Video Review & Installation

Justin: If you're looking for a folding hardcover for that 2014 to 2018 Silverado at home for the least amount of money possible, well then the Proven Ground EZ Fold option here might just be the one for you. The Proven Ground will combine a durable, puncture resistant aluminum panel wrapped in a marine grade vinyl and will come in right around that $450 price point, making this one of the most affordable currently on the site in the category. Install will be extremely easy. So, figure a soft one out of three wrenches on the old difficulty meter and I would say an hour at absolute most, as we'll demonstrate later in the video.So the benefits of switching from a soft to hard cover are pretty obvious, right? Sure, a soft cover will protect your bed cargo from the elements, but all's it really takes is one nice blade to easily be defeated, as we pointed out in our bed cover episode of "What's Up With That?" Now, a hard cover, on the other hand, is going to be far more difficult to defeat and will ultimately give you and your cargo the added security that a soft cover, frankly, cannot deliver.So now that you know the benefit of going with a hard cover, let's talk about what's going on here with the Proven Ground EZ Fold option. And again, the big appeal here, guys, will be the fact that this is by far and away the most affordable hard folding cover currently on the site, both with the short box and with the standard box options. Now, those hard panels of the Proven Ground Cover will be covered, again, by that burly marine grade vinyl material in black. It's gonna be both fade and tear resistant and it's pulled nice and taut against those panels for a very clean look.The cover is going to ride on the 100% extruded aluminum frame, which is going to be very strong as well, but also at the same time, very lightweight. And that's going to come in handy when you're looking to flip this thing up and out of the way to access the entire bed. Now on that same topic, this is obviously a tri-folding option, so therefore, anytime you do need to haul something large, you could always release the latches and fold the cover up and out of the way, or even going ahead to remove the cover in a snap, if need be. Now, if you just need a portion of your bed exposed, well then you can fold the cover up a couple of times and then secure it with your included nylon straps and buckles.The best part is, guys, about a simple tri-fold cover like this is that it installs easily to the bedrails in a matter of minutes with no drilling, no modification, nothing too crazy. Instead, you're simply just going to clamp the cover down, starting nearest the cab, and you're working your way towards the tailgate, making sure the cover is aligned properly as you go. But to give you a better idea of just how easy this install will be, check out our detailed walkthrough right now.Man: So the first thing we're going to do is get our tonneau cover up in place. We're gonna push it and align it and put it flush against the back of the bed. You're gonna make sure on both sides you've got the same space. You're gonna look on the sides of the vehicle, both on this side and on this side to make sure it's even and it's in place. And next we'll go and we'll start doing our clamps. You're gonna make sure that your hook connectors are in the back. That'll tell you that that's the back part of the tonneau cover, just like that, so that when you get the tonneau cover all folded up, you can connect this. This'll hold it in place if you're driving with the tonneau cover folded. Now we're going to get underneath and we're going to show you how to hook up our clamps that hold it in place.Now you're going to be able to distinguish the back part because of this connector right here. This is what's going to latch into this, if you decide that you fold the tonneau cover up and you want to drive down the road with it, so it doesn't blow around. You're going to be able to clip that in place, pull it tight, and that'll tell you that if you have this in the back, then you'll know that you have it on right to start.So now we're going to install our clamps, which they're pretty nice. You're just gonna end up adjusting them for the tension you want it to hold your tonneau cover down, like this one here. You're able to spin it, set the tension. I'm going to give it some tension here, park it into place, like that. That's going to hold and secure the tonneau cover. Again, you can adjust it however you want, if you want it tighter than that. And then they give you these pins that are going to get pushed through. You're going to have to give them a little bit of push to them. They can be a little tough. That's going to hold it so that it doesn't come open and it holds the tonneau cover in place. And you're gonna repeat that same procedure on the other side.Now I have the tonneau cover all the way on. The middle one does not have a clamp, it's just the end one, and this is the one you'll going to be able to use when you want to take your... and loosen up your cover to get stuff in and out. You're gonna do the same procedure that we did on the front one, lock it in place and then take the clips that are supplied and push them through. That way it doesn't come loose. Your tonneau cover's secure and that wraps up this installation.That wraps up this review and install of our Proven Ground EZ Hard Fold Tonneau Cover for '14 through '18 Silverado and Sierra 1500s with standard and short box. Thanks for watching and for all things Silverado, keep it right here at americantrucks.com.