My bakflip experience -- the good , the bad & the ugly
#1
01-31-2010, 02:54 AM
My bakflip experience -- the good , the bad & the ugly
When I took delivery of my Lariat last summer I started looking for a bed cover. After reading many threads I decided that the bakflip HD would best fit my needs. I ended up buying it from the same dealer that SteveVFX4 is aggressively promoting. I thought it was odd that Steve always wanted members to contact him by email rather than just posting the dealers contact info. After I purchased the cover I understood why. The last six months have really been a learning experience & I now know more than I ever wanted to about the bakflip design, factory & dealer. This is a long read, but if you are considering a bakflip or placing an order with the same dealer you might find this helpful.
Ordering the cover
I contacted the dealer & placed an order for a bakflip HD to fit a 5.5’ bed. The dealer does not stock the covers and has them drop shipped directly from the bakflip factory. After receiving the tracking number, I went on line to determine the delivery date. While looking at the tracking info I noticed that it was for two boxes. I recalled that covers for the 5.5’ bed ship in one box & the covers for 6.5’ beds ships in two. I called the dealer & confirmed that he had indeed ordered the wrong cover. We agreed that I would refuse delivery of the first one so that it would be returned to the factory. In parallel he would order the correct cover. On the appointed delivery day, my wife stayed home so she could explain the situation to the UPS driver. I arrived home that evening to find that UPS never delivered the cover. However the web site indicated that it had been delivered. It was at this point I discovered that the wrong size cover had been shipped to the wrong address! I called the dealer & he confirmed that he had shipped it to the wrong address. He asked me to check at the incorrect address to see if it was there. I found it at a house a block away. He also confirmed that the second cover was going to the same incorrect address. Frustration was getting pretty high at this point so I called UPS to make sure the second cover did not end up at the same place. UPS said they could not change the delivery address until after the first delivery attempt. So the second cover got delivered to the wrong address also. Since no one was at home at the incorrect address UPS did not leave it. After a couple of more days the 5.5’ cover finally arrived at my house.
Unpacking
The first thing I noticed was that two holes had been punched through the shipping box. After photographing the box I carefully unpacked it & inspected all of the contents. There were a lot of aluminum burrs & chips on the cover panels & rubber hinges. Both rails were bent as shown below.
One of the rubber hinges had multiple cuts marks as shown below:
Since this is a high stress area, I wanted no part of this cover. I called the dealer & he acknowledged that the factory has had some quality issues. He was concerned that the replacement cover may have other unacceptable issues. He suggested that I was a perfectionist & should personally take the cover back to the factory so I could inspect the replacement cover. If expecting the right cover delivered to the right address, free of obvious damage & defects is a perfectionist, then guilty as charged. Although the factory is a four hour round trip from my home, it was becoming clear that this may be the most expedient solution.
Factory visit 1
I contacted the factory to setup an appointment. I specifically asked that the replacement cover not be boxed up, so I could inspect it. Unfortunately the owner, Julian Maimin was going on vacation & was unable to meet with me. So I met with Jessie from customer service. The cover was already boxed up so we opened and inspected it in the assembly area. As I inspected the replacement cover it became clear why these covers arrive with so many burrs & aluminum chips. The chips that are produced during the cutting of the extrusions are tracked throughout the assembly area. This coupled with the black finish in low light; it is easy to see why the covers arrive with many burrs, chips & the associated scratches.
As I inspected the cover I noticed something embedded in the paint. I pointed it out & was told that they are all like this. We boxed the cover back up & I headed toward the freeway for the 2 hour trip home.
Wrong cover
After installing the cover I put the shipping box out by the trash can to be cut up. A couple of weeks later I got around to disposing of the box. As I was cutting up the box I noticed a label on one end with a part number. The number was not the same as I recalled for my truck. So I checked & sure enough it was the wrong number. The HD cover I had returned had been replaced with the cheaper G2 model. I contacted Julian when he returned form vacation & explained the situation. He was cooperative and said that if I would bring the cover back he would replace it with the OE cover that they provide to Ford dealers. I reluctantly agreed to use another day of vacation & make another 4 hour round trip to the factory.
Factory visit 2
I met Julian at the factory & found him to be sincere & cooperative. While the G2 cover was removed from the truck, Julian showed me around the factory & explained that the foam densities and thicknesses specified on web sites are not necessarily what a customer would receive. Apparently the design of the bakflip cover is evolving and the model designations do not change when the construction changes. He said that the OE cover being installed on my truck incorporated the latest product improvements. They included new rail extrusions with front & rear drains, improved seal design that allowed the tailgate to be closed without opening the cover & molded trim pieces that covered the raw cut edges around the release cables.
When the installation was completed I asked why the rear drain lines emptied into the bed as shown below.
He said it was only because I have a factory bed extender. In other cases the lines exit the bed through existing holes. The other observation was a bump in the plastic bed side caps. I asked if it was from the clamps holding the rails & was assured that was not the case.
