Bak X4S Install question

[Blochead21]

So I just installed the X4S cover this weekend and the amount of gap just doesn’t seem right to me. The gap over the tailgate I can easily fit a finger in. And the ends of the rails are angled up which causes the seal on the rail to hit the tailgate. Has anyone who has installed this cover seen the same thing? Does anyone have any suggestions to correct it? The rails are flush with the top of the bed so I’m not sure.

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[the2ndday]

Don't tighten the clamps too much. It made the rails not flat(angled) and I had to un-tighten a bit to make it flat as possible.

 

[carys98]

It looks like you need to move the cover toward the front of the bed. Loosen the two bolts and push the whole thing forward until the rear lip drops off the edge of the tailgate. Then crawl under and retighten the bolts.

 

[Blochead21]

Don't tighten the clamps too much. It made the rails not flat(angled) and I had to un-tighten a bit to make it flat as possible.

Interesting, because I torqued the bolts to the 10ft/lbs per Bak instructions. Did you do less than 10ft/lbs?

It looks like you need to move the cover toward the front of the bed. Loosen the two bolts and push the whole thing forward until the rear lip drops off the edge of the tailgate. Then crawl under and retighten the bolts.

The rails are pushed against the bulkhead already and the cover fits right into the latch area. Do you have the cover installed? Can you show me how far away from the end of the rails or the tailgate yours is?

 

[carys98]

The ra

Interesting, because I torqued the bolts to the 10ft/lbs per Bak instructions. Did you do less than 10ft/lbs?



The rails are pushed against the bulkhead already and the cover fits right into the latch area. Do you have the cover installed? Can you show me how far away from the end of the rails or the tailgate yours is?

The rails don’t need to move, just the cover. Loosen the two knobs at the front to adjust. You need to be sure there is a gap between the lip on the cover and the tailgate.

 

[Walle1jm]

Interesting, because I torqued the bolts to the 10ft/lbs per Bak instructions. Did you do less than 10ft/lbs?



The rails are pushed against the bulkhead already and the cover fits right into the latch area. Do you have the cover installed? Can you show me how far away from the end of the rails or the tailgate yours is?

I also just installed mine yesterday and I just went out to look and it appears to be nice and flush.

I certainly am someone who has been known to over torque bolts thinking tighter must be better! lol So maybe check that as others have said?

 

[Alan168]

Your tailgate seal is completely different than mine - and I just installed mine about 3 weeks ago. Your seal has 3 edges while mine is basically one round-ish seal. It's possible your seal is too stiff or is too thick and therefore doesn't allow the end of the cover to lay flat on top of the tailgate. I would verify with the factory that they sent the correct cover. Also, I agree that moving the entire cover forward might solve the problem. Loosen all 4 nuts up front and slide the cover forward until the tailgate seal rests against the forward edge of the closed tailgate. Then tighten the nuts. You'll probably need another person to operate the tailgate while you're inside the bed.

 

[Akbrian]

Had same issue on 19’ install with the Bak. The bak aluminum bed rails are “rolling” up when you tighten the clamp. You can see this in picture. Here’s how to fix. You can keep cover on bed, climb in and loosen all the clamps. Start at tailgate if rails aren’t level you can put some weight in the cover while tightening.Then go back through and tighten. Do not go full tight on each clamp, just snug, then tighter, then Torque.

 

[carys98]

Your tailgate seal is completely different than mine - and I just installed mine about 3 weeks ago. Your seal has 3 edges while mine is basically one round-ish seal. It's possible your seal is too stiff or is too thick and therefore doesn't allow the end of the cover to lay flat on top of the tailgate. I would verify with the factory that they sent the correct cover. Also, I agree that moving the entire cover forward might solve the problem. Loosen all 4 nuts up front and slide the cover forward until the tailgate seal rests against the forward edge of the closed tailgate. Then tighten the nuts. You'll probably need another person to operate the tailgate while you're inside the bed.

My cover is the MX4, not the X4S. I’m not sure what the difference is. After looking at your first picture it doesn’t look like the rail is sitting flat on the side of the bed. There is a crown to the rail so you have to make sure you are pushing down on the rail when you tighten the clips. You might try to loosen the clip closest to the tailgate and then push down or put some weight on the rail when you retighten it. I don’t see that gap on Walle1jm’s picture.

 

[Blochead21]

Had same issue on 19’ install with the Bak. The bak aluminum bed rails are “rolling” up when you tighten the clamp. You can see this in picture. Here’s how to fix. You can keep cover on bed, climb in and loosen all the clamps. Start at tailgate if rails aren’t level you can put some weight in the cover while tightening.Then go back through and tighten. Do not go full tight on each clamp, just snug, then tighter, then Torque.

Thanks, I’ll try this hopefully this week.

 

[kyriotate]

I had a similar issue. Played around with location and tightness and pushing it down while tightening as some people said. (Mine was only on one side) Turns out that either A) I needed additional angle shims or B) the shims were installed incorrectly when it was sent.

Either way, Bak will send you free angle shims for the rail assembly and when I put them on the one side everything straightened properly. The other things may solve your issue, don't get me wrong, but wanted to give you another option if none of that helps.

 

[GoodSam]

From my Flickr photo album, of the tailgate end of the rail:


Needed electrical tape to keep the rubber seal up from being pushed in by the tailgate. Maybe some superglue there could eliminate the need for the tape. The tape just gives it a smoother surface when the tailgate closes on an already locked down cover.

Hope we do not run into the BAK cover lifting up and other problems noted in the other new thread.

 

[alockbox]

While I have the ford (REV) hard roll up one, I had similar issues. They are, frankly, poorly manufactured for the money. Mine didn't even the double-sided rubber tape they use all the way along it, and the strips were different lengths.

I went back and loosened everything, pushed down on the rail again one set at a time (back, middle, front) and tightened things. I then trimmed the uneven rubber, added extra VHB tape to parts that were flapping, added some seal to the tailgate edges.

It's now virtually waterproof. I can wash the entire truck or leave it in the rain, and there's a few drops of water inside.

They really - all of them - need to do a better job. I had the MX4 before and that was a better design than the roll up, but I wanted a roll up this time.

There's space in the market for someone to do something better at a reasonable cost. If it wasn't for the FordPass points + getting it at employee pricing, I would have tried the X4S. At least that one has corner caps!

 

[Blochead21]

So I attempted everyone’s ideas to fix this issue. However when I pushed down the rails harder the rubber gasket would jam in the tailgate when trying to close. Lifting up on the rails to prevent the jam caused the bow in the rails and covers.

In the end after multiple back and forths I decided to push the rails down to make it level. I then cut the rail rubber gasket back so it wouldn’t interfere with the tailgate.

Overall I’m not super pleased that I even had to modify a brand new cover to get it to fit. However I’m going to see how it goes and hopefully it doesn’t cause any damage because of the small clearance between the rails and top of the tailgate.

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