The FedEx man dropped off the large box while I was home for lunch yesterday. We wear business casual clothes to work. I ordered a couple of weeks ago. The F1 was made on 12/15. Once I opened the package and saw how simple it was to install, I installed it, didn't even break a sweat. Took about 20 minutes. Super simple. All you need is a 9/16 socket wrench. It I didn't drill any holes through the plastic bed plugs on the bulk head but ran the drain tubes down to the bottom front of the bed where the truck has lots of drain areas where the bed meets the bulk head. I have a rubber mat in the bed.

I'll take pics when the weather is a little better. The only thing I have left to do is to settle the rubber down where the cover flips at the cab. The rubber external seal has some memory from being boxed up for three or four weeks. I was surprised to see how flexible and soft the rubber seals are. It's very good quality rubber.

The fit & finish on the F1 is excellent. Initial observations indicate it is very watertight. There is enough length on the weather seals at the front of the bed and the tailgate to keep most of the water out. Two thumbs way, way up!

 

Great to hear! The F1 is a very popular tonneau cover.

 

p i c s ?

 

I would like to see some pictures when you have sometime.
I am thinking about a hard cover for my truck since i already have a roll up on my ranger and i would like to try a hard cover (i think)

 

Are you or anyone else planing on install bed lights??

 

hows the BakFlip holding up?

 

The cover is doing well. I can't believe how much I'm in the bed of my truck. The cover is easy to use (very functional) and flips up out of the way as the name implies. The only issue is that there is a small drip in one certain area (the double joint) during heavy rain. With the way the truck is designed, you have air circulating through the bed from the drain points in the bed and around the tailgate so water evaporates and there is no hint of moisture build up in the bed or the underside of the cover. I would liked for my F1 rails to have drains on both ends of the rails. Is any cover perfect? No, but I'm happy with it for now.

 

Question.........
Say I need to haul something in the "back" half (by the tailgate) and i don't want to open all of the folds say opening all 3 . CAN I just open the back section and will it stay locked down when its on top of the other section? So when driving down the road the wind doesn't want to rip it off.

 

I've had my F1 installed for a couple weeks now. My thoughts so far -

- Installation was a breeze. It's well designed and once the rails are installed the cover itself is easy to install/remove at any time in a few minutes.

- The fit is very good. I haven't given it much of a test yet, but I'm confident that it is going to be almost completely waterproof.

- It functions well. Overall it's very easy to use and sturdy, the panels are nicely sized and fold up very conveniently. The latching mechanism that holds it fully open against the cab is nice and solid, but I still worry a bit about scuffing the cab.

- I really like the looks of it. I like the flush fit on the bed rails and the fiberglass finish on the F1 is really nice.

As far as negatives, I have a couple -

- The cable release system is a little hokey, it's also hard to use one handed because you have to pull the cable and lift the cover at the same time. You do catch on to it after a while, so not that big a deal.

- Having to make sure you open the cover every time before closing the tailgate is a pain in the butt, but again, it becomes routine. My worry is that someone that just doesn't know any better (how would they?) will just slam the tailgate one day and wreck the cover.

- There's no locking mechanism to secure the panels when they're folded open. They're pretty heavy, but I worry that a good wind could slam them shut or rip the cover off. Bakflip puts a couple D rings on it and suggest using a shock cord or rope to secure it, but they don't even include anything, pretty ridiculous considering what they charge for these things. I plan to come up with some kind of a semi-permanent system using the rings to secure the open cover, because it will spend a lot of time open when I'm towing my 5th wheel.

We'll see how it holds up and works for me going forward, but overall I'm happy with my F1 purchase.

 

Congrats on the F1!

Since I didn't need the HD level of sturdiness I went with the Fibermax. The F1 is an HD with fiber top and the Fibermax is a G2 with fiber top. Only have had it a week, but so far it's been great.

 

Edit: Deleted

 

Can you lock it?

CX

 

No, the F1 does not have a lock.

 

Evidently they depend on the tailgate lock to secure the cover, since the only way to access the cover release is with the tailgate open?

Do any of the BakFlip models have their own lock system?

This, BTW, is an interesting cover solution. I had an Undercover on my Chevy and generally liked it, but both hinges let go when the rivets broke, and though light weight, it took two people to comfortably remove and install it. One could do it but with considerable difficulty and risk of damage.

CX

 

None of the Bakflip models have a lock. Same goes with the Undercover Flex which is very similar to the Bakflip.

Take a look at the Extang Encore, you might like the cover. It has a keyed lock for the front panel which opens (unlike like the Bakflip).