Leaks
A couple of weeks after the OE installation it was time to wash the truck. After washing it with just a garden hose (no pressure washer) I opened the cover I found the bed to be soaked. I expected a small amount of water to come from the rear rail drains, but not this much. To determine the source of the massive leaks, I checked from inside the bed with a flashlight while my wife gently sprayed the cover from a ladder to simulate a light rain. There were a few leaks along the rubber hinges, but by far most of the water was coming in between the tailgate cap & the new rear seal.
Upon closer examination I found the new rear “D” seal was not even touching the tailgate as shown in the picture below.
This allowed water to pour into the bed. I notified Julian of the issue & he said that he would send me a new improved rear seal that would solve the leakage.
I also discovered that the bumps on the plastic bed side caps were indeed caused by tightening the rail clamps. When the clamps were loosened the bump would dissipate. The root cause is a gap between the plastic bed cap & the bed sheet metal flange. When the clamps squeeze this gap it pushes the plastic cap toward the outside of the truck. This causes the pin that is molded on the bottom side of the plastic cap to become bent which results in a bump on the cap’s surface. To resolve this I placed a .030 mylar shim between the plastic cap & the sheet metal flange so the rail clamp would squeeze a solid stack-up without an air gap.
New wiper seal
The new seal arrived in a coil. As it was uncoiled the wiper seal became very wavy. I hoped that after installation that it would relax and the wipers would straighten out. After a few weeks the wipers were still distorted as shown in the picture below.
It was doubtful that this seal would actually keep water out, so I tested it with the flashlight approach again. The new seal allowed water to pour into the bed just as did the previous “D” seal. When I notified Julian that the new seal still leaked, he suggested that I return to the factory and they would just replace the cover with the newly released F1 cover.
Factory visit 3
The OE cover was removed from the truck so the F1 could be installed. Apparently the rails are different between the OE & F1 so Julian decided not to install the F1, and try to fix the issues with the OE. The wiper seal was replaced, but it still did not make good contact with the tailgate. The lack of contact was attributed to the rails being tilted. Apparently BAK uses the same aluminum extrusion for the rails regardless of truck make. To compensate for the angle of the plastic caps used on the F150 beds, plastic shims are glued to the back of the rails so they will sit straight. Even with the shims the rails were tilted which caused the cover to sit high as shown below.
Extra shims were added at the back of the rails to remove the tilt as shown in the picture below.
I would have preferred that the extra shims were added the full length of the rails, because just adding them at the back introduces a twist along the length of the rails. The extra shim also produces a air gap between the rail & bed cap. When the clamps are tightened the bed flange sheet metal gets bent to close the gap. Once the rails were shimmed, the back lip of the cover sat down against the tailgate cap. This provided more compression on the wiper seal. The down side to this design over the original rear seal design is that it produces direct contact between the painted cover extrusion & the tailgate cap. This will result in chafing of both surfaces. The prior seal design separated the surfaces with rubber preventing damage to both.
When the side seals were trimmed with a razor blade, they inadvertently cut into the plastic tailgate cap.
I also found a dent on the underside of the cover that was not there previously. Remember the burrs? It appears that one of the burrs left on the end of an extrusion gouged the rubber side seal when the cover was folded up as shown in the picture below.
Hopeful that all of the issues had been resolved I headed out for my 2 hour ride home. When I stopped for gas I opened the cover & noticed that the plastic spacer under the left hand-**** was missing which caused significant twisting of the rail in that area. I turned around & went back to the factory. The person that had reinstalled the cover told me that the spacer had fallen off & he threw it away. About half an hour later he finished the install he was working on, retrieved the part from the trash & reinstalled it without glue. Once again I headed home hoping all was resolved.
First rain
After the first rain I found that the bed still was getting soaked. So as before, I checked it using the flashlight technique. You guessed it, still major leaking between the wiper seal & the tailgate. After losing all hope for the wiper seal design I contacted Julian one more time & asked if he would send me the older style rear seal that was used on the HD models. This has a large surface contact & overlap with the tailgate. Since I did not want to make another 4 hour trip to the factory, I offered to install the seal myself. After four weeks I still had not received a response so I sent a follow-up email. It has now been 10 weeks with no response. I can only conclude that the old style seal is incompatible with the OE design & that BAK does not have a solution to the tailgate seal issue.
Conclusions
As you can imagine this has been a very educational & frustrating experience. The dealer, Julian & the staff at BAK industries are good, sincere people. The bakflip cover is a clever concept with great potential but has some challenging quality issues. For the bakflip design to move from a good idea to a mature high quality product, the following issues really need to be resolved:
1. Water must be channeled out of the bed regardless of whether the truck is going uphill, downhill or setting level. This requires rail drains at the front & rear that that do not dump into the bed. A cover that allows cargo to get wet is not really a cover.
