I do NOT work for Bak Industries. I paid full price for these products from Bak Industries' website. I did NOT receive any incentive to write my opinions in this blog. I'm calling it as I see it. That's all.
UPDATE: Bak Industries has sent me a full replacement cover to fix the issue I had noted below. All they asked for in return were pictures of the problem and proof that the 'broken' cover has been properly destroyed. Wow. Great / Awesome Customer Service! Thanks!
If you go waaaay back in my posts to 2017, you will find that I installed a Bak Industries Revolver tonneau cover on my 2017 F150. After 4 years of abuse, it got turned in with the truck when I traded for a new F150.
Mind you, I NEVER performed ANY maintenance on this old cover. It occasionally got washed, but I never treated it with anything. I'll bet that half the time it was left open to the elements (not rolled down). I am betting that had I performed proper maintenance, none of the items listed below would be a concern.
The clips that held the cover in place when it was open got cracked, broken, destroyed, and lost in the first six months. Didn't matter. The cover stays in place without these clips.
As you can see from the photos, it held up well enough for me to justify the purchase of yet another Bak Industries product - the RevolutionX4s - an upgrade.
Driver's side front of old cover. Starting to come apart.
Inside view of the old cover, you can see the fabric starting to come loose from the cover.
You can tell this is the old cover as it has a shiny aluminum underbody.
I'm also betting that had I put the cover down instead of leaving it up all the time,
these protective cloth liners would have remained in place.
The exterior of the old cover - still looking good without any kind of maintenance.
The NEW RevolverX4s is an updated version with matte black aluminum body and clamps, smooth flat design, rear corner caps, and updated bulkhead seals. Hey, if the old one worked so well for four years, I'll give the new one a go too.
I started the clock when I had the truck parked and the RevolverX4s still in the box. I unpacked everything and laid the parts out on the truck tailgate. I grabbed the instructions - all 2 pages, front and back. I grabbed the necessary tools and then cleaned the area near the cab to prepare it for the seal.
One of my complaints last time was where to put the seal - this set of instructions showed where via a picture. Easy to put down in the right place. Check.
Step 2 said to put the passenger side cover rail (part A) in place. Wrong. There is no part A. The instruction people did not speak with the folks labeling the parts. The part I needed was labeled "Right." Now, right and left are going to be different if you are in front of the truck or in the rear of the truck. Fortunately, I was in the rear, so 'Right' was the correct part. It was also easy to tell as the rails will only go on one way. Simple.
I attached both rails - after first trying to do so from outside the bed of the truck. This will not happen. You need to get into the bed of the truck. How easy that would have been if I had not put all the parts and tools on the tailgate. Damn. The rails were easy to locate in their final position as they had stops in the front. This was another complaint I had 4 years ago - you did not know how far forward to install the rails. That issue has been resolved. It's almost as if Bak Industries listened to their customers to make improvements!
I laid the cover on and attached the adjustment screws - another nice touch Bak Industries! I rolled the cover up and down several times to ensure proper alignment and fit as directed. I then tightened the adjustment screws. This was a task that cramped my hands as it was a lot of screwing the adjustment knobs.
I rolled down the cover, latched it in, and closed the tailgate. This is when I stopped the clock. Total installation time? 42 minutes start to finish. This included me gathering tools and taking a soda break in the middle. All completed by one middle-aged, overweight, greying man. No assistance required. Super, super easy to install! Kudos to Bak Industries!
My single issue - one of the horizontal pieces has snapped out of its joint. It's not connecting to its neighbor. This probably occurred during shipping, but who knows. There is probably a way to snap it back into place. But I will wait for Bak to tell me how I should go about getting it fixed properly (I have emailed their customer service department). See photo below. And, I would not let this small issue stop me from buying another Bak Industries product. They seem to last really well.
This is when I started the stopwatch. Cover still in box.
Red circle shows the bit that has popped out of socket.
Yellow arrow shows how it should be attached.
Since it will not grab its neighbor, there is a 'hump' in the cover.
The final product installed and ready in 42 minutes total by one man.
What I like about the Bak Industries RevolverX4s tonneau cover:
- Super easy to install.
- Instructions succinct with lots of photos. Crystal clear.
- Tight water-proof seal.
- Upgraded closure and latches.
- Ordering & shipping were quick and simple.
- Superb fit for my F150.
What could be improved:
The latches, while updated, still do not have a place to put them when they are not in use. Thus, they flop around the bed and can get crushed, stepped on, etc. This needs to be fixed. But, don't forget that they really are not needed anyway. I don't think I used the previous ones for just a couple of months anyways before they broke. So really then, who cares?
Overall if I were not happy with the first cover, I would not be a repeat customer now would I? I like the way this RevolverX4s went in. The fit to the truck is spot on. It's also easier to open and close than the "original" one I had. I'm giving this 5 out of 5 stars. Don't know what else to tell you other than I think you would be happy with one too.
Head on over to https://bakindustries.com/ to check out their products. Good value for an excellent product.
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