4 Elite this afternoon from the factory store and FedEx has an estimated delivery date of Tuesday, the 29th! I have been doing as much research as possible on the folding hard covers and IMHO the G4 Elite appears to be the most durable and secure of all I have been able to get information on. What I like most about the G4 is the fact that we can still use the Taco rails and it is lockable.

I have been following your progress with the two ends issue. I like the way you have approached it and seemingly resolved the gap problem on both ends. I especially like the added security that the 3/4" aluminum angle will provide on the back.

I was talking to a vendor (unfortunately he does not carry the Fold-a-cover line) about the issue of the forward end of the bed being 1" lower than the sides. He has always just flet it alone or filled it with "Frost King" weather stripping if the customers were unhappy with the lack of a seal. I think I will share your idea of using the 1" aluminum box tubing to fill the gap. Quite ingenuious, to say the least. I'm anxious to get it installed and incorporate your mods. I read elsewhere that someone was going to use black Silicone seal to caulk the joing between the side rails and the wind rails. Is that really necessary? Does the fold-a-cover leak that much?

 

Wudbuchr. Ive had mine installed for a week now and have run it through an automatic brushless car wash 2x now. You will get a few drops inside but not enough to warrant using additional silicon type sealant. I think you would get a little water using any of the covers and hitting it with a high pressure water. Im real happy with the unit.

 

Well this is my next installment of modification to tailgate seal of the fold a cover. Mondays are my day off so this is the only time I get to work on my truck. And the weather here is not co operating very well.

So any way I removed the 1" aluminum square tube I attached to the tailgate. Then I went with a 1" L aluminum angle that I had picked up. I am attaching this to the cover lid. Now it needs triming to fit around the latch housing and the angle to lock the tailgate. You also need to remove the two snap heads attached to the lid. Here is a picture of the 1" aluminum angle on the cover.




Because it is still winter and in the 40 degrees around here after triming it I attached it with 3 rivets only. When summer comes I will take it off and paint it black.

Now because it is winter and 40 ish I put the seal on the rear door and then riveted it to the door to keep it from coming off here are pictures of that.





Now here are some after pictures and it now looks as good as everyone else's but with the added security that some one can not get under the seal and easily pry on the door.




For those of you thinking of getting this cover I would recomend you put a 1" square aluminum tube with plastic ends and attach it to the rail behind the cab. I had originally planned on screwing it to the rail, but I got some heavy duty double sided tape and just taped it across the rail. Then I put a seal on the front door, which by the way will probably need replacing in summer(I did this in 28 degree weather).
Then if you put the 1" L aluminum angle at the back your bed will be more secure.

Hope this helps those of you thinking about this cover.

Vince

 

Last step is to relocate those two snap heads you took off so you can drive with the cover open.




There you have it till summer when I paint the aluminum and fine tune the seals.


Vince

 

My G4 Elite arrived today and it's installed! Looks great, but I can see why people get water in the corners. I put a light in the bed with everything closed up and there is about a cubic inch of light coming from both of the front corners and nearly as much in the back. I guess I will invest in some "Frost King" weather seal and I will be adding the 1" square tube to the front of the bed as soon as I can find a source. Going to Jackson tomorrow, will check in Lowes and H Depot. I used a hair dryer to heat the seals as I applied them, for better adhesion, added 1/4' X 1/8" aluminum strips, secured with 6X 1/2' sheet metal screws about 3' apart (thanks for that idea too). I elected to go with the sheet metal screws in case I decide to make further mods (The screws are easier to remove than drilling out the Pop rivets). I like the idea of using 1" angle above the tail gate but I need a little more practice before I can get cuts as clean as yours. I chose not to locktite any of the fasteners just yet, thought I'd give everything a chance to wear in before making any semipermanent adjustments. Many thanks to all of you for your input, you have made this mod easier. One question though. With everything adjusted and tightened down, the latch for the third quarter appears quite loose and I have it adjusted as far down as it wil go and there is still about a quarter inch of play. The only way to get it any tighter is to modify the aluminum tabs and I think altering them will also weaken them. This forum and this thread have been Super, I'm glad I found you guys.

 

I installed my G4 Elite over the weekend. I'm fairly happy with the overall fit and seal, but we obviously get a lot less rain down here in Los Angeles. The small amount of adhesive on the rubber seals seems to be pretty strong. Time will tell how it holds up.

 

I had no fit issues with the fold a cover, fit's perfect on both ends. It is/was a lot of work to install, maybe because I did it by myself. I used boxes to support the cover as I mounted the side rails for the cover. Not sure of the time it took now, I'm sure it was 3 hours or so.

 

For those who have the G4 Elite installed:

Wondering if I can use the fork mount bicycle rack in the front rail of the bed. See photos. I figured on leaving them in the rail. To carry bikes I'd fold the front section back, secure the forks in the mounts, and have the bike ride on top of the bed cover. I'm carrying CF road bikes (< 20 pounds) so weight shouldn't be an issue.

So my questions:

1. Will the front section of the G4 close with the fork mounts in the front rail?
2. Is there any problem driving with the front section of the G4 open?

Thanks.

 

Looks to me that the cover would close easily over the brackets. Also, it shouldnt be a problem folding the front section and hooking up the bike. The second section hinge bracket is solid mounted.

 

Thanks for the info. That makes the buying selection easy. Can't think of another folding cover that would allow me to use the fork mounts in the front rail without removing the cover.

 

Should work slick. If you buy a G4 post a pick with the bikes mounted.

 

I recently installed mine and had to swap the front/rear locking brackets. For some reason the siderails would not snug down but after swapping them it worked perfect