2. The tailgate seal must accomplish two things. First it cannot allow water to pour into the bed. Especially when the truck is pointed downhill. Second it must prevent chaffing between the tailgate & cover painted surfaces.
3. Rails should fit properly with out relying on glued-on plastic shims.
4. The installation of the cover should not damage the truck. Three areas where this occurs are the deformation of the plastic bed caps, deformation of the sheet metal bed flanges & chaffing between the cover rear extrusion & tail gate cap.
5. The aluminum extrusions need to be properly deburred to prevent damage to the rubber hinges & seals.
6. Aluminum chips need to be eliminated to prevent damage to rubber parts & paint scratching.
I apologize for the long post, but I hope it is useful. If you would like more specific information on the cover or dealer just drop me an email through the forum.
Ordering the cover
I contacted the dealer & placed an order for a bakflip HD to fit a 5.5’ bed. The dealer does not stock the covers and has them drop shipped directly from the bakflip factory. After receiving the tracking number, I went on line to determine the delivery date. While looking at the tracking info I noticed that it was for two boxes. I recalled that covers for the 5.5’ bed ship in one box & the covers for 6.5’ beds ships in two. I called the dealer & confirmed that he had indeed ordered the wrong cover. We agreed that I would refuse delivery of the first one so that it would be returned to the factory. In parallel he would order the correct cover. On the appointed delivery day, my wife stayed home so she could explain the situation to the UPS driver. I arrived home that evening to find that UPS never delivered the cover. However the web site indicated that it had been delivered. It was at this point I discovered that the wrong size cover had been shipped to the wrong address! I called the dealer & he confirmed that he had shipped it to the wrong address. He asked me to check at the incorrect address to see if it was there. I found it at a house a block away. He also confirmed that the second cover was going to the same incorrect address. Frustration was getting pretty high at this point so I called UPS to make sure the second cover did not end up at the same place. UPS said they could not change the delivery address until after the first delivery attempt. So the second cover got delivered to the wrong address also. Since no one was at home at the incorrect address UPS did not leave it. After a couple of more days the 5.5’ cover finally arrived at my house.
Unpacking
The first thing I noticed was that two holes had been punched through the shipping box. After photographing the box I carefully unpacked it & inspected all of the contents. There were a lot of aluminum burrs & chips on the cover panels & rubber hinges. Both rails were bent as shown below.
One of the rubber hinges had multiple cuts marks as shown below:
Since this is a high stress area, I wanted no part of this cover. I called the dealer & he acknowledged that the factory has had some quality issues. He was concerned that the replacement cover may have other unacceptable issues. He suggested that I was a perfectionist & should personally take the cover back to the factory so I could inspect the replacement cover. If expecting the right cover delivered to the right address, free of obvious damage & defects is a perfectionist, then guilty as charged. Although the factory is a four hour round trip from my home, it was becoming clear that this may be the most expedient solution.
Factory visit 1
I contacted the factory to setup an appointment. I specifically asked that the replacement cover not be boxed up, so I could inspect it. Unfortunately the owner, Julian Maimin was going on vacation & was unable to meet with me. So I met with Jessie from customer service. The cover was already boxed up so we opened and inspected it in the assembly area. As I inspected the replacement cover it became clear why these covers arrive with so many burrs & aluminum chips. The chips that are produced during the cutting of the extrusions are tracked throughout the assembly area. This coupled with the black finish in low light; it is easy to see why the covers arrive with many burrs, chips & the associated scratches.
As I inspected the cover I noticed something embedded in the paint. I pointed it out & was told that they are all like this. We boxed the cover back up & I headed toward the freeway for the 2 hour trip home.
Wrong cover
After installing the cover I put the shipping box out by the trash can to be cut up. A couple of weeks later I got around to disposing of the box. As I was cutting up the box I noticed a label on one end with a part number. The number was not the same as I recalled for my truck. So I checked & sure enough it was the wrong number. The HD cover I had returned had been replaced with the cheaper G2 model. I contacted Julian when he returned form vacation & explained the situation. He was cooperative and said that if I would bring the cover back he would replace it with the OE cover that they provide to Ford dealers. I reluctantly agreed to use another day of vacation & make another 4 hour round trip to the factory.
Factory visit 2
I met Julian at the factory & found him to be sincere & cooperative. While the G2 cover was removed from the truck, Julian showed me around the factory & explained that the foam densities and thicknesses specified on web sites are not necessarily what a customer would receive. Apparently the design of the bakflip cover is evolving and the model designations do not change when the construction changes. He said that the OE cover being installed on my truck incorporated the latest product improvements. They included new rail extrusions with front & rear drains, improved seal design that allowed the tailgate to be closed without opening the cover & molded trim pieces that covered the raw cut edges around the release cables.
When the installation was completed I asked why the rear drain lines emptied into the bed as shown below.
He said it was only because I have a factory bed extender. In other cases the lines exit the bed through existing holes. The other observation was a bump in the plastic bed side caps. I asked if it was from the clamps holding the rails & was assured that was not the case.
