Video Review & Installation

Plain and simple, you should be checking out the Proven Ground Soft Tri-Fold Bed Cover here if you wanna cover your bed and protect that cargo but you wanna spend the least amount of money in the process. Now, this tri-fold option will be available for all 2015 and newer F-150s in both 5.5 and 6.5-foot bed lengths, and it's gonna start that mid $200 price point. Again, very affordable in the land of bed covers.Now, getting this thing in place will be a very simple and straightforward task that requires no drilling or even no tools whatsoever, so, figure a soft one out of three wrenches on the difficulty meter and an hour at most to get everything in place. So, if you're watching this video, then chances are you already know the value of having some sorta cover on your bed to protect your cargo, but, why might you wanna consider the Proven Ground option here? Well, like we pointed out at the very top of this video, to save money. That's gonna be the biggest draw with the Proven Ground option as it is by far and away one of the most affordable currently in the category.Now, with all that being said, let's talk construction here, guys. And this thing will utilize a weather-resistant vinyl material. Feels very grainy or leather-like in texture, but overall, it's very thick and very durable, so I don't get the impression this thing's gonna rip or tear easily on you over the years. Material is also UV-resistant, so, you're not gonna have to worry about this thing fading on you over the years. In addition to that, it does look like they've done a great job with the stitching and overall construction given the very bottom-dollar price point.As for the skeleton, basically your frame here, well, the Proven Ground option is going to incorporate a strong, aircraft-grade aluminum overall that has been finished off in this black epoxy powder coat, and that's gonna increase the overall durability. Now, overall, guys, the frame itself, it is aluminum, therefore, it will be very lightweight. But at the same time, it's still gonna be very strong because if you get a heavy rain or heavy snow up here in the Northeast on the cover itself, you're not gonna have to worry about these frames kinda bowing on you and therefore stretching the fabric itself.Now, maybe one of my favorite aspects with this very budget-friendly cover is the fact that it features that popular tri-fold design. Now, that just basically means you can fold this thing up and out of the way quickly and easily if you ever need to access the entire bed or haul something large. Now, holding the cover up and out of the way, Proven Ground has implemented a few of these quick-connect straps that will keep the cover locked in place while you are driving.Now, if for whatever reason you're not really crazy about this tri-fold design and you even wanted to spend less money on a cover, well then Proven Ground does also offer their snap design here on the site, but just keep in mind, that being said, definitely not as user-friendly, especially in the cold temperatures when the vinyl tends to shrink up a bit. Which leads me to my next point. This is one of many different designs or styles of bed covers, if you will, that you will find here at americantrucks.com for your F-150. Now, if you'd like to learn a little bit more about each particular style, along with some pros and cons, I highly encourage you to check out my What's Up With That? All Things Bed Covers episode. But now, we wanna show you just what it takes to get the Proven Ground bed cover installed on your F-150 at home. So, without further ado, here's that detailed walk-through.All right, guys, you're in for a very easy install today. A soft tonneau cover doesn't require any tools whatsoever. However, getting this thing into place might require an extra set of hands depending on your situation. So, we're gonna first lift this up onto the bed of our F-150, and we wanna make sure that these yellow straps here are gonna be oriented closest to the cab of your truck. With our tonneau cover up on the bed, now we can slide it forward towards the cab. We wanna make sure it's centered on the bed rails, and we also wanna make sure that the foam portion of the weather strip is going to line up nicely with our front bed rail.All right, with our tonneau cover centered on the bed, now you gotta climb on under, do some truck yoga, and get ready to tackle the clamps first. Now, these are what's actually gonna secure your tonneau cover to the bed of your truck, so you wanna make sure they're tight and on properly. So, in order to do so, we're gonna need to spin it on up. And then, once we have it threaded up a little bit, we can secure it to the rail. I'm gonna go a little higher. And then, in order to secure it, we're gonna start with it in the 90-degree position, and then go ahead and clamp it to the bed rail. Still a little loose for my liking, so I'm gonna tighten it up even further. This is one of those trial and error things. If you don't nail it the first time, no big deal, just adjust it accordingly.Now, before we move to the other side, we wanna go ahead and secure our safety strap. It is nice they include that with this tonneau cover. Really simple here, guys, you're just gonna loosen up the knob first, give you enough space to allow this to fit over the rail. And then, once it does, simply tighten up the knob, and that's it. All right, we're just about done laying down here on the job, but we gotta finish that up on the other side. Again, we're just gonna tighten up those clamps like we mentioned earlier, thread it on up, and then we'll secure our safety strap. All right, now we can go ahead and secure our safety strap. Loosen the knob, insert it over the bed rail, and tighten.With everything secure underneath the tonneau cover, now we're just simply gonna fold it down into place and repeat that process with our two final clamps shown right here. All right. So, knowing what we've learned from the rear clamps, we're gonna tighten this all the way up so we're not seeing any more thread. That should give us a nice location for this clamp. We're gonna wrap things up here with our final clamp. Start in the 90. Pull down. With all your clamps secure, go ahead and test the tailgate, and your installation is complete. Now, it's never a bad idea after a few miles to go back, re-tighten your clamps to make sure everything is secure. But, other than that, a very easy install.Guys, we hope you enjoyed this review and install of the Proven Ground Soft Tri-Fold Cover, available for your '15 to '20 F-150 at home. And keep in mind, for more products and videos like this, keep it right here at americantrucks.com.