Does the BAK MX4 Tri-Fold Require Rail Shims?

[Maverick77]

Have been fighting with my new MX4 Tri-Fold Hard Top cover with the rear panels towards the tailgate not latching on the right side. I measured the distance between the side rails of the truck box without BAK's rails and there is a 1/4" difference with the distance back before the tailgate being wider than the front. Communication with Real Truck/BAK is leaning towards them wanting to send me a new cover, but most likely the same issue. Shims between their rails and the side of the truck bed would help some if they were wide as the truck rails for support. Must be other MX4 owners on here that experienced this issue. If I turn the bed cover so it is crooked, then both sides can latch, but it looks weird and I am unable to clamp the front to the rails.

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[Glen Baker LLC]

Randy,
Pictures would greatly help along with the above explanation.

 

[Maverick77]

Randy,
Pictures would greatly help along with the above explanation.

Here are a couple of the pictures sent yesterday to BAK/Real Truck Customer Support. The front of the cover is close to being evenly spaced along the back of the cab when these were taken. Left side appears to be square as there is an even space between the cover and the outside lip of the rail. The latch easily latches the rail. The right side rail slowly moves away from the cover towards the rear of the bed. If I twist the cover to the right from the back side, the latches will engage, so it is not a latch adjustment. Appears to me that BAK needs to provide a shim to move the rail in a little? I could be looking at this all wrong also. I am no engineer.

 

[Hot Runr Guy]

Stop at your local Menards/Home Depot/Lowes store, and grab a handful of laminate counter samples. They make great shims. Place them where your clamps are as needed.

HRG

 

[Geo8866]

Mine was a little finicky in the beginning. I guess there was a bit of a break in period. It latches every time without issue now. After about 20-30 times of closing it a little harder than normal, the issue went away.

 

[Johnkn]

I've installed (3) on my (3) Mavericks including the new Generation version last month on my '26. Is yours the new version? The new design rail clamps push all the way up and somewhat 'snap' into place, then lock down with the bolts... I did work for 5 minutes to get the cover centered left to right. Let me know if you need a couple pics if yours is the new version.

good luck

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[Maverick77]

Mine is Generation 3 and the clamps do fit into the channel of the rail. I have the rear clamps just ahead of the upper tie downs. Almost on top of them. I was thinking today that maybe I have them too far back. Moving them ahead a little would allow the rails to possibly move in a little on both sides. Only need 1/8" on both sides to make up a 1/4" I am going to swing into my Ford dealer later tonight and measure their 2025 and 2026 Maverick beds to see if they have a 1/4" run out from the front to the rear of the boxes. Both of my black plastic rail caps seem to be securely in place, and no way the bed was fabricated incorrectly. Called Real Truck this afternoon and they are still checking on their end with measurements and pictures that I provided them.

 

[Maverick77]

My local dealer had a 25 and four 26 Mavericks on the lot. The 2025's measurements at the front and the back were very close to each other. The 2026 Mavericks were not consistent. Production tolerances from their supplier might have been relaxed. I will play with this more when the weather gets a little warmer. If BAK had a wider lip on top of the bed rail for support, it would be easier to shim inward. I might look for thin aluminum at Menards, or just try weather stripping to square it up.

 

[Hot Runr Guy]

If BAK had a wider lip on top of the bed rail for support, it would be easier to shim inward. I might look for thin aluminum at Menards, or just try weather stripping to square it up.

FWIW, I added the Elevate TS rails to mine, and it definitely "snugged-up" the fit between the cover and the rails.

HRG

 

[RivrMav]

My Mav is a 2023, and I've never had a problem the fit or latches on my MX4 tri-fold. I've taken it off several times and reinstalled, with no problem.

 

[Maverick77]

I purchased some 1" wide strips of aluminum at hardware store in 1/16" and 1/8" thicknesses. Used the 1/16" shims behind the middle clamps and 1/8" shims behind the clamps closest to the tailgate. Works better as sometimes I only have to nudge the last cover a hair to the right and the latch pops in. Real Truck claims the measurements of the panels are within specs, so they are washing their hands of this case. I am arguing that the issue is with Ford lack of consistency, but wider lip on BAK's rails could compensate for the issue. The rails have a very narrow lip on top of the bed rail as it is, and I now have 1/8" less contact. I think I need to add another 1/16", or maybe another 1/8" to get the cover to close consistently. But then that will allow even less contact on the bed rail. A slightly wider lip for a larger contact area of the bed rail would allow shimming and still have support on top of the rails. I noticed that Ford Accessories no longer offer a cover of this type. I saw old YouTube videos from a few years ago in which they did.

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