The new cover is finally here! Arrived yesterday and we installed today. I'm thrilled to have my tonneau back. Thanks again to BakFlip!
I promised pics so I'm posting a few with notes of their significance. I will say upfront I wish I had kept one of the old panels from the original tonneau. The one I received is supposed to be the new SD model but it's hard to tell. There is no SD branding and there were no instructions in the packaging. Since I had already had one BF installed that really was not an issue. And, as the SD has not yet been formally unveiled, maybe that's a factor? The new panels are supposed to be stronger - read above posts for more details, and they do seem to have a more metalic feel than my first cover. It certainly looks sharp! Maybe Undergroundboy2 can shed further details...
So here goes for the pictures and differences I noted...
A very noticeable redesign is the mounting clamps. Shorter, stockier. Less ability for the shank to bend - as you can see one of mine did. Note also the teeth/gripping section is broader giving more area of contact for presumably better strength and security.
One of the issues in my experience was how the wind got under the cover to force it off the truck. My theory is the star nut vibrated loose and fell off allowing wind under that corner of the cover. Here in the new kit the included hardware is a rubber washer - better weather protection, a steel washer and a lock washer. We found in the bed of the truck, and on the mounting rail that was blown off the truck only a star washer and steel washer - no rubber washer, no lock washer. I can't say this is a redesign as I don't know. BF personnel did ask about the lock washers on my original unit and as it was never taken off the truck I can only assume they were never there. Maybe they were missing frm the original kit? i can't say. I do know the installer returned to me all unused parts after the original install and these were only the shims and 3 pieces of rubber tubing we couldn't figure out. A you-tube video later proved these were the protective bumper strips used when the cover is folded completely up against the cab. So my assumption is there were never any lock washers in place.
A new feature you can't see. The BF has rubber seals all around for water tightness. Added to this kit - at least not in my original kit - was an additional strip of weather stripping that seals along the leading bed rail. A nice touch.
A PRIME selling point for me that led me to buy my first BakFlip purchase. I have a Rousch spoiler on my tailgate and the BF is the ONLY tonneau I've found that works wth it. You can see in this photo how the flexible rubber lip of the BF lays tight against the spoiler - providing an excellent weather seal. I doubt the BF folks designed their cover for this, but when I was searching for a replacement at a truck specialty store in Albuquerque, no other model tonneau would work with the spoiler - my only option would have been to remove it. Not an option for me.
You can see a small opening where the tailgate, spoiler, tonneau and rail cap all come together. This is not as large as it seems - probably less than 1/4 inch. A simple weather stripping plug will fill that.
With the tailgate locked, there is no getting into the bed of my truck as the BF lockes into place too.
The final two shots simply show the nice clean look of the BakFlip. As noted above I'm thrilled to have the new cover and can't say thank you enough to everyone at BakFlip.