Diamondback Owners: A Few Questions For You

Hi there. I have some questions for those with Diamondback covers.
• If one is not going to add a rack, tent, carry an ATV or other ‘heavy’ items on top of the cover other than the occasional odd box or two that won’t fit under the cover, is the SE more than enough?
• Have you ever doubted your decision to go with the Diamondback vs a different cover (tri fold/roll-up/retracting) that allows “on the fly” access to the whole bed? Such as when you’re running errand or buying stuff at Lowe’s/Home Depot spur of the moment?
• What are some of the things that you DON’T like about the Diamondback, things that you didn’t realize until after having it for a while?

Any other words of wisdom you can offer regarding making the decision to buy/not buy one of these covers? They're pricey, hence me asking lots of questions.

 

No one...? Crickets

 

I'll answer:
1. HD for future proofing if you want to go this route. Even Diamondback advises you not to put an ATV on an SE.
2. No, not really. I came from a LEER HF350m tri-fold aluminum tonneau cover and it was okay. While the Diamondback is secure and water proof in my experience (something LEER lacks), it does somewhat inhibit you on what you can put inside due to the butterfly panel design. However, I did not reconsider my choice of going with the Diamondback as the you can work around the cover if needed be.
3. I think only the ability of not being able to fully expose the bed in the off-chance I need it. That being said, I've worked around this limitation by using the Diamondback as a flat deck of sorts.

 

I cannot speak to the SE vs HD other than to say that when I bought mine, I figured if I'm going to get one, I might as well go HD. I have the KBVoodoo bed rack with tonneau brackets and put our RTT on that and they work perfectly with the diamondback. I carry a 18 gallon water tank strapped down onto the diamondback cover that fits under the bedrack.

At times when carrying / loading stuff, yes I have found it inconvenient as opposed to a cover that may fold back the entire way to reveal the entire bed space, however I have never not been able to carry what I needed. Sometimes I have something sticking out the back and I strap the rear part of the cover down to the tow hitch, other times I just put what I need to carry on the cover itself.

I like the solidness and locks on the cover, makes it feel very secure to me and gives me peace of mind.

I would say right now the only thing I don't like is the fact that in spite of the gaskets around the edges, water / dust does still get it. But, hey, it's a truck bed, its not sealed tight anyway. So, if you're thinking it's going to be waterproof, then another option might be better. Not to say it's massive amounts of water, but water can get in in certain areas.

I think like most things, you need to think through what your actual real world uses will be and what you do the majority of the time. If you need to carry an ATV, sure an HD would be great. From a security standpoint, I think the diamondback is good with its locks, and it kind of looks secure which may deter some thieves. The tie down points are excellent, and I've never had an issue worrying about anything I have strapped down on top of the cover. That being said, it is large, slightly heavy, and cumbersome if you want to remove it. Personally, even when I thought I might need to, I have never removed mine once, and always found a way to carry what I need with the cover on.

I have flipped flopped on if I should have gotten this cover or something more like a Decked Drawer system, but everything has it's tradeoffs, and so far (going on almost 2 years), I still use it and like it and don't really have any major regrets. It was the first thing I bought for my truck and it's still on there.

 

Thank you! I appreciate the info.

 

Also great info. Part of me is like "What if you ever need full bed access, then you're somewhat stuck." But then the other part of me says "Just how often have you needed to haul something tall or needed full open bed access?" I like to be prepared for anything, but I guess that's almost impossible.
Open bed = full access to carry almost anything, no protection from the elements, no security.
Tonneau cover = full access to carry anything bed height or lower, protection from the elements, security from theft.

 

Anything other than the SE on a Tacoma is a waste of money. If you were to load an ATV or other extremely heavy objects on your bed cover, you’re going to risk breaking something. The bedsides were not designed to carry much weight. There have even been cases of beds being damage from the weight of camper shells. Remember our beds are composite. The SE will support anything you would ever want to mount on the bed of a Tacoma.