DiamondBack Covers | Modifications

Thanks for sharing the visual differences between the short and tall legs, @JFanaselle!

If you don’t place anything else on the DB cover or under the load bars / bed rack, you get a decent view of what’s behind the truck from the rear view mirror with the tall legs setup.

 

Has anyone modified their Diamondbacks to use struts that can lift a heavier lid? I am putting racks on mine and I want to upgrade the struts.

 

Yes, you can buy the heavier ones directly from Diamondback. I put a bedrack on mine. Changed out the struts to the heaviest ones they had and it still works great.
EDIT: So you don't actually need to modify it. just buy new struts is what I am saying.

 

I’d recommend buying them from somewhere other than Diamondback. Theirs are made by Suspa and can be bought online for a lot less than what Diamondback charges.

Here are some details from an old post of mine.

 

Finally got this bad boy installed on top of the Diamondback. Only weighs 165lbs., about 70lbs. heavier than the Tepui Ayer II previously on there. The DB cover is gonna be working harder. I’ll need to test things out on the road, freeway and trails to see if any new or increased jittering occurs that could lead to loosening of bolts or excessive flexing on components.

 

Looks good, but damn it’s got an overhang.

 

Thanks. Agreed with the overhang. I’m planning to relocate the traction boards and push the rtt forward about an inch or two. Gotta check on how much the front cover panel opens up without the traction boards and their mounts as I move the rtt forward.

 

Thinking about picking up the SE, however I may run a rack with a rooftop tent in the future. Is the SE still a good option? I’m about 210/215 and my girl is about 125. We do have a dog but most likely she’d sleep in the truck if we do take her.

 

Should be ok with that. Do you know what rack/RTT setup you are looking at already? If not, I would suggest going up to the HD if you are worried

 

This is my first winter with the diamondback… The gasket seems to be freezing to the tailgate even during light snows and moderate temps… I keep having to unlock and pry open the rear section of the cover before lowering the tailgate, is this typical?

 

Mine did / does that too.

 

If you Armor All the gasket all round, it shouldn’t freeze to the bed rails/tailgate. Works pretty well here in Calgary and we get decent snow with big temperature swings. I also have a heated garage so snow melts and then the truck sits at work in -20 C for the day - no issues opening the cover. Also a good idea to fire a couple of shots of WD Specialist Dry lube into the locks.

 

Added these LED motion sensor magnetic flashlights from Home Depot to the front cover panel of the @DiamondBack Covers earlier this Summer. Did a small mod to the flash lights by removing the smaller magnets inside and replacing them with bigger ones, magnets the same size as the ones 3M taped to the underside of the cover panel for each flashlights’ respective “docking station”.

More recently, to help complete lighting up the truck bed’s interior space under the DB cover, I added the DB light to the back cover panel just yesterday. Luke and the DB fam sent it over as a thank you gift back in mid October. It was totally unexpected and I don’t deserve it. I super appreciate Luke’s and the DiamondBack company’s gifts and acts of kindness.
Earlier in May, they also sent me thank you gifts consisting of a DB ToolBar kit, a set of Quick Fist clamps, and a camo DB trucker hat. I’ve been using the hat, but I have been procrastinating on the DiamondBack ToolBar kit installation. (If you think that’s bad, there’s a set of Total Chaos bed stiffeners I got back in 2018 that I’ve yet to install!) Anyway, I gotta find a good spot for the DB ToolBar kit where it, and whatever item(s) I attach to it, does not/do not get in the way of other things that I put in the bed, nor hinder the locking mechanisms.

 

Thanks for sharing. Gotta try Armor All on the gaskets to see if they help prevent the stickiness from happening with ice on the tailgate.

 

I don’t know about the roof top tent but I was liking the versatility of the front runner rack. Something I can eventually put a roof top tent on as well as mount some bikes and other things. A part of me wants to say if I’m going to already spent that much on a cover, might as well spend the extra money for the HD, but another part says I can save that money if the SE does what I need it to do. & then maybe spend that saved money on some other mods… lol

 

Exactly what I was looking for, thanks! I suppose you Calgary guys know a thing or two about cold weather

I was considering coating the gaskets with some silicone based lubricant to hopefully prevent further issues so I appreciate the confirmation. I will also give the locks a bit of love with some dry lube. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

Your debate makes perfect sense. Saving the money and getting an SE would give you more money to spend elsewhere. if you don't know what you would be putting on there at any point in time, I prefer to prepare for the worst, which is why I went HD. In hindsight, I didn't really need it, but still nice knowing I can put a lot of stuff on there.

Based on the rough guess on weights you gave me with the heaviest RTT I have seen at 160lbs and my heavy ass rack (which will be heavier than most, if not all others) at 165lbs, you are looking at 521lbs. DB says the haul limit is 400lbs on the SE, so that would be pushing it a bit. The other option, which might not be popular, is to get a rack that goes around the DB and to the bed rails directly. This would allow you to go with the SE as is without having to worry about the weight. This would prevent you from opening the DB though. That is unless you get the bed rack that goes straight up and down.

 

No problem at all! And yup, we have a bit of insight into cold weather! Was -18F here this morning and no issues opening the cover after a day of skiing so the Armor All definitely works.

 

Yeah that’s true. It would be better to prepare for the worst case scenario and not have to worry or change my options when it comes down to it because of the weight limit. I’d prefer to to have access to opening the cover if I needed to. What tent are you running?

 

I'm not running a tent at all, that figure was just a number I pulled from a list of tent weights. I mainly intend to put a rack and gear storage up there.