just_another_guy
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
I wanted a nice trifold for my '21 gladiator and everyone seemed to agree that Undercover was the premium offering. So, I bought one. Less that a year in and one of the latches fell off when I my wife closed the cover while visiting family on Christmas. It was pretty obvious that the latch on my premium made-in-the-usa bed cover was very poorly installed at the factory and the mounting point for it was FUBAR'd.
There's a few things to note here:
1. Undercover seems to install these latches with 3 self-tappers. There's pre-drilled holes on the latch baseplate for 4, but I guess the bean counters told them to save money with 3 screws instead (confirmed on other side)
2. There's little margin for error on the alignment of the latch baseplate when these are screwed down. The baseplate must not have been lined up properly (see second pic) which caused the failure.
3. Whoever built my cover must have given zero fucks because they didn't even use the last screw hole and tapped it through the latch baseplate right next to the hole instead.
4. This failure shows how weak the latches on this bed cover are. I really had a false sense of security about storing things in my bed, not realizing that you could rip the latches off with very little effort at all (even if they are installed correctly)
I was annoyed that this thing was built so poorly after paying a decent chunk of change for it, but knew that Undercover would make it right. I emailed them to start a warranty claim and received no response after a week. I filled out the contact form on their website and got a response within hours, sweet. He asked for photos of the damage along with my serial number & proof of purchase. No problem.
Here's where I had my second surprise from Undercover. After a series of emails including these photos and a few more, the only fix they are offering is to send me some larger self-tapping screws. I tried explaining that the latch was fastened too close to the edge and the holes are blown out now, but the customer service rep didn't care and kept insisting that bigger screws will fix this right up. I asked for a new panel without the damaged mounting area, but he informed me that the panels aren't replaceable. Eventually I just gave up and told him that I'll fix it myself.
This is pretty much just me complaining about their build quality and pathetic warranty, but that's the kind of stuff I'm on the lookout for when researching parts I want to buy. Hopefully my experience is out of the ordinary, but man am I disappointed in this cover and the company behind it.
There's a few things to note here:
1. Undercover seems to install these latches with 3 self-tappers. There's pre-drilled holes on the latch baseplate for 4, but I guess the bean counters told them to save money with 3 screws instead (confirmed on other side)
2. There's little margin for error on the alignment of the latch baseplate when these are screwed down. The baseplate must not have been lined up properly (see second pic) which caused the failure.
3. Whoever built my cover must have given zero fucks because they didn't even use the last screw hole and tapped it through the latch baseplate right next to the hole instead.
4. This failure shows how weak the latches on this bed cover are. I really had a false sense of security about storing things in my bed, not realizing that you could rip the latches off with very little effort at all (even if they are installed correctly)
I was annoyed that this thing was built so poorly after paying a decent chunk of change for it, but knew that Undercover would make it right. I emailed them to start a warranty claim and received no response after a week. I filled out the contact form on their website and got a response within hours, sweet. He asked for photos of the damage along with my serial number & proof of purchase. No problem.
Here's where I had my second surprise from Undercover. After a series of emails including these photos and a few more, the only fix they are offering is to send me some larger self-tapping screws. I tried explaining that the latch was fastened too close to the edge and the holes are blown out now, but the customer service rep didn't care and kept insisting that bigger screws will fix this right up. I asked for a new panel without the damaged mounting area, but he informed me that the panels aren't replaceable. Eventually I just gave up and told him that I'll fix it myself.
This is pretty much just me complaining about their build quality and pathetic warranty, but that's the kind of stuff I'm on the lookout for when researching parts I want to buy. Hopefully my experience is out of the ordinary, but man am I disappointed in this cover and the company behind it.
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