Leaks
A couple of weeks after the OE installation it was time to wash the truck. After washing it with just a garden hose (no pressure washer) I opened the cover I found the bed to be soaked. I expected a small amount of water to come from the rear rail drains, but not this much. To determine the source of the massive leaks, I checked from inside the bed with a flashlight while my wife gently sprayed the cover from a ladder to simulate a light rain. There were a few leaks along the rubber hinges, but by far most of the water was coming in between the tailgate cap & the new rear seal.
Upon closer examination I found the new rear “D” seal was not even touching the tailgate as shown in the picture below.
This allowed water to pour into the bed. I notified Julian of the issue & he said that he would send me a new improved rear seal that would solve the leakage.
I also discovered that the bumps on the plastic bed side caps were indeed caused by tightening the rail clamps. When the clamps were loosened the bump would dissipate. The root cause is a gap between the plastic bed cap & the bed sheet metal flange. When the clamps squeeze this gap it pushes the plastic cap toward the outside of the truck. This causes the pin that is molded on the bottom side of the plastic cap to become bent which results in a bump on the cap’s surface. To resolve this I placed a .030 mylar shim between the plastic cap & the sheet metal flange so the rail clamp would squeeze a solid stack-up without an air gap.
New wiper seal
The new seal arrived in a coil. As it was uncoiled the wiper seal became very wavy. I hoped that after installation that it would relax and the wipers would straighten out. After a few weeks the wipers were still distorted as shown in the picture below.
It was doubtful that this seal would actually keep water out, so I tested it with the flashlight approach again. The new seal allowed water to pour into the bed just as did the previous “D” seal. When I notified Julian that the new seal still leaked, he suggested that I return to the factory and they would just replace the cover with the newly released F1 cover.
Factory visit 3
The OE cover was removed from the truck so the F1 could be installed. Apparently the rails are different between the OE & F1 so Julian decided not to install the F1, and try to fix the issues with the OE. The wiper seal was replaced, but it still did not make good contact with the tailgate. The lack of contact was attributed to the rails being tilted. Apparently BAK uses the same aluminum extrusion for the rails regardless of truck make. To compensate for the angle of the plastic caps used on the F150 beds, plastic shims are glued to the back of the rails so they will sit straight. Even with the shims the rails were tilted which caused the cover to sit high as shown below.
Extra shims were added at the back of the rails to remove the tilt as shown in the picture below.
I would have preferred that the extra shims were added the full length of the rails, because just adding them at the back introduces a twist along the length of the rails. The extra shim also produces a air gap between the rail & bed cap. When the clamps are tightened the bed flange sheet metal gets bent to close the gap. Once the rails were shimmed, the back lip of the cover sat down against the tailgate cap. This provided more compression on the wiper seal. The down side to this design over the original rear seal design is that it produces direct contact between the painted cover extrusion & the tailgate cap. This will result in chafing of both surfaces. The prior seal design separated the surfaces with rubber preventing damage to both.
When the side seals were trimmed with a razor blade, they inadvertently cut into the plastic tailgate cap.
I also found a dent on the underside of the cover that was not there previously. Remember the burrs? It appears that one of the burrs left on the end of an extrusion gouged the rubber side seal when the cover was folded up as shown in the picture below.
Hopeful that all of the issues had been resolved I headed out for my 2 hour ride home. When I stopped for gas I opened the cover & noticed that the plastic spacer under the left hand-**** was missing which caused significant twisting of the rail in that area. I turned around & went back to the factory. The person that had reinstalled the cover told me that the spacer had fallen off & he threw it away. About half an hour later he finished the install he was working on, retrieved the part from the trash & reinstalled it without glue. Once again I headed home hoping all was resolved.
First rain
After the first rain I found that the bed still was getting soaked. So as before, I checked it using the flashlight technique. You guessed it, still major leaking between the wiper seal & the tailgate. After losing all hope for the wiper seal design I contacted Julian one more time & asked if he would send me the older style rear seal that was used on the HD models. This has a large surface contact & overlap with the tailgate. Since I did not want to make another 4 hour trip to the factory, I offered to install the seal myself. After four weeks I still had not received a response so I sent a follow-up email. It has now been 10 weeks with no response. I can only conclude that the old style seal is incompatible with the OE design & that BAK does not have a solution to the tailgate seal issue.
Conclusions
As you can imagine this has been a very educational & frustrating experience. The dealer, Julian & the staff at BAK industries are good, sincere people. The bakflip cover is a clever concept with great potential but has some challenging quality issues. For the bakflip design to move from a good idea to a mature high quality product, the following issues really need to be resolved:
1. Water must be channeled out of the bed regardless of whether the truck is going uphill, downhill or setting level. This requires rail drains at the front & rear that that do not dump into the bed. A cover that allows cargo to get wet is not really a cover.
2. The tailgate seal must accomplish two things. First it cannot allow water to pour into the bed. Especially when the truck is pointed downhill. Second it must prevent chaffing between the tailgate & cover painted surfaces.
