DiamondBack Cover Leaking at Centerrail Corners

Hopefully DB will see this thread and add it to their quality control procedures; Im glad all I got soaked was a pair of shoes. We pay a premium and should be able to trust the product out of the box... With that said they were very responsive and offered some money back and my new gasket is on the way. I LOVE the cover outside of this small issue.

So new gasket doesnt help much if you dont really know whats going on and where to make fixes - I messed around with mine and figured out (hopefully) my issue and I hope this helps others.

On a sunny day open your tailgate with the DB closed and look down the angled sections of gasket where the middle meets the panels. I could see light coming through there on mine (dont mistake it for the gutter, light should be there - make sure to look down the angles). I had some extra length of sticky weatherproofing that came with the cover so I tried that a few places to get it plugged up. It took a few tries but so far this latest 'fix' has withstood my testing and no more water is getting in that crack. My testing involved slowly pouring water where the two cover sections meet so it wants to cling to the cover and travel towards the gasketing. Before my fix it would go right in the gap and leak down the side of the bed.

MY FIX - I had some extra length of the sticky weather stripping they send with the cover; cut off an inch and a half or so. Unclamp and lift the center section of the cover up; then stick the stripping around the angled part of the gasket as you see in the pics. This makes the gasket on the panel come into firm contact with the center section and it will now form fit itself to close the cracks. See pics for how I did this. I just put strips on three of the four corners but you can see on the first corner I did the strip has formed itself from the pressure of the two sections closing on each other. If I was to do this with the replacement gasket (I probably will one day), I would cut it to stick out further from the center section.

To DB - I think my only issue is the gasket on the outer bar of the middle section of the cover was cut too short. When the cover closed the gaskets would barely touch each other but there was no pressure being applied so there was a tiny gap. On the side that didnt leak this seemed to be the difference and thats how I came up with my 'fix'

 

Hi all, I just installed my Diamondback SE over the weekend and had noticed I could see light through the four corners where the main panels meet the gutter. Now after reading this thread, I’m concerned my very expensive cover is going to leak like a sieve. I’ve circled
the gap where you can see right through to the bed in the picture. @Partial2Tacos, is what I’ve circled similar to what you’re seeing? And @texbaz, how long have you had your DB for? Seems to me you’ve got a much tighter seal so I’m wondering (hoping) that as the seal on these new ones settles, the gap I have will diminish somewhat.

 

To me it looks like the vertical leg is not the same dimension as the center divider or the other panel.
Looks like a new gasket is not going to really fix it.
Take a measuring tape and measure the vertical legs looks to be at least 1/8-3/16 too short. Just my opinion from your picture

 

@texbaz agreed. It’s raining here today so I’ll see what happens. Will reach out to DB regardless as this shouldn’t be in spec.

 

Mine leaks just sitting still in the driveway. I've tried a couple of things to eliminate the leaks with no luck and DB was no help either.

 

Is your leaking from the same spots as above? That’s a shame that DB hasn’t been much help.

 

Pretty much. I know it comes from the center and I've made several attempts to address the gaps with a little success, but water still gets in so I avoid putting anything back there I don't mind getting wet. Interestingly, I ran into another Tacoma/DB owner at HF a few weeks back who had the same issues and based on what I saw was far worse then mine. According to him, he followed the instructions and tried a number of things to mitigate the leaks as well with no luck, but wasn't that concerned since he prioritized security.

 

I just went and looked at mine in my garage, as I drove through rain yesterday. The gasket all away around it was still wet. I didn't notice that any water made it inside. At least with mine, the center piece has the plate with a gasket under it, which is preventing water from making its way inside in that center area. Pics:






Also, I do recall when installing it that I didn't seem to notice any light coming in around the center from when I was inside. I did see some light in the front corners. I did not use that tube of sealant that they provided, but instead used sticky sided foam to fill in the gap. I also next need to better seal the tailgate.

 

I’ve been strongly considering a DB, subscribed to this thread to see how you make out.

 

Never get a drop in the bed. The DB seals are doing a fanstatic job keeping the water out.
(For those interested. Mine is for sale.)
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/4sale-diamondback-se-6’-lb-tonneau-cover-north-nj.716820/

 

I love mine ... installed it last month. Security first for tools and equipment (which some of which are in containers), secondly that it can partially or fully be removed if needed. I justified the $$$ to little woman that it is for the life of truck!

I'd prefer water not get in, but I think dust will really be the factor, especially from around the tailgate. I'm soon driving to property I own out west and the local roads are made up of very fine dust. I assume the seals longterm will have to be replaced.

 

@grogie thanks for posting those pictures and your comments. I'm curious though if you have a noticeable gap (circled in my first picture) when the cover is closed and locked?

 

@kiwiyyc your gap looks a little worse than I had but read through my post right above yours and see if it helps at all. I had light coming through the same spots where the gasket is cut at angles

 

So I went back and looked and here are more pictures.






This is the front lid slightly up so I can see a gap. The gap is still slightly there with the lid down since the seal was cut a bit short, but not as bad as yours.




I think that if I put some padding right in the center of this picture on that edge, it should "better" seal it.




I think I'm going to see more dust intrusion than water.

 

Thanks very much, @grogie, much appreciated. I think I will need to do some extra gap sealing as well but agree, dust will be a different story, especially from the tailgate.

 

Also, looking at your pictures, can you tighten your lid down any more? I recall when I was putting mine in that it seemed to have some adjustability on the internal rod with how hard it tightened. I had to adjust the rod on the front panel as they weren't at all lined up when I tired to turn the lock/handle.

But still, seems to have some gap anyway. I am going to put some more padding like in the very first photos posted on this thread.

 

I will be able to tighten it down more with time as the weather stripping seems to be taking its time to settle, despite putting quite a bit of weight on it when initially adjusting the lock rods. I also have a CrossBin 8 in the front so I think the lip from that may not be help with alignment at this point. However, the gap will still likely be there. I think I will use some left over bulkhead weather stripping to seal where the gap is but affix it to the panel itself, rather than onto the centre panel.

 

Woah, I thought I was one of the few exceptions to have a good amount of water intrusion on mine. DB mentioned that I might have to re-tighten the locking bars. I ended up installing a bed rack over it (appx 80lbs on each panel) and I still have water intrusion. I think everyone pointed out that gap between the center channel and the panels would be where it leaks. I'll have to install something there to hopefully prevent water getting in those locations.

 

So, I went and put the truck through the car wash. The leakage was no where as bad as I thought it would be. Still needs some fixing but I can deal with this.

 

So I'm on a return trip home to the midwest from western property that I have, so this was the first real "trip" experience I've had with my Diamondback. I first went through a carwash before leaving home and had slight water drops inside on the right side center, but nothing at all serious. I also hit one good rainstorm and a self serve carwash three times following muddy dirt roads/trails, and I had no water reached inside.

With that being said, I love the security it brings to having a truck bed for tools and junk, and keeping everything dry with minimal dust intrusion (I have yet to seal the tailgate). I also have the bin 8 which I love! I'm totally a satisfied customer.