DiamondBack Covers | Modifications

Definitely the same idea. I guess when metal is heated & cooled it may expand/contract and come out of flat. Here is a pic of the cover resting closed but not pushed down to latch. The cover is making contact on the passenger side and about a finger width up on the drivers side. This allows you to get good compression on the passenger side without help. Like I said, I was skeptical, but it made a difference.

 

Can I interest you in the group buy?
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diamondback-tonneau-cover-group-buy-round-3.586947/

 

OK- not really mods in the same sense as most of your mods...

First is that I mounted a piece of flat bar (described above) in the center panel to eliminate the "ledge" so the clamp seats flat and contacts correctly. This seems to give a more even pressure. In the pic you can kind of see that the clamp jaw spans the aluminum and the flat bar:





This is not really a mod, but I couldn't find any info about whether the CaliRaised Molle system (https://caliraisedled.com/products/2005-2018-toyota-tacoma-bed-molle-system) would fit with a Diamondback cover. It does. I had to move my bed lights onto the molle. This helps the diamondback because the lock rod striker bracket barely fit with the lights. Now not a problem.

 

Wow. Didn't realize they got that warped. Mine was barely an issue. Passenger side felt high, but assumed it was because i was pushing only on the driver side. It's gotten better over time and a small tweak on the passenger retainer bracket.

 

The irony here is that mine didn't seem to be warped, or at least I hadn't noticed it at all, and they suggested I do this to get extra compression on the passenger side to try to stop some leaking issues. Spoiler- It didn't stop the leaking... I thought it was coming from the center panel, which I can now plainly see has some twist in it.

 

That would be cool.....I need to sell my Retrax Pro MX tho

 

I've been looking at tonneau Covers for awhile now. The diamond backs seem to be the most robust/rugged design but they seem to also have some install issues just from reading this thread. I really like these lids, just seem pretty finicky. I can't tell you how many pictures I see of these covers installed and the front and aft sections are not sitting flush. Something seems wrong.

 

Can't argue with the finicky bit, but honestly, it seems like the bigger issue is not with any of the covers. The rail cap design is just poor and there are tons of threads for each cover, camper cap, and the bed cubbies describing all kinds of waterproofing strategies.

 

The middle is secured with cap clamps and the front and rear sections are only held by locking rods via a turning handle; they ain't gonna match in height exactly because of the thickness of the weatherstripping. Not unless you want to stand on each section each time you close it.

Buy one, you won't regret it.

 

I agree. I’ve seen the roll ups and I’m very happy with mine. Just made a DIY bedslide for one half of my truck to hold my Dometic fridge and freezer that JUST barely clears under my DB
Hot water heater and water tank too

 

Nice job. Any better picks of the clearance from the locking rods to the top of the fridge. I assume that's super close.

 

As a mod I wanted to have tie down rails length of bed on each side. I used 3/4" aluminum rod threaded so no bolt heads exposed on outside of cover.

This is a good option for me as i tend to haul cargo on top regularly and makes for a slight raised stop on each side along with easy tie down options. Sending the rods and spacers out for powdercoating next week.

 

Don’t have a photo but yeah very close

 

Nice! When you get a chance could you show some better pics of how you did this? Great idea.

 

As I just dropped off the pieces to powdercoat, let me take a few pics when I get it back, possibly at end of week. Not a very complicated project. Just a tape measure, jigsaw and bench grinder along with material and the fasteners.

 

I cannot wait to get my cover and set up something like this!

 

How'd you do that bed slide? What kind of tracks are those?

 

The slide works well enough as designed to easily pull out items from the left side of my bed. I will say it isn’t perfect but makes it easier for sure. I built a basic frame using angle iron from Home Depot, with 3/4” square tube crossbars. I got a guy to weld them and I added a sheet of 5/16” aluminum to the bottom with rivets. To keep the slide from tipping out when extended I used 2 C channel slides that are often used for guides on table saws. So the end of the slide it has 2 T nuts that anchor it down and the C channels are bolted through the bed. Works great for what it is, an anchored drawer that slides on the bed and tailgate.
My build is to convert from off road to DD so I made this to pull out and my bedmat goes back in over the C channels like they aren’t there

 

Dude, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for! Which dometic fridge do you have? I want to pull up the dimensions to see which other models will work with this cover.

Edit: never mind. I found your post on page 3 of this thread. This is good to know since I’m thinking of getting a CFX 50.

 

Nice.