3. Rails should fit properly with out relying on glued-on plastic shims.
4. The installation of the cover should not damage the truck. Three areas where this occurs are the deformation of the plastic bed caps, deformation of the sheet metal bed flanges & chaffing between the cover rear extrusion & tail gate cap.
5. The aluminum extrusions need to be properly deburred to prevent damage to the rubber hinges & seals.
6. Aluminum chips need to be eliminated to prevent damage to rubber parts & paint scratching.
I apologize for the long post, but I hope it is useful. If you would like more specific information on the cover or dealer just drop me an email through the forum.
#2
01-31-2010, 08:29 PM
Thou Doth Protest Too Much?
Darrell:
I have been dealing with the public in a customer service capacity now for over 10 years. Maybe 1%-2% of the customers I have dealt with fall in to the category of "impossible to please no matter what you do". I am the original dealer who sold you your cover back in July. I did make a mistake with your address and correct model on the 1st order, which I worked diligently to correct. I also set up the 1st factory visit for you to show the factory your issues. Since then, I have not been involved.
My 1st comment on your lengthy post is that it appears that NOT all of your pics are from the same cover. I do not believe they are. I believe that you have "cherry picked" your pics to support your negative point of view from the different covers you have had.
My company sold almost 1,000 BakFlips in 2009. We only sell Bak tonneau covers because I, as the owner of tonneaucoversfortrucks.com, believe they are the best tonneau cover of all covers in their category. I work very hard for all of my customers and am dumbfounded by your dissatisfaction with the BakFlip. I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED A BAKFLIP CUSTOMER WHO WAS AS SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE AS YOU SEEM TO BE.
In my opinion, I and Bak Ind. have been more than reasonable with you. As Julian pointed out in his post the BakFlip is an after market tonneau cover that is even offered by Ford as an OEM option. I believe your expectations of the product are just not realistic. I am sure that there are many other very satisfied BakFlip owners on this forum who have already started to make positive posts about their experiences with their BakFlips.
I am not sure why you have so much time and energy to continuously keep repeating your negative comments over and over again with ever more detail, but it seems like you are just one of those customers who make a career out of being unhappy. This has been going on now for almost six months!
I will discuss your situation with Julian in the morning and try to come up with a solution that will finally satisfy you. If you truly want to be satisfied, then contact us directly and stop this obsessive compulsive need you seem to have to apply your "perfectionist" view of the world on those of us who have a more realistic way of looking at every day life
Thank you,
Morrie Eisenman
I have been dealing with the public in a customer service capacity now for over 10 years. Maybe 1%-2% of the customers I have dealt with fall in to the category of "impossible to please no matter what you do". I am the original dealer who sold you your cover back in July. I did make a mistake with your address and correct model on the 1st order, which I worked diligently to correct. I also set up the 1st factory visit for you to show the factory your issues. Since then, I have not been involved.
My 1st comment on your lengthy post is that it appears that NOT all of your pics are from the same cover. I do not believe they are. I believe that you have "cherry picked" your pics to support your negative point of view from the different covers you have had.
My company sold almost 1,000 BakFlips in 2009. We only sell Bak tonneau covers because I, as the owner of tonneaucoversfortrucks.com, believe they are the best tonneau cover of all covers in their category. I work very hard for all of my customers and am dumbfounded by your dissatisfaction with the BakFlip. I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED A BAKFLIP CUSTOMER WHO WAS AS SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE AS YOU SEEM TO BE.
In my opinion, I and Bak Ind. have been more than reasonable with you. As Julian pointed out in his post the BakFlip is an after market tonneau cover that is even offered by Ford as an OEM option. I believe your expectations of the product are just not realistic. I am sure that there are many other very satisfied BakFlip owners on this forum who have already started to make positive posts about their experiences with their BakFlips.
I am not sure why you have so much time and energy to continuously keep repeating your negative comments over and over again with ever more detail, but it seems like you are just one of those customers who make a career out of being unhappy. This has been going on now for almost six months!
I will discuss your situation with Julian in the morning and try to come up with a solution that will finally satisfy you. If you truly want to be satisfied, then contact us directly and stop this obsessive compulsive need you seem to have to apply your "perfectionist" view of the world on those of us who have a more realistic way of looking at every day life
Thank you,
Morrie Eisenman
#3
01-31-2010, 09:22 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
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Thanks for the heads up. I have been shopping for a cover and really like the BakFlip. After reading your experience though I still plan to buy one.
However I definitely will not be buying from rockinroad who posted above. I can understand the dealers frustration as well but don't agree with coming on and slamming the customer. I didn't like rockinroad's tone in his statements.
Another note, I have dealt with several different covers in the past (not Bakflip) and the key is installation not matter what the product. Sometimes its best to install yourself especially if you are a perfectionist. I have had all covers installed by dealers only to reinstall them myself a couple weeks later. Doing myself I can address the water leaking issues and whatnot.
