Undercover Flex Tonneau Cover

Going to order an Undercover Flex tonneau cover. I can get it for a good price from either:

4wheelonline.com or truckaddons.com

Anyone have any experience ordering parts from either? Was it a good experience? Did you ever have to return anything and if so, were they good to work with?

Thanks.

 

Anybody?

 

A lot of looks but no response. I guess that means not too many people have one?

Well now I have one. The good news is the Undercover Flex is a very well made piece and now I'm very pleased with my purchase. I am today; I wasn't so pleased last night when I was installing it.

I bought "the Flex" on an internet sale over the Memorial day holiday. It took about two weeks to get it. It cost me $650.

First, more good news. The panels and hinges are well made and appear water tight. The gasketing design between the "the Flex's" rail and the Tacoma's bed, and the gasketing between "the Flex's" rails and its panels also seems like a quality piece. With a better than average, if not perfect installation, this cover should be water tight for many years. I was shooting for a perfect installation.

Now for last nights installation drama. Who ever said the installation is easy and straight forward is pucking futs. The installation instructions are absolutie crap. Keep in mind I was shooting for near perfect water tight fit. I got one but it took 3 tries and three hours because:

- When Toyota installs the rails for their adjustable cleats, they are not level with either the top of the bed or the plastic trim around the top of the bed. If "the Flex" rails are above the side of the bed, the tonneau rides to high. If there are areas where "the Flex" rails ride below the side of the bed, the tonneaus gasket is not uniformly compressed. I wanted a uniform and consistant fit.

- After the first install, the tailgate would not close. The tailgate hit "the flex" rails. "The Flex" rails are extruded aluminum. They appear to be "notched" with several compound cuts. One notch is to fit a right angle plastic drain. The extrusion and the drain prevented "the Flex" rails from being postioned close enough to the cab side of the truck bed for the tailgate to close. The rails are not something I wanted to cut "too short" and expect a water tight fit. This took two tries. The instructions also don't tell you to "remove the plastic end caps from the manufacturers rails". This is necessary on the rail that runs parallel with the back of the cab.

- There is no clear picture or instructions for how "the Flex" rails mount to the Tacoma's rails. There are not many parts and I'm no rocket scientist but sorry, this should not have required any thought. Had to do this twice with each fitting requiring a lot of adjuting in order to get "the Flex" rails on the same plane as top of the beds side rails.

- Getting the top of "the Flex" rails to run on the same plane as the top of the trucks bed was not easy. I did, however, feel this was an important step for a water tight fit. After having some time to look at the overall design, I probably over complicated the importance of this step. From a water tight standpoint, these pieces did not have to be perfect. From a "looks" standpoint, I think my positioning, tighten, measure, redo routine was worth the effort. Also "the Flex" rails are notched by the manufacturer in the places where bolts hold "the Flex" rails to the Tacama bed rails. One notch was not cut deep enought for "the Flex" rail to run on the same plane as the top of the trucks bed. This also had to be "modified".

- The tonneau is installed. The only thing left to do is drill holes for the drains. I think I'm going to get two right angle PVC fitting and make short run from "the Flex's" rail to these fittings. The fittings will be mounted on the front side of the truck bed (and drain between the cabin and the bed).

I'm probably too picky for my own good but for me, things have to be right. I didn't really mind the install taking 3 hours. What I care most about is the end product. Like I said earlier, I'm very pleased. While the install took a lot longer than expected, the manufacturer provided high quality materials to work with. Their design is very good. Their implementation seemed to me like I was installing a prototype. The result is the install turned out great. I'll post some pictures if there is any interest.

I hosed the top down good this morning. I walked around the truck and shot a lot of water from many directions in a way that a heavy rain and wind might do. No leaks even with high water pressure. If you are looking for a Tonneau cover, and don't mind working through a few simple but unexpected issues, buy "the Flex". It is a great product.

 

Not the first time I have heard of the clearance issue on the rails vs tailgate for the Tacoma on this cover.

Sorry I missed this thread originally, I would have chimed in.

 

Great information. I'd love to see some pics. I am trying to decide between the bakflip fibermax and the undercover flex. Thanks.