DiamondBack Covers | Modifications

This thread is for Diamondback owners to post their modifications. Things like racks, bike mounts, etc. Please share all details to help your fellow DB owners. Thanks!

 

Guess I'll start out with my own, just completed today (professionally). Yakima Jetstream bars (70") on Landing Pad 6 bases. Enough room for a cargo box and 2 bikes (at least).

 

Disclaimer: I'm not a licensed/certified structural engineer, auto tech, etc., nor have I consulted w/ DiamondBack Covers and Front Runner Outfitters to see if this project will work in the long run. This is a "do at your own risk" project, should you follow the steps I provide. Follow manufactures'/machinery/tools' instructions & safety procedures; be safe, use eye protection/face shield and any other protection as needed for safety; and pray for the best. Bed stiffeners should probably also be added to help with carrying the added load toward the back of the truck (Total Chaos ones should be arriving today for my order). That being said, they all seem to be holding up fine and I'm liking this system A LOT; I like it A LOT.

The best rack systems I've found to fuze with the HD cover were by Front Runner Outfitters. Their racks are what I'd consider to be a molle system back pack for the trucks. Combining the great stuff of DiamondBack covers and Front Runner racks is like Goten and Trunks joining together to become Gotenks! http://dragonball.wikia.com/wiki/Gotenks

Short story:
Use this system: https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.c...olorado-roll-top-2015-curr-slii-load-bed.html

Cut this part into three pieces per track, six total: 1 x TRBU002 - Pick-Up Load Bed Tracks / 1200mm(L) - by Front Runner

• 1 piece/track, 2 total - measure and cut off a small piece where the two center most holes are on the track so that it's wide enough to fit onto the space provided by the center cover panel, or the non-moving part of HD cover, where the cover clamps onto the bed rails (I tried to leave 1/2" space from front & back edges of center cover piece to edges of this track portion so that the front & back covers don't bind when opening. It seems it can be cut to a longer piece and still allowing for both cover section to open, if in load bar configuration. As you can see from the pictures above, I could have planned it better since the rack legs are positioned more toward the front on the track instead of being centered on the track. The slats going across the rack system are spread out in such a way that I got lucky the track system still fit the rack legs in a good enough position to allow for the front cover to remain operational - back cover will obviously not be in the rack config.)
  
• 2 pieces/track, 4 total - If the smaller pieces above were measured correctly and cut cleanly, you should have two pairs of equal length tracks to mount on the left & right sides on the the front and back cover panels
  
• Line up the tracks on the top outer most edges of the three main sections (back & front covers and center panel) of the HD cover, giving a 1/2" spacing from outer side edges, where the cover angles downward where the tie-down cleats are
  
• Find good spots to drill holes, mark, and drill away ..on your perfectly good ole DiamondBack cover! I positioned the existing countersunk holes on the long track pieces toward the back on the back cover panel and toward the front on the front cover panel
  
• Use hardware provided to secure tracks onto HD cover (there is a weather stripping, but I think we should apply some black all weather silicone sealant to help prevent leaks); an added countersunk hole or two for more screws to be screwed in can be added to the other ends of the longer equal length tracks for better leak proofing and added stability.
• When attaching the Universal Load Bed Leg (I got the short legs instead of the tall to help clear the garage gate where I live; Short legs ~ 6” tall, Tall legs ~ 8” tall), make sure they give you the M8 Channel Nuts x 8pcs. DO NOT use the M6 Stud Plates that come with the Pick-Up Roll Top Leg Mounts because they are too narrow and won't secure well in the tracks.
• Edit (12.3.2021): If you want a slightly taller setup, try to get the Tall Legs:
  Universal Load Bed Leg / Tall (Pair) - by Front Runner
  
  SKU: LASS026
  
  
• From there on up, follow the instructions for the Front Runner rack system and accessories. Mine came with seven slats total; five are "free moving" and two are at opposite ends, front and back. If you prefer the load bars system, please contact Front Runner to discuss your needs for length of slats(cross bars) and height of Universal Load Bed Legs. I ended up getting the 58"(1475mm) long slats since the DB HD cover allows for the bed rack legs to be spread out more. The tray is about 53" long x 58" wide. A part of me feels like I need to add some support in the middle section of the slats to help support the weight of the cargo/RTT on the slats. For now, I'll try some 2 x 4's or something, if it looks like they're needed/slats cave in a little. We'll see.

Good luck! Oh, yeah.. And the front cover opens up!

PS: To counter the added weight toward the rear of the truck, I put heavier cargo toward the front in the bed.

 

Awesome write up, thanks for sharing. I didn’t even know that Frontrunner offered load bars, and I’ve looked at their racks several times. I saw on their website that they also have short (140mm) tracks. I might have gone this route instead of Yakima if I had known.

 

I think with some good planning, the 140mm tracks is the way to go if you know exactly where you want to position the legs and don't plan to move the load bars (or rack system) at all. It's definitely the more affordable route. The longer 1200mm track cut up to the 3 sections mentioned above will allow for more legs, a longer rack setup for more storage real estate or a load bars/small rack combo(...if so desired?)