Anyways, sorry you have had such a bad experience.
However I definitely will not be buying from rockinroad who posted above. I can understand the dealers frustration as well but don't agree with coming on and slamming the customer. I didn't like rockinroad's tone in his statements.
Another note, I have dealt with several different covers in the past (not Bakflip) and the key is installation not matter what the product. Sometimes its best to install yourself especially if you are a perfectionist. I have had all covers installed by dealers only to reinstall them myself a couple weeks later. Doing myself I can address the water leaking issues and whatnot.
Anyways, sorry you have had such a bad experience.
#4
01-31-2010, 09:26 PM
Well the way I see it, your cover was not cutting it. Bottom line is that it was not performing the way it should. He did not post any personal attacks on you like you have. Hopefully you are reprimanded.
#5
01-31-2010, 09:26 PM
Thanks for the heads up. I have been shopping for a cover and really like the BakFlip. After reading your experience though I still plan to buy one.
However I definitely will not be buying from rockinroad who posted above. I can understand the dealers frustration as well but don't agree with coming on and slamming the customer. I didn't like rockinroad's tone in his statements.
Another note, I have dealt with several different covers in the past (not Bakflip) and the key is installation not matter what the product. Sometimes its best to install yourself especially if you are a perfectionist. I have had all covers installed by dealers only to reinstall them myself a couple weeks later. Doing myself I can address the water leaking issues and whatnot.
Anyways, sorry you have had such a bad experience.
However I definitely will not be buying from rockinroad who posted above. I can understand the dealers frustration as well but don't agree with coming on and slamming the customer. I didn't like rockinroad's tone in his statements.
Another note, I have dealt with several different covers in the past (not Bakflip) and the key is installation not matter what the product. Sometimes its best to install yourself especially if you are a perfectionist. I have had all covers installed by dealers only to reinstall them myself a couple weeks later. Doing myself I can address the water leaking issues and whatnot.
Anyways, sorry you have had such a bad experience.
#6
01-31-2010, 09:47 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2009
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Just my two cents but after the 2nd trip to factory I would have asked for my money back and maybe a little extra to cover the gas I burned getting to the factory.
I wonder if a topper would be a easier solution?
I wonder if a topper would be a easier solution?
#7
01-31-2010, 11:28 PM
Hello to all. This is Julian Maimin with BAK Industries tossing my two cents into the hat. I would simply like to lend my assurance to all that I will personally stand behind our great products. Despite some negative press (lord knows when it rains it can pour), the overwhelming sentiment regarding the BakFlip cover seems to be undoubtedly very positive. Certainly the OEM version is good enough for Ford Motor Co and its engineers. The fact is that no other tonneau offers the features and benefits of the BakFlip and the quality to date is absolutely outstanding. I personally guarantee our quality and will involve myself personally to ensure any customers complete satisfaction.
There will always be folks out there that agree completely with the post above and many that own BakFlip covers that will offer unwavering support of BakFlip in contrast. All I can do is lend assurance that regardless of what's said, I will continue to offer my absolute support to all that support our brand and all that choose to enjoy the advantages of BakFlip covers.
The BakFlip is the number one brand of hard tonneau cover sold in the USA and Canada. This position is all but impossible to achieve by making sub par product. Have we made covers that have fallen short of expectation? - Sure we have. However the mark of a great company, is to do all within their power to strive toward perfection. It's about how we handle a situation such as the one above that will allow us to grow and be regarded as the best. When we are wrong or when our product falls short of what it' s supposed to do I will be the first to admit it and propose a resolution. I feel confident that we have lived up to this standard and in most instances exceeded expectations.
As long as I am at the helm of BAK Industries, I will never let any of you down. Not to the extent that I can help it. I am passionate about making awesome products and thats the reason I am posting here. If I need to take it on the chin to make us a better company, then so be it. At the same token, If I feel a posting is less than honest, I will stand up and say so.
Please feel free to shoot me off any questions, be they of concern or simply to find out more about the BakFlip or your personal truck needs.
I am here for you all and will endeavor to be as honest, forthright and diligent as I can possibly be to assist you with making the best tonneau choice for your truck.
All the best,
Julian Maimin - COO
BAK Industries
julian@bakliner.com
There will always be folks out there that agree completely with the post above and many that own BakFlip covers that will offer unwavering support of BakFlip in contrast. All I can do is lend assurance that regardless of what's said, I will continue to offer my absolute support to all that support our brand and all that choose to enjoy the advantages of BakFlip covers.
The BakFlip is the number one brand of hard tonneau cover sold in the USA and Canada. This position is all but impossible to achieve by making sub par product. Have we made covers that have fallen short of expectation? - Sure we have. However the mark of a great company, is to do all within their power to strive toward perfection. It's about how we handle a situation such as the one above that will allow us to grow and be regarded as the best. When we are wrong or when our product falls short of what it' s supposed to do I will be the first to admit it and propose a resolution. I feel confident that we have lived up to this standard and in most instances exceeded expectations.
