BlackCloud
Well-known member
- First Name
- Wayne
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2021
- Threads
- 3
- Messages
- 68
- Reaction score
- 83
- Location
- Phoenix / Seattle
- Vehicles
- 2021 KR PowerBoost
- Occupation
- Retired
I finally went with an ArmorFlex cover by UnderCover. It is a tri-fold hard cover.
It seals reasonably well. I took it through a car wash twice so far, and it allowed very little water in. With the very strong water spray coming from all directions, it would be a miracle if it was completely dry. I was pleased with the result. It should certainly be fine in any typical rainstorm.
The following picture is a closeup of the seal, taken from the same location as the previous pic, near the left tail light. The crosshatch pattern is the top of the closed tailgate. The aft end of the cover has three rubber flaps that slide over the top of the tailgate. The first flap is clearly visible. The second flap is dimly seen, and the third is out of sight to the left, under the closed cover. This allows the tailgate to open and close without having to lift the cover at all. We have done that many times now, and the triple seal works perfectly.
The following picture is the same view, but with the tailgate down, so you can clearly see the rear sealing flaps hanging down at a 45 degree angle.
I first thought the rubber seals along the sides relied solely on their contact with the truck bed rail, but there is more to it than that.
The rails that support the folding cover have an L-shaped extrusion, with a full length rubber gasket, that sits on top of the bed rail. When closed, the rubber seal on the cover itself then sits on top of that. Also, any water that sneaks past the edge is caught in a tray that drains at the front of the truck bed, through a tube you can see in the following picture.
The picture above also shows one of the three black clamps that holds the cover rail to the bed rail. During installation, it is important to ensure that the cover rail is pressed down firmly onto the bed rail, to make that water-tight seal mentioned earlier. (The white clamp with the black knob is used to completely remove the cover while leaving the side rails installed.)
One of the reasons I decided to go with the Undercover instead of the BakFlip was because the braces hold it open in a vertical position, while the BakFlip allows it to lean forward onto the back of the cab.
The fixed portion of the cover takes up about 7 inches at the front end of the truck bed. If I ever need more room than that, the entire cover is easily removable, using the white clamps mentioned earlier.
One warning about installation - the cover is not designed to sit all the way forward against the back of the cab. In the following picture, you can see the front edge of the black truck bed, and the front seal for the cover is actually about one inch farther aft. While it may be a natural instinct to pull the cover forward that extra inch, it will result in the cover being too short to seal properly back at the tailgate.
With regard to the initial condition that the tailgate open and close while the cover is down, I can attest that this one does just that, whether it is opened and closed using the key fob, the button on the dash, or back at the tailgate itself.
One last comment - the Bed Rug helped with the little bit of water that did leak when we went through the car wash. The water was either absorbed by the felt material, or ran down underneath the close-cell foam, keeping the items in the truck bed dry.
It seals reasonably well. I took it through a car wash twice so far, and it allowed very little water in. With the very strong water spray coming from all directions, it would be a miracle if it was completely dry. I was pleased with the result. It should certainly be fine in any typical rainstorm.
The following picture is a closeup of the seal, taken from the same location as the previous pic, near the left tail light. The crosshatch pattern is the top of the closed tailgate. The aft end of the cover has three rubber flaps that slide over the top of the tailgate. The first flap is clearly visible. The second flap is dimly seen, and the third is out of sight to the left, under the closed cover. This allows the tailgate to open and close without having to lift the cover at all. We have done that many times now, and the triple seal works perfectly.
The following picture is the same view, but with the tailgate down, so you can clearly see the rear sealing flaps hanging down at a 45 degree angle.
I first thought the rubber seals along the sides relied solely on their contact with the truck bed rail, but there is more to it than that.
The rails that support the folding cover have an L-shaped extrusion, with a full length rubber gasket, that sits on top of the bed rail. When closed, the rubber seal on the cover itself then sits on top of that. Also, any water that sneaks past the edge is caught in a tray that drains at the front of the truck bed, through a tube you can see in the following picture.
The picture above also shows one of the three black clamps that holds the cover rail to the bed rail. During installation, it is important to ensure that the cover rail is pressed down firmly onto the bed rail, to make that water-tight seal mentioned earlier. (The white clamp with the black knob is used to completely remove the cover while leaving the side rails installed.)
One of the reasons I decided to go with the Undercover instead of the BakFlip was because the braces hold it open in a vertical position, while the BakFlip allows it to lean forward onto the back of the cab.
The fixed portion of the cover takes up about 7 inches at the front end of the truck bed. If I ever need more room than that, the entire cover is easily removable, using the white clamps mentioned earlier.
One warning about installation - the cover is not designed to sit all the way forward against the back of the cab. In the following picture, you can see the front edge of the black truck bed, and the front seal for the cover is actually about one inch farther aft. While it may be a natural instinct to pull the cover forward that extra inch, it will result in the cover being too short to seal properly back at the tailgate.
With regard to the initial condition that the tailgate open and close while the cover is down, I can attest that this one does just that, whether it is opened and closed using the key fob, the button on the dash, or back at the tailgate itself.
One last comment - the Bed Rug helped with the little bit of water that did leak when we went through the car wash. The water was either absorbed by the felt material, or ran down underneath the close-cell foam, keeping the items in the truck bed dry.
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