Diamondback 270 Installation Manual

Page 1

PREPARE THE CARGO BED

If your truck has bed rail caps, you should

aﬃx the included bulkhead prep kit prior to installing the cover. Refer to the Bulkhead Prep Kit Installation Guide for details.

Drill 3/8" Nut Dri ver

Utility Knif e

9/16" Socke t 7/16" Socket

Ratchet Wrench

Bed-Rail

Edge Trim (2)

Tail Panel

Cab & T Panels A ssembly

Clamp Bracket

Lock-Rod Striker

Brackets (2)

1/8" Hex

Key

Threaded Insert Installation Tool

Cap

Clamps (6)

× 6

Gas

Springs (6)

× 6

1/4" Riv et

Nut s (8)

× 8

1/4" Self-Drilling

Scr ews (8)

× 8

1/4" Hex Bol ts (8)

× 8

1/4" Plain

Washers (8)

× 8

INSTALLATION GUIDE

CVR-270.1

DiamondBackCovers.com / 800 935 4002

Important installation informa tion

IMPORTANT!

Keep an eye out for these icons:

Normal install time

90 minutes

Tips to as sist installat ion

Helpful Hints

270

CONTIN UED ON REVERS E >

PARTS INCLUDED:

TOOLS REQUIRED: PRE-INSTALL ATION NOTE :

Attach the clamp bracket to the bulkhead, centered side to side, ﬂush with the top rail, and longer leg down using a drill, 3/8" nut driver bit, and four self-drilling screws.

Installing the clamp bracket is easiest if you pre-drill it using the screws.

Detach all three brackets by removing the self-drilling screws.

Use the holes in the truck body left by the self-drilling screws as pilot holes to drill larger, 3/8" holes.

Attach a lock-rod striker bracket to each front corner of the cargo bed, the bracke t’s V bend pointing rearwar d and the side ﬂange located as high as possible without it breaking the plane of the top of the bed rail, using a drill, 3/8" nut driver bit, two self-drilling screws, and the two slots nearest the ends of the bracket.

Insert the installation-tool mandrel into a rivet nut. Hand-tighten it until its hexagonal sleeve is tight to the face of the rivet nut.

Remove the installation tool by unscrewing the mandrel.

You’ll know the rivet nut is fully compressed when you feel the mandrel become very diﬃcult to turn.

Use a 9/16" wrench to hold the installation-tool sleeve as you tighten the mandrel with a 7/16" socket until the rivet nut deforms and locks against the interior of the bed wall.

Hammer a rivet nut into each hole.

Do not install rivet nuts through plastic bed rail caps or plastic bedliners. (Spray-on bedliners are ﬁne.) Use a utility knife to trim the plastic so that the rivet nuts’ outer ﬂange can sit tightly against the body of the truck itself.

Do not over tighten the bolts or you might strip the rivet nuts.

Reinstall all three brackets using the hex bolts, plain washers, and a 7/16" socket.

If you are also inst alling a Cross Bin, do so now. Refer to page 2 of the Cross Bin Installation Guide for details.

Repeat steps 6-8 for each rivet nut.

Page 2

ATTACH THE GAS SPRINGS

If you are also inst alling a Side Bin, do so now. Refer to the Side Bin Installation Guide for details.

Attach the 60-lb. gas springs to the cab-panel ball studs and the two stronger gas springs to the tailgate-panel ball studs.

You’ll ﬁnd the strength of the gas springs printed on the sides of the barrels.

To avoid premature failure of your gas springs, at tach them barrel up, shaft down.

Leave the cover closed and locked for 24 hours to allow the weatherstrip adhesive, which is pressure-sensitive, to fully cure.

Aﬃx the edge trim to the painted metal only, behind the plastic bed liner or bed rail cap, if present.

MAY 20 17

DiamondBackCovers.com

NOVEMBER 2018

MOUNT THE COVER

SET THE LOCK RODS

Repeat steps 20–22 for the for ward cab-panel lock rods so that:

A. with the lock handles in the open position, the rod tips

clear the striker brackets,

B. with the handles in the closed position, the forward rod

tips do not strike the bulkhead, and

C. in the closed position, they’re tight against the underside

of the striker brackets, drawing the panels down & compressing the weatherstrip.

With the lock handle in the closed position, position the lock rods tight against the underside of the bed rail lips so that closing them draws the panels down & compresses the weathers trip. Tighten the rod guide brackets with a 7/16" socket.

For best weather protection, have a second person press down on the cover while you adjust the lock rods.

7/16" socket

If plastic ex tends beyond the bot tom of the vertical face of

the metal bed r ails,

trim a two-inch length of it, ﬂush with the bed rail’s bottom edge, at both points under the tail panel where a lock rod will pass under the rails.

plastic

metal

Loosen the set screws on the tailgate-panel lock-rod linkages.

1/8" hex key

Peel the red adhesive backing fr om the edge trim pieces. Aﬃx them to the met al bed rail at both points where a rod will pass underneath, the bottom curl of their j’s touching the bottom edge of the rail.

Using a tool to widen the curl of the ‘j’ can make this step easier.

Step 19 is unnecessary on ’07–13 Silverados and Sierras.

You may need to pull the plastic bed rail cap away from the metal bed rail to provide enough clearance to get the edge trim on.

Adjust the lock rods & retighten the set screws so that (1) with lock

handle in the open position, the rod tips clear the bed rails, (2) with handle in the closed position, the rod tips do not strike the bed

walls, and (3) the ﬁrst bend in the rods points downward.

Place the cab & T panels assembly on the front

half of the bed so

its leading edge lines up with

the outside

edge of the bulkhead.

Center the cover side to side.

Lower the tail panel into the closed position.

Tighten the cap clamps with a 9/16" socket.

Road vibration can loosen your clamps. Retighten them after 100 miles. Check them every time you haul on top.

Attach the tail panel by angling it 90° from the bed rails, sliding its driver-side, loop-shaped hinge knuckle fully onto the corresponding center-panel hinge pin, then dropping its passenger-side, C-shaped hinge knuckle fully onto its corresponding pin.

FIRST

SECOND

90°

Loosely aﬃx the T panel to the truck by ﬁnger-tightening two cap clamps under each of the three ends of the T panel, the clamps’ bot tom jaws under the bed rails at the t wo side ends and under clamp bracket at the nose.

FU LLY M ATED