The long story is pretty interesting that I feel was Spirit led, ...but I'll have to share that after our trip to Utah! *First time to camp in Utah* Glad to be doing it with my wife (for her first time, also), some great friends at church, the Tacoma w/ DiamondBack HD cover & Front Runner rack systems, and brand new off-roading/overlanding gear. I felt like Noah building the ark (obviously, nothing to that scale.. hahaha) when building the set up and other tenants were making comments in the garage when they saw me (they weren't being judgemental or mocking me, though). Noah's ark was a "bugout overfloodwaters" vehicle and the Taco is becoming more and more a "bugout overlanding" vehicle.

 

Fantastic. I have a question and an idea to bounce off you. I'm very close to buying a Diamondback cover, probably the HD. I may get into a RTT some years down the road, but my more immediate concern is figuring out how to carry a 17' canoe.
For the front of the canoe I'm thinking either the simple OEM roof rack, or the Diamondback cab-protector (leaning towards this as it would be multi-purpose). The big question mark is supporting the rear half of the canoe. Does Yakima (or another company) make a single cross bar that could mount to that center piece of the Diamondback and equal the height of the front cab rack or cab protector? I'm thinking this would allow me to open front and rear hatches of the cover with the canoe still sitting up top, and would be easy to remove when I'm not lugging the boat around.

Any thoughts, advice, tips, concerns appreciated. Thanks!

Edit: never mind, I can already see two huge problems with this - the cab protector is mounted directly into the DB cover, so it's not opening with the canoe up top. Also, the distance between that center piece of the DB and the cab protector would be too short and not as stable as I'd like, so I guess the cab rack and a single cross bar mounted to the rear half of the DB would at least allow me to open the front hatch.

This is helping me to think-out-loud, so thanks for all the pics.

 

The obstacle in combining a good bed rack system with the Diamondback HD cover is to somehow still being able to utilize the cover's front & back cover panels while having a loaded bed rack. The HD is the only one I can think of that could handle an immense amount of added weight on top of it. I'm not too familiar with kayaks/canoes/paddle sports gear, nor am I an engineer/designer of bed/roof rack systems. Please do your due dilligence in researching your goals. My idea would be to set up a rtt setup on the DiamondBack HD cover over the bed and a canoe setup on a roof rack over the cab. The weight of your canoe, support systems and tie down points will need to be considered on how to secure it on that roof rack, if even possible. With the rtt setup I did you could set up the tent even lower so that it doesn't go as high above the roof line of the cab. I got the tall rtt mount legs, but FRO also has a shorter regular height rtt mount legs set. It could help to find a rtt with a lower profile. As for a kayak/canoe rack, it does seem like Yakima has one that may allow for the canoe to sit on a roof rack and clear a rtt setup over the bed: https://www.yakima.com/showdown
You may need to consult with Yakima on that one to see if it's okay over the Tacoma's cab.
This might work on a roof rack over the cab, but you should consult w/ FRO to double check on how to balance and/or support the weight of the canoe for safety and vehicle handling: https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.com/en/us/front-runner-pro-canoe-kayak-carrier.html
This kind of system might help out with the rtt on a bed rack/load bars system on the DiamondBack HD cover: https://www.yakima.com/longarm-height-extension
Although, it looks like to deploy the rtt, you'd need to remove the canoe.

Good luck with your build. I felt mine was guided by the Holy Spirit, so far. It's been fun.

 

That looks great.....just picked up a Diamondback SE....thinking I now need to get the Yakima Bike rack!!!

 

I just bought a diamondback

 

So do you all that have the diamondback have a problem with water leaks?

 

My front driver side corner leaks a little. With a bed mat in, it's a non- issue. Only an issue if it's raining days on end due to humidity trapped inside.

 

Thanks for the reply, do you think some silicone or additional weatherstripping would help eliminate the leaking? I know it wont be waterproof, just wondering.
Thanks

 

Totally. I didn't install the extra weather stripping for the front of the bed. If standing at the tailgate though, you can see sun light as there are two vertical slits in the front corners of the bed. I'm considering siliconing those.

 

I’ve put silicone in those corners. Makes it almost completely waterproof, but not 100%. Can’t complain tho I love it!

 

Wow, I should have looked a little further before I posted a question. Nice to see this list of posts.

 

Do you have a Diamondback, or are you thinking of getting one?

 

Just an fyi, in case you guys don't follow these two youtubers. They have great info on the Tacomas w/ a DiamondBack cover. They're the ones who inspired me to get a DB cover over the Bakflip or other tonneau covers.

Canadian Prepper - I think I first heard about the DiamondBack covers from this guy. He's got the long bed set up and the next one has the short bed setup (the one I've got, also).
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=canadian+prepper+tacoma

LLOD - Check out his playlists for truck gear, overlanding, etc. He's got some neat ideas for storage underneath the panels between the support beams.
https://www.youtube.com/user/concealedcarrytips/playlists

 

Yes and yes. I have one for the 2005-2015 long bed and want to get one for my new short bed.