As long as I am at the helm of BAK Industries, I will never let any of you down. Not to the extent that I can help it. I am passionate about making awesome products and thats the reason I am posting here. If I need to take it on the chin to make us a better company, then so be it. At the same token, If I feel a posting is less than honest, I will stand up and say so.
Please feel free to shoot me off any questions, be they of concern or simply to find out more about the BakFlip or your personal truck needs.
I am here for you all and will endeavor to be as honest, forthright and diligent as I can possibly be to assist you with making the best tonneau choice for your truck.
All the best,
Julian Maimin - COO
BAK Industries
julian@bakliner.com
Trending Topics
#8
02-01-2010, 01:26 AM
Mountain Pass
WOW,rockinroad,with a response like that & the ease of it getting posted around the internet,that will not be good for sales! I'm amazed a business owner would do such a thing as that.
#9
02-01-2010, 11:12 AM
Postmaster
Damn there is a lot of new users on here all of a sudden. 
Nice write up and thanks for sharing your experience, I think someone else on here had a bad experience with bakflip, I will post it if I can find the thread.
Regardless if other people have had good experiences with bakflip you gotta make all your customers happy. Who knows they might go onto a forum with possible buyers and complain about your product which could sway the potential buyers opinion of your product and prevent them from buying it. Then again the actual seller could go onto the same forum and be an a-hole and sway a buyers opinion all by himself.
Nice write up and thanks for sharing your experience, I think someone else on here had a bad experience with bakflip, I will post it if I can find the thread. Regardless if other people have had good experiences with bakflip you gotta make all your customers happy. Who knows they might go onto a forum with possible buyers and complain about your product which could sway the potential buyers opinion of your product and prevent them from buying it. Then again the actual seller could go onto the same forum and be an a-hole and sway a buyers opinion all by himself.
#10
02-01-2010, 12:06 PM
Fleet Mechanic
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 1,268
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folks, this is what member d445 had to say way back in Aug 09 about his cover:
Here was the thread for reference: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...ml#post7837060
Way back then he felt that "all was made right" after he got a new cover. Yet 6 months later, he is still complaining and wrote up this long review. It is apparent to me that the dealer and Bakflip went out of their way multiple times to try to satisfy him the best they could, yet it is further apparent that this guy is impossible to satisfy. (that rear seal he is talking about, I read on the other forum it was just a prototype at the time, yet he demanded that it be installed on his truck. Of course something in the prototype phase might not work as planned)
There was another guy on here who got a bad cover, and he got a new replacement cover and did report back on here that he was completely satisfied.
Since he mentioned my name, yes I do post about Bakflip covers on here only because I do own one and have had nothing but a positive experience with the dealer and the cover itself. I've had mine cover for almost 1 year now and there has been no problems. It truly has been one of the best covers I've owned over the years. When people have questions about the cover, I try to help them out. I don't force anyone into buying one.
It seems on forums it is quite common for people to come on and complain about something, yet there is very little posts when someone has a positive experience. I encourage all Bakflip owners to post on this thread about their cover and how it's been holding up for them.
d445, I hope you never have a problem with your actual F150 truck, you would probably go back to your dealer demanding a brand new truck! And you still probably wouldn't be satisfied....
Way back then he felt that "all was made right" after he got a new cover. Yet 6 months later, he is still complaining and wrote up this long review. It is apparent to me that the dealer and Bakflip went out of their way multiple times to try to satisfy him the best they could, yet it is further apparent that this guy is impossible to satisfy. (that rear seal he is talking about, I read on the other forum it was just a prototype at the time, yet he demanded that it be installed on his truck. Of course something in the prototype phase might not work as planned)
There was another guy on here who got a bad cover, and he got a new replacement cover and did report back on here that he was completely satisfied.
Since he mentioned my name, yes I do post about Bakflip covers on here only because I do own one and have had nothing but a positive experience with the dealer and the cover itself. I've had mine cover for almost 1 year now and there has been no problems. It truly has been one of the best covers I've owned over the years. When people have questions about the cover, I try to help them out. I don't force anyone into buying one.
It seems on forums it is quite common for people to come on and complain about something, yet there is very little posts when someone has a positive experience. I encourage all Bakflip owners to post on this thread about their cover and how it's been holding up for them.
d445, I hope you never have a problem with your actual F150 truck, you would probably go back to your dealer demanding a brand new truck! And you still probably wouldn't be satisfied....
#11
02-01-2010, 12:23 PM
Thanks for the post d445. To me this is what forums are about, the good and bad of products out there. It is unfortunate that you have had such a bad experience, thankfully my experience was much smoother.
It seems to me that d445 is a believer in the product, why else would he make the effort he did to get it right? I can't judge who is right or wrong from what is posted but his expectations don't seem unrealistic. I have posted on another thread that I have the G2 Bakflip and I'm pretty happy with it, a little bit of water in the front but I've had other products that leak a bit too. My model has the "old" style rubber strip on the tail gate.
