Review Fold a cover G4 elite

I'm very much liking ours. I have a bed separator under ours so the front area is somewhat it's own storage area. Works great for putting bags in and not having them go all over the bed. Also mounted a pair of bike fork mounts the the bottom of the last section, so when it's all folded up, I can put bikes in the back if the truck without issue.

 

Pretty much. I find that I only use my Pop-n-lock and just use the tailgate. I'm on a camping trip right now and still doing the same. Fold-a-cover needs to take a page from Leer and Snugtop's books and install a wired camlock. I've contacted a couple of companies about these and I'm going to order a few different ones in to try to replace the locks on the G4 Elite. Fold-a-cover.

 

Going to put my G4 Elite on tomorrow!

 

Finished! Was a bit of work to put on and get set up just right, but love it!

 

I see a photo of this working with a bed extender, but looks like its with a longer bed than mine. I have a 2015 dbl cab w/ 5ft bed. So wondering since the panels would be smaller if the bed extender would still open up with enough room or not. I guess if not, I can also open two panels up.

 

Hey all, new to the forum. Pretty much made an account to ask about this cover. I have been researching covers for about 2-3 months on and off. The Fold a cover G4 is one of my top picks. I have never seen one in person so I can only go off what I see in their videos and pictures.

I watched a video fold a cover made that compares the G4 to a Bak flip cover. It shows you can easily break into the Bak flip using a coat hanger to reach under the cover and pull the pull release cord. By them showing this I'm guessing is isn't possible to do on their G4.....?

I've notice the G4 has what resembles a pull cord like system covered in rubber tubing on the underside of the covers end panels.

My question is.......is this in fact a pull cord? Can someone operate the lock latches by pulling this cord? Ultimately, could someone break in by pulling this cord with a hanger? Or does the lock on the cover somehow hinder this?

Again I'm not even sure it's a pull cord. I can only guess based off video and picture I've seen. I'm guessing these cords run from the lift latch used to open the cover, to each striker bolt lock latches. So when you lift the latch it pulls the cords and releases the lock latches......? I'm hoping you all can weigh in on this.

Thanks for any info

 

I can let you know this week. I ordered one after spending a few weeks looking at them online. I was going to hit a canopy store and look at a few models to compare, but its a long driver and nobody carries the fold-a-cover. I just ordered based on online reviews.

 

I have the G4 Elite, it's not a pull cord. It's a solid rod that goes to the latches. BTW if they want it bad enough NO cover will stop them short of making your own steel reinforced tonneau cover.

 

Thanks for the info lord helmet. I feel a lot better knowing it's a solid rod. I understand nothing is fully thief proof. I would like to make it hard for them and try to get the most secure cover I can get at this price point.

Thanks again for the info.

 

It's the one I'm planning to get next month. Of the top 3 folding ones, I feel it's the best one.

 

My top picks are..

Fold a cover G4 with caddy
Roll n lock
Diamondback SE in rugged black.

They all seem pretty secure. All seem to be around the same price point with these options. Ones a fold, ones a retractable, the diamondback.....kind of a fold up.....thing is beastly though. Might be an over kill to be honest. I can't seem to decide which I want to go with. Buying one next month.

 

DCLBFTMW

 

No problem and Semper Fi brother

 

I actually contacted Fold-a-cover about my earlier question. This is what they told me...

"Thank you for contacting Steffens Enterprises, the makers of Fold-a-Cover.

Since the Latch Cable is protected by the sleeve it would be difficult for someone to use a simple coat-hanger to release the latches. They would require an intimate knowledge of how our covers are assembled and how they operate.

I, personally, have dealt with 3 customers over the past 12 months that have experienced break-in attempts. In all 3 situations, the thief ended up giving up at breaking in either due to difficulty in doing so, or the amount of time/noise being made during the attempt. The only thing that came of these 3 scenarios is that the rear panel was damaged due to a pry-bar being used on the rear panel. However, as I always state, just like with the cab of your truck, if a thief wants to do significant damage(like breaking a window) they're going to find a way in."

I left some info out. He basically describes what someone would have to do in order to break in. Which seemed like a task that would take some skill. I don't think it's a good idea to post that info. Hahaha well I guess if anyone wanted to know they could just email fold a cover.

So now I'm confused again. They did say it was a cord protected with a sleeve. Im still going to try to see a G4 in person to get a good sense of their construction before I make a decision.

