Diamondback Tonneau Cover

You’re the man. THANK YOU! My bed caps are a tad “wavy” in one spot from the previous owner. Hopefully the DB seal will conform. I’m not willing to spend $300+ for new plastic rails haha.

 

I bought the butyl tape and am going to do my rail caps when the weather warms up. Hoping that seals it up better but there is minimal water infiltration aside from each corner of the bed.

 

Borrowing this pic of a Tacoma - this is the exact area on the tundra where my DB cover leaked. You need to fill the gap between the bed side and front wall (I ran a bead of silicone down the crack) and also along the top of the bed rail under the plastic cap like the putty shown in the pic.

The tundra doesn’t have a separate piece width wise along the top of the front bed wall but DB provides weather stripping to apply there which helps level it with the bed rail caps.

 

1. How hard is it to remove the plastic covers?

2. Why not just butyl tape on the top of the bed sides (but near the outside not the inside like you did it)?

if you can stop the water intrusion from the “outside” it will just drip down the side of the truck.

I also have some leaking into from the cover, but,from under the plastic covers, AND only when using a high pressure washer

 

plastic covers came off easily. Really just pull up and they pop out. At least on the Tacoma they did. I guess you could use butyl type on top of them but used my bed often to haul things that couldn’t fit under the cover, so the cover came off fairly often. Guess I didn’t want it exposed. Plus butyl tape is a bit sticky, so I realized if it encountered the seal around the bed cover it would stick to it when opening the cover. I like the butyl tape cause it’s easier to remove than caulk or sealant and when doing some research a lot of people said it was very good to use to keep water out. So I just tried what I thought would work and it worked out well.

 

I have a hard time explaining so here’s a pic of what I meant (I highlighted in red where I was asking why you did not place the butyl).

you placed on the “inside or close to the bed” and I asked why not “outside and closer to the outside of the box”

 

Ahh, ok that makes more sense now. I think I stuck to the inside cause I folded it over the edge of the bed. There was some holes on the top inner portion of the bed that needed to be filled in. I figured as long as there was a seal the outside wasn’t needed. But I think either would work.

 

Nice pic! Do you know if you can have the ATV rails *and* the Yakima racks in the cover at the same time?

 

What size butyl tape is everyone using? I like the idea to add the shims to the entire length of the cap as well.

 

Agreed. DB said mine will come with 24 shims. The additional packs are 8ct. Figure I’ll get 3 packs? 24 more?

 

I just went to diamondback to order the shin pack; put 4 packs in my cart for a total of $16. The only shipping option cost $17.51 to ship!!!! I am all for using the parts made for stuff but generally hate paying exorbitant shipping costs like this. Do you all think the butyl tape that I already have will serve the same purpose?

 

Damn! That’s insane. From what I’ve heard, the rails will flex over time. Maybe if you used a lot of the tape and put it in the empty spots under the plastic rail to fill the gaps? I assume it would also compress. Might help a bit. Wonder if there is any other material you could use and cut your own shims to spec? I haven’t gotten mine yet so I can’t know the size for reference.

 

it really is based on principle…..I am literally one state away from them. To charge that much in shipping is price gouging. I am quite sure I can find another material….just need to figure out how thick it is.

 

Yea I was thinking some type of plexiglass.

 

I emailed diamondback today asking if that was their only shipping option - their customer service is top notch. Sent me a new invoice with much more reasonable shipping charges and I ordered them. Will install them when the weather warms up in hopes of further sealing the cover

 

Can't speak from experience but I don't see why not.

 

You guys with the HD ATV carrier, loading from the side, can you drive up one side and then at destination drive down the other side, or do you have to back up/down one way (either loading or unloading)?

 

I like the blue truck setup! How long is that RTT / how much does it extend back past the tailgate? Any issues with that?

 

You have a lift?

 

Recently picked up this DB 270 for my 2013 for a decent deal. Have wanted one for a long time. Has anyone custom built a cross bed box for theirs similar to the crossbin Diamondback sells for $400 on their website? I figure a Saturday afternoon with some plywood and a few beers I could easily make something that does the job.

 

What kind of deal?

 

$750, he had held pretty steady on his $1500 original price for quite a while. I know they can be had used for less but with it being the 270 (which I wanted more than the SE) I couldn’t turn down.

 

That's a good deal; I got my HD on facebook marketplace for $1100. It is a battle of attrition for sellers and buyers.......often times sellers have these listed for weeks or months taking space and buyers wait weeks or months waiting for one local to come up. I had two sold out from under me that I could have gotten cheaper than the one I bought but I was trying to get a GREAT deal instead of a good deal. I look at it this way: the comparable $750 covers can't hold a candle to the diamondback versatility and quality.

 

Smokin deal. Sometimes the deals come up but usually not when you are looking.

I was looking at getting a crossbin but the shipping cost was going to be almost as much as the bin itself.

I think the best time to order stuff from DB is when you are ordering a cover. Then the shipping is manageable.

 

Yeah I got the crossbin 13 locally for $175. They used to be way cheaper......I think in the last 18 months they have gone up something like 50%. When you add shipping on to of it, they are too expensive for me to justify. BUT, i much prefer the crossbin to any alernatives (bins, crates, etc). They are well worth it, but I just couldn't justify paying regular prices.

 

So I picked up a used diamondback SE a few months back. Bought some new weather strip for it and it works great. The lone problem is the constant rattle I hear when the back window is down. I caulked along the C channels like others have recommended but I still have the noise. After investigating a bit more it actually looks like the lock mechanisms are loose on the underside of the cover. Even when locked I can wiggle the center a good bit and it makes the noise I hear. You can see in the photo it looks like there is an O ring in there that is chewed up a bit. I tried to loosen/tighten the 13mm nut in the center but it just spins. Has anyone else taken this lock off before? Just trying to see if I can get it apart and add a new thicker o ring to fix the problem.

 

I have never taken the locks off before but I mean mine has made noise with my Tacoma and now my tundra. If I hit bumps I can hear it with the back window open. Figured it was just the nature of a metal cover and making noise. Never really thought much of it. Mine wasn’t rattling though, so maybe that is why it didn’t bother me

 

Yeah I hear noises like those as well and like you said, the nature of metal. This is a constant rattle though with any imperfection in the road. Drives me nuts.

 

I’d recommend messaging Diamondback. They are really fast at responding. Could be a bad seal around the underside of the lock maybe. That’s what I would do and see what they say.

 

Got my cover on. I’m nervous I tightened the brackets too much. Set the wrench to 5lbs. Just kept cranking and never would pop. Seeing slight bending of the rails. Not sure what is going on. Tried 3 different wrenches. Anyone have this issue? I do not have the bedrail kit in mine so it’s right to the truck bed. Does the middle look too compressed? Thanks!