DiamondBack Cover Leaking at Centerrail Corners

Hi all,

New Taco owner and even newer Diamondback cover owner.
I was wondering if anyone out there with a Db cover could post pics of the gasket towards the end of your center rail gutter. I think mine was cut short or something. First rain after putting it on and I'm getting a lot of water in all 4 of the corners where the doors meet the center rail. Had a buddy crawl inside with a flash light, and you can see the light thru all 4 of these corners. Definitely not watertight. Seems like either a design flaw or manufacturing mistake. More info on what I think is happening in the pics....

 

Is there a rubber gasket that goes between the cover and the bed rail ?? Or is it attached to the cover itself ?from the pics it looks like maybe the gasket is worn out or it shrank from heat ...

 

The gasket between the cover and bed rail is attached to the cover. The cover is brand new, just got it and installed it last week.

 

I get water in the same spots on mine.

 

Just seemed like a LOT of water. The truck hadn't moved and the rain was never heavy. The rain just seems to drain right down into that gap, and then along the rail on the inside of door seal, then into the bed. Definitely not going to be "keeping your cargo dry." as they say on the website. Once it dries up, i guess I'll try to extend the gasket on the gutter edge about another inch to force the water out and away towards the side, like it seems it should be, or try to fill in and seal that gap with weather stripping or gasket. When I saw the light thru the gap, I knew things weren't going to be waterproof. Real bummer.

 

Ive never had an issue with mine other than the fwd bulkhead mismatch with the bed side rails. I just washed the truck you can see traces of water but nothing ever gets in.

 

Thanks for the pics @texbaz! Any chance you can get a pic like my first one? I'd like to see that angle to see how far the edge wrap on your center panel gutter goes, and compare that area to mine. That's definitely the weak/unsealed spot where the water is coming in for me. Either the seal on the door isn't going flush with the seal on the center panel when it shuts, or there should maybe be more of a lip on that gutter edge or that edge wrap should be about an inch longer to guide the water out towards the side more and not send the water down behind the door's seal when its closed. Thank again!

 

These get rave reviews I thought they were supposed to be water tight.

 

Me too.
Quick update - I sent the pics to DB, and they are sending new panel gaskets, the big ones that attach to the swing up doors. They said they looked a little short, but the gutter lip seal (where I think/thought the water is coming in) looked to be correctly sized. I think I'm going to add some weather strip bits to extend that gutter lip to the outside edge. While I'm still not excited my brand new cover leaks as bad as it does, I can say their customer service has been pretty great, so far. Hopefully the new panel gaskets fix my issue. I'll keep ya'll updated...

 

That's what they advertise at least "dry and secure"!

Let us know how that goes, mine leaks bad and I'm running out of ideas. I did the HVAC putty up front to close the gap in the bed, and have had people stand on it while I adjust the locks to the point where I can barely close them without have someone on the other side pushing down at the same time to turn the lock (this was not how I started of course). Unfortunately it hasn't rained that often so I will screw with again tomorrow I guess and see if what happens the next time it rains, whenever that is. anyway, would be interested to hear if the new seal helped you out. Thanks!

 

How long did it take you to get your new cover?

 

I have a DB myself and haven't encounter this issue, however I haven't driving the truck that much to provide some feedback. The guys at DB are great to deal with and I can assure you they will take care of you if any issues with your top. Nonetheless, best cover I have ever own!!!

 

Ordered on Aug 13th, 2020 and received it on Sept. 25th, 2020.

