Water leaks in the BAKflip MX4

So…I don’t expect it to be waterproof in there. But I’m surprised at the amount of water I am getting. I’ve had the truck for a year and a day. First thing I did was have a professional install my LineX (dealer), and a BedRug and MX4 (Campway). But I’m getting more than a little water, which is what I was told by others in this forum and by Campway to expect. It’s entirely on the edges of the bed — so nothing in the center. But if I have a jacket or something over on the side, it’ll be soaking wet.

Granted, California is having an epic storm of the century right now. But I’ve noticed this since before this storm when it was just relatively light rains.

I don’t notice much wetness when I go through the car wash. But anything heavier or more sustained than that, and it’s pretty predictable that there’ll be a good amount of water along the edge by the tailgate, along the sides of the bed, and a smaller amount along the side by the back wall.

Is this about the same amount of water others see or might my cover not be installed correctly?

Not the end of the water, but if this is what I should expect, I will need to figure out a way to store things in watertight containers in the bed. Maybe pelican cases or Harbor Freight Apache cases or something. Only problem there is I don’t want cases sliding all over the place so I’d have to figure out how to secure them to the sides. I keep a lot of loose stuff back there that I don’t want getting wet — clothes, jackets, sometimes papers, etc.

 

Apply weather stripping around the tailgate the center of the bulkhead that is slightly lower than the bed rail caps, put weatherstripping underside of the bedrail caps.

Not familiar with your cover as I have a diamondback but I think the above would work with any cover provided of course it's installed correctly.

Also get yourself a factory bedmat, one of the best and cheapest mods. It works too good. I find myself cursing it's existence when I go to load or unload stuff as it's almost impossible to push or slide it in quickly.

If you are going to spend a small fortune on cases and stuff to keep stuff waterproof, sell your cover and get a diamondback. It's a vault and I haven't had a single drop of water get in even after the heavy rains this year in socal.

 

I Have a BakFlip MX4 on my 2018 from the day I bought it. It gets 'damp' but I have never been "wet" in the back. I did notice this fit different than it did on my 2010 and I had to adjust the fit from front to back just right to get coverage at the tailgate and still protect the front from rain. Then the tracks on both sides need to be lined up and you should have no issue with rain

 

Something is wrong then because I’ve helped install one on a friends 2020 and his doesn’t get wet. And we are by no means professional installers.

 

Make sure your drain tubes are clear. Mine was leaking a lot this summer and found I had some mulch stuck in the drain tubes so it wasn't allowing them to drain fast enough.

 

Many family members and I have been using BakFlip products since 2010ish. Their new stuff is garbage. I purchased the MX4 for my 2020 in May of the same year. That thing leaks like crazy. The seals that attach each panel (NOT THE SIDE RAILS) leak like they have holes in them.

In all honesty the corners usually get some leaking but nothing as remotely bad as my current one. Another family member has had the same problem on a newer one as well. Nothing stays dry in a rain storm, in the bed of my truck, since the day I installed it.

Their customer service is useless and I will never be purchasing another product from them. I will be purchasing another tonneau in the next few years but I am trying to get a little more use out of it (to justify the cost…) before I trash it…

 

How do I check and clear it out?

 

On mine, I undid the nuts that hold the cover onto the track all the way up by the cab. That allowed me to lift up the little flap that is up by the cab. You can see the drain holes, I used my compressor to blow them out and also ran water down them to make sure they are draining properly. You may need to pull the drain tubes out so that you are able to get the junk out of them and then reinstall them.

 

Mine leaks slightly near the tailgate in heavy rain. It's also pretty old, so I kind of expect it.

 

I had one for over 4 years. Got a little bit of water but never “wet”

 

Hmmm. Here's some photos of recent wetness. You can see the dark coloring in several spots along the sides and pretty well in from the wall. Maybe it’s just me and this is not considered much water…?