I sense from Julian's response that he understands business and customers, I hope the 2 of you get things worked out so that you are satisfied.
Rockinroad, wow, you've done customer service for 10 years? I guess you have not learned that sometimes it's just better to bite your tongue. Why you would come on here and run down a customer like that makes me wonder. I guess I'm glad I didn't follow up with SteveVFX4's suggestion to contact you, I'm not getting a great vibe on how you do business.
It seems to me that d445 is a believer in the product, why else would he make the effort he did to get it right? I can't judge who is right or wrong from what is posted but his expectations don't seem unrealistic. I have posted on another thread that I have the G2 Bakflip and I'm pretty happy with it, a little bit of water in the front but I've had other products that leak a bit too. My model has the "old" style rubber strip on the tail gate.
I sense from Julian's response that he understands business and customers, I hope the 2 of you get things worked out so that you are satisfied.
Rockinroad, wow, you've done customer service for 10 years? I guess you have not learned that sometimes it's just better to bite your tongue. Why you would come on here and run down a customer like that makes me wonder. I guess I'm glad I didn't follow up with SteveVFX4's suggestion to contact you, I'm not getting a great vibe on how you do business.
#12
02-01-2010, 12:24 PM
folks, this is what member d445 had to say way back in Aug 09 about his cover:
Here was the thread for reference: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...ml#post7837060
Way back then he felt that "all was made right" after he got a new cover. Yet 6 months later, he is still complaining and wrote up this long review. It is apparent to me that the dealer and Bakflip went out of their way multiple times to try to satisfy him the best they could, yet it is further apparent that this guy is impossible to satisfy.
There was another guy on here who got a bad cover, and he got a new replacement cover and did report back on here that he was completely satisfied.
Since he mentioned my name, yes I do post about Bakflip covers on here only because I do own one and have had nothing but a positive experience with the dealer and the cover itself. I've had mine cover for almost 1 year now and there has been no problems. It truly has been one of the best covers I've owned over the years. When people have questions about the cover, I try to help them out. I don't force anyone into buying one.
It seems on forums it is quite common for people to come on and complain about something, yet there is very little posts when someone has a positive experience. I encourage all Bakflip owners to post on this thread about their cover and how it's been holding up for them.
d445, I hope you never have a problem with your actual F150 truck, you would probably go back to your dealer demanding a brand new truck! And you still probably wouldn't be satisfied....
Here was the thread for reference: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...ml#post7837060
Way back then he felt that "all was made right" after he got a new cover. Yet 6 months later, he is still complaining and wrote up this long review. It is apparent to me that the dealer and Bakflip went out of their way multiple times to try to satisfy him the best they could, yet it is further apparent that this guy is impossible to satisfy.
There was another guy on here who got a bad cover, and he got a new replacement cover and did report back on here that he was completely satisfied.
Since he mentioned my name, yes I do post about Bakflip covers on here only because I do own one and have had nothing but a positive experience with the dealer and the cover itself. I've had mine cover for almost 1 year now and there has been no problems. It truly has been one of the best covers I've owned over the years. When people have questions about the cover, I try to help them out. I don't force anyone into buying one.
It seems on forums it is quite common for people to come on and complain about something, yet there is very little posts when someone has a positive experience. I encourage all Bakflip owners to post on this thread about their cover and how it's been holding up for them.
d445, I hope you never have a problem with your actual F150 truck, you would probably go back to your dealer demanding a brand new truck! And you still probably wouldn't be satisfied....
Sincerely,
Julian Maimin - COO
BAK Industries
Tonneau Cover : Tonneau Covers : Truck Bed Covers, Bakflip HD, Folding, Hard Tonneau, Tri Fold for Trucks
julian@bakliner.com
#13
02-01-2010, 01:50 PM
Thanks for your comment. My motto when it comes to customer service is to "treat the customer the way you would want to be treated as a customer yourself". We pride ourselves on our customer service and work diligently to satisfy their issues. The factory ranks us as one their top customer service providers. I personally handled this customer and I can tell you that both I and the factory bent over backwards to make him happy, even upgrading him to a more expensive model. I feel sorry for the Ford dealer who sold him his truck, as I am would bet $$ that he has also driven themto wish they hadn't made the sale with his perfectionist neediness.
#15
02-01-2010, 03:01 PM
The drain tubes are indeed at the front on a G2. The trucks stance is naturally higher at the tailgate and lower at the cab. The water will naturally flow forwards, unless the truck is running uphill, in which case any water will just drain backwards and out of the bed towards the tailgate. This guy however, insisted that we add drains at the back. We ran the drain tubes out the corners of the bed where the tailgate meets the bed because he had a bed extender, even though it wasn't really necessary. I'm glad you're enjoying your G2 buddy! All the best, Julian.