 

So now I'm confused again. They did say it was a cord protected with a sleeve. Im still going to try to see a G4 in person to get a good sense of their construction before I make a decision.[/QUOTE]

Heres pics of front and back locks . Looks like rods. Had mine 3 years now and never really looked at latching lol....

 

Yes, it will fit. I have a 2013 double cab too. By the way, I have a spare bed extender that I retro to fit my tacoma if you live in Arizona.

 

Heres pics of front and back locks . Looks like rods. Had mine 3 years now and never really looked at latching lol....


[/QUOTE]
Those are rods, and not an easy pull and release cord. Won't go further on steps to get through it, but it arn't easy.

 

Those are rods, and not an easy pull and release cord. Won't go further on steps to get through it, but it arn't easy.[/QUOTE]

Yea they are rods . Was quoting Jaybridge 88. I feel that's secured enough.

 

6 month update on my Fold-a-cover G4 Elite. At this point there have been two parts come apart on the cover and the cam locks are completely broken. I use my truck for work and I'm in and out of the bed several times a day. I also use it for camping and fishing and go on long trips with it. I live in the pacific Northwest and with the amount of rain we have I wanted a fairly water tight cover.

1. Hinge Bracket (see http://www.foldacoverfactorystore.com/DG2501-3410-R.html) - I used a torque wrench and tightened the bolts down to their specs, but the small aluminum plate that you slide in between the actual hinge and the bracket slipped out within about three to four weeks. It's just a small stick of aluminum and it DOES NOT stay in place at the specified torque. I tried various adhesives which also gave out, and ultimately had to drill small pilot holes into the surface of the stick and sharpened the bolts so that they would actually have a mechanical connection to the stick rather than just a friction connection. This has kept it in place, BUT, with the opening and closing of my cover, they do loosen off and I need to tighten them down again every once in awhile. Next task will be to tap threads into the sticks and install them with lock-tight. I will report on how this works 6 months from now. If that does not work, the only other answer will be to weld it into place, which will make the cover impossible to remove.

NOTE: I'm a product development engineer, and this is a product design flaw that needs to be corrected by the manufacturer on future units.

2. Lock Cylinders (see http://www.foldacoverfactorystore.com/DG2501-6113SA-XXX-R.html) - These lock cylinders are garbage. I expect that the manufacturer of the cylinders produced some defective cylinders. After 2 months, the front cylinder started giving me troubles sliding the key into place. The first problem was with the spring back plate that covers the key entry. It became jammed and only after much prying at it with the screw driver was I able to make it partially functional. Thereafter the key treads started to stick quite badly making inserting the key almost impossible. I tried various lubricants and tried to disassemble the unit with no luck. At this point it's barely usable and I've effectively been locked out of the front bed door (which is the entire point to this cover). The rear cylinder was fine for about 5 months, and then started to act up in the same way as the front. Recently, we have had frequent overnight freezing here and since that started, the lock has become completely unusable. I now have to lower the gate, and then undo the latches from inside in order to open the cover.

I will not replace these locks with locks from Fold-a-Cover as they are just typical cam locks. I will replace them with high quality electrical enclosure locks that we use in our own products. I know these locks are far more durable and able to handle frequent opening and closing in exterior environments without ceasing up like these ones have. Also, I will use double sided etched key rather than the single as they provide. These keys are better able to handle frequent insertion and are far less prone to ceasing up.

3. Watertightness - The cover is ok for water tightness, but requires a lot of extra bulb sealing in order to make it effective. However, there are several small and simple changes I would have made in order to channel water away from bed. These are simple water channeling principles used in the roofing industry that Fold-a-cover's engineers could benefit from.

At this point in time, I'd give this cover a 2.5 out of 5 stars. The design principle is great, but the execution is poor and their engineers need to sit down and fix its various flaws. It's flaws are well documented in forums like this one all over the place.

For the sake of clarity, I would not buy this cover again and I do not suggest that you do either.

 

Well there went that idea of purchasing this cover, thank you for that though, very helpful. At first I wanted to purchase the bakflip then I saw this cover and was sold, also seeing all the pretty good reviews here. At this point though I'm not sure which cover to purchase, I had narrowed it down to this cover and the retrax mix. I still like the design of this cover but if it's crap then I would want to stay away from this. On YouTube there's a guy with a 2 year update and he says he likes this cover but also complains about the lock on it. Must be their terrible locking system. Can the lock be changed to a stronger lock from Home Depot or such pretty easily?