In this episode, we’re gonna cover the first series of upgrades to my 2018 Ford F-150, affectionately known as “the family hauler”. Being that this is our family vehicle, it’s of the utmost importance that we get that bed taken care of so that we can put all the stuff that we need with us when we go on our long trip.

So we’re gonna focus on what I did for a bed liner, getting a tonneau cover installed, and then installing the soft open tailgate so that I don’t have to worry about the kids opening it in hurting one another.

Line-X Bed Liner

Up until recently, “bed liner” and “rhino liner” were synonymous to me the same way that tissue and kleenex are. However, when I started researching bed liners for my F-150, I found that there was a new brand, a better brand, that I had to have on my truck. That brand was Line-X.

If you compare them side-by-side, I truly believe that Line-X is the better value, and I think that it looks a lot cleaner when it’s installed. I had Steel City Line-X, the region’s only authorized installer, put this on the truck, and I think that they did an amazing job. If you’re in the Pittsburgh-area, and you’re looking for a bed liner, they are the ones that you need to see. They did everything for $561.75.

By the way, as I continue to do these upgrades or enhancements to my truck, I’m gonna keep posting a tally so that you can see the total amount that I’ve spent to date.

Soft Tri-Fold Tonneau Cover

The next modification that we’re gonna install is my tonneau cover. I initially wanted one of the Bakflip hard surface covers. They’re really costly, so what I did was I looked for the cheapest softcover that I could find that received positive reviews and didn’t leak rainwater into the bed. So I went with the Tiger tonneau cover for $229.00, which is a value for what you get. The thing that I like most about this tonneau cover is just how simple it is. There are six connecting points, three on each side. They just clamp down to the existing bed rails. You need to make sure that you align it perfectly, so before we do any tightening of the clamps we unfold it and see where it lines up with the bed.

I’m not super thrilled about are how the cover pops up at the back of the bed, but what I do like though is that you can open and close the tailgate without having to undo the cover. I think that will come in handy.

OEM Soft Open Tailgate

Now let’s install the soft open tailgate pieces. I’m not going to cover the entire install of the tailgate, there are other videos on YouTube for that.

All you need are these two pieces for the OEM soft-open tailgate, and they install right behind the passenger side tail light. If you look at Ford’s parts stores online you can find this for about $62, but if you buy the two pieces separately, which are all that comes in the kit, it comes out to be $42 shipped to your door. So that’s what I did, and that’s what I recommend you do.

The big challenge here is getting the tailgate off. I have the built-in tailgate step, and I read online that this is significantly heavier than what the tailgate is without it. Be sure to go underneath and disconnect the cables that connect it to the bed before you remove the step.

You also need to remove the taillights. I don’t have the blind spot indicator system so one cable is all that needs to be removed. Once removed you unbolt a bolt and install the new piece inside. Once installed clip the strut on.

Once reassembled, I don’t have to worry about my almost-ten-year-old cracking my almost-three-year-old on the head with the tailgate.

Summary

Once again, in this episode, we talked about the Line-X spray-in bed liner, installed the tonneau cover, and installed the soft open tailgate. Everything went really well. So what do you guys want to see next? I have a pretty large inventory of parts to install, but I’m just not sure what order to install things in. So do we want to see some more exterior or interior modifications? Let me know down in the comments below, and we’ll see you next time on TSTDRVR!