Also, an update to my leak issue at all 4 corners where the center panel meets the door panels. Spoke to DB and they said it looked like the panel gaskets were cut too short when manufactured. They sent me new gaskets and refunded me $100. They said 'just follow the instructions in the user manual' to replace the gaskets. Well, I tackled the job this past weekend. It was no easy task, 20 minutes (per the user manual) my a$$! lol When peeling the old gasket off, the rubber breaks away from the sticky adhesive strip and so there is hot mess of uneven goo and rubber left on the panel, which has to be completely removed to ensure the new gasket sticks. Mind you, I've never done anything like this before. It took 4-5 hours of scraping and a ton of Goo Gone to get it all cleaned off....sticking the new gasket on was fairly easy, maybe that's the 20 minute job lol.....cutting the ends so they seal, but don't buckle has been a nerve racking experience. Of course i didn't want to risk cutting them too short again, and getting the angle correct so it seals but doesn't buckle and create gaps between the gasket and bed rail was tough. I'm still not 100% confident in what i did, as i still can see light through all 4 corners....and I really hope i just didn't make it worse by attempting this. I'll know more in a few days once the Zeta storm comes thru here....but my guess, since i can still see light through the corners is that all that work was for naught....i really hope I'm wrong...for what this thing cost and what I have had to do right out of the gate, I am still not very happy with my rather expensive non-water tight cover. YMMV.

 

The removal of the gasket would have been a lot easier if you were to use a heat gun to loosen up the adhesive. I have done this type jobs before but you need the right tools to do so, lol.

 

Why wait for a storm, take a spray nozzle and water hose and go for it. Don't spray directly at the areas just a gentle spray. When I place a strong flashlight in my bed and turn on the bed light, I see no light coming out from the areas you describe. Good luck.

 

I just looked at mine and it looks almost identical to yours. I have no leaks anywhere and it’s been through heavy rain and pressure washing.

Perhaps the bolts for the center piece are either too tight or too loose which can cause the gasket to pinch or not make enough contact? I’m not sure how tight the bolts need to be but I noticed mine do loosen a bit over time so I make sure to check it.

 

Im about to order mine Friday, this is has seems to be a common problem with all of them. With spending 2K DB should have a solution or better QC before the get sent out. With them being backed up for 2 month order time, I am guess there is no QC going on. Not good. There is a smaller company that does make a cover similar but I cant find any reviews on it.
Renegadecovers.com

 

I think the gutters in the center of the bedrail caps that direct water in toward the bed are the issue for many of the covers. Before I got my ARE cap I had the Tyger T5 aluminum trifold. It would stay dry everywhere except where the indentation in the bed rail cap turns in and terminates into the bed. I adjusted the tightness of the cover, but there were no clamps in one spot. I ended up using an additional thin section of weather stripping from Home Depot and it did the trick. Another issue that can happen is water getting under the bedcap itself from the front (behind the cab) when driving in the rain. I believe when my topper was installed the pulled the bed caps of and ran a bead of silicon to prevent that seepage.

 

@STrooper - i can lol now, but i was cussing that adhesive like there was no tomorrow. Lots of elbow grease, but it looked great once i got it all off. Note to self, get a heat gun for future use. I agree, the right tools for the job make life much easier!

@texbaz - honestly, i really didn't want to know how it was gonna go and just needed to step away from the project for a day or 2. Looks like I'll be using a hose this weekend, because it still leaks....in thew same places....even with the new gasket.

@Scarab - yeah, several others have said the same, so I'm kinda stumped as to why mine leaks. From what i can tell, it is definitely coming from the corners where the center panel meets the side panels. I can see that the water is coming in on top of the bed rail on the inside of the cover at those 4 corners (no water on either end, just in the middle), so I really don't think it's coming in under the bed rail.

So, like i said above, new gasket installed, and still the same problem. I'm going to borrow a snake cam from work this weekend, do a hose test, and see if i can pinpoint where the water is coming from. With the panels closed, I can 100% still see clear thru down the gutter to the other side with my flash light test. I'll post pics of that too.
I'm thinking now perhaps the center panel has a manufacturing or design flaw....hope to update y'all more after this weekend....and of course, I'll be reaching out to DB once i have more pics and hopefully some video showing the issue.

Thanks for all your comments and feedback....i REALLY wish I was one of the DB supporters on this forum saying "I've never had a problem", but unfortunately....

 

Truly sorry to hear about your problem and how it's still an issue. I contacted DB last year for some seal material and they were fantastic. Ive taken some additional pictures and just don't see any real difference from yours.