Diamondback 270 Installation Manual

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 Driver Utility Knife 9/16" Socket 7/16" Socket Ratchet Wrench Bed-Rail Edge Trim (2) Tail Panel Cab & T Panels Assembly 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" Rivet Nuts (8) × 8 1/4" Self-Drilling Screws (8) × 8 1/4" Hex Bolts (8) × 8 1/4" Plain Washers (8) × 8 INSTALLATION GUIDE CVR-270.1 DiamondBackCovers.com / 800 935 4002 Important installation information IMPORTANT! Keep an eye out for these icons: Normal install time 90 minutes Tips to assist installation Helpful Hints 270 CONTINUED ON REVERSE > PARTS INCLUDED: TOOLS REQUIRED: PRE-INSTALLATION NOTE: 1 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. 3 Use the holes in the truck body left by the self-drilling screws as pilot holes to drill larger, 3/8" holes. 4 Attach a lock-rod striker bracket to each front corner of the cargo bed, the bracket’s V bend pointing rearward 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. 2 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. 6 Remove the installation tool by unscrewing the mandrel. 8 You’ll know the rivet nut is fully com- pressed 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. 7 Hammer a rivet nut into each hole. 5 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 overtighten the bolts or you might strip the rivet nuts. Reinstall all three brackets using the hex bolts, plain washers, and a 7/16" socket. 10 If you are also installing a Cross Bin, do so now. Refer to page 2 of the Cross Bin Installation Guide for details. 11 Repeat steps 6-8 for each rivet nut. 9

24 If you are also installing 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. 25 You’ll find the strength of the gas springs printed on the sides of the barrels. To avoid premature failure of your gas springs, attach 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. 26 Affix the edge trim to the painted metal only, behind the plastic bed liner or bed rail cap, if present. MAY 2017 DiamondBackCovers.com NOVEMBER 2018 MOUNT THE COVER SET THE LOCK RODS Repeat steps 20–22 for the forward 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 & com- pressing the weatherstrip. 23 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 weatherstrip. Tighten the rod guide brackets with a 7/16" socket. 22 For best weather protection, have a second person press down on the cover while you adjust the lock rods. 7/16" socket 18 If plastic extends beyond the bottom of the vertical face of the metal bed rails, 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. 20 1/8" hex key Peel the red adhesive backing from the edge trim pieces. Affix them to the metal 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. 19 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. 21 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. 12 Center the cover side to side. 16 Lower the tail panel into the closed position. 15 17 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. 14 Attach the tail panel by angling it 90° from the bed rails, sliding its driver-side, loop-shaped hinge knuckle fully onto the correspond- ing center-panel hinge pin, then dropping its passenger-side, C-shaped hinge knuckle fully onto its corresponding pin. FIRST SECOND 90° 13 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’ bottom jaws under the bed rails at the two side ends and under clamp bracket at the nose. FULLY MATED