If I have a tonneau cover, can I take road trips with luggage and not worry about theft/water leakage?

[Scott_65]

I've been looking at the Diamondback SE for a little while now. how does it look and fit? do you mind taking some pics?? did you buy the cover online or at a local dealer?

I bought it directly from Diamondback and the install was a breeze and the fit is excellent, zero water leaks.

 

[Big Red Rebel]

I bought it directly from Diamondback and the install was a breeze and the fit is excellent, zero water leaks.
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Beautiful
Thank you
I don’t get my truck for another 5 weeks... but I might go ahead and order the cover right now

 

[Scott_65]

Beautiful
Thank you
I don’t get my truck for another 5 weeks... but I might go ahead and order the cover right now

I don’t think you’ll be disappointed, turnaround was about 3 weeks direct from Diamondback. Post some pics when you get it on your new truck.

 

[Biga]

They will all leak to some degree but a hard cover with some weather stripping around the tailgate will be your best option. These are pickup trucks not SUV's and the beads are not sealed so dust and water can get in but it would be very minimal with most covers.

 

[Richard320]

In brief: Your question is exactly the reason I have a hard cover.

Many years ago I went on a long camping trip with my Ford Ranger. It got very old very fast having to move half the gear from the bed to the cab every time I went inside a restaurant to eat, hoping nobody decided they liked something that was left exposed. Spent one night in a motel, took several trips to haul stuff that wouldn't lock up in the cab to my room and then back to the truck in the morning. Soon after that, I bought a shell.

Fast forward thirty years to now. My wife and I went camping for a week. We spent one night in a tent cabin in Yosemite Valley and I had no worries about leaving the bed full of gear in a huge parking lot, because it wasn't visible and it would be a lot of work to get into the bed. Can someone get in? Of course. Same as they can get in a locked trunk or a locked car: pry with a bar and break things. Few thieves will go to that trouble--- too noisy, too obvious, too many easier pickings elsewhere.

I haven't driven through many torrential rainstorms, but I have washed my truck and scrubbed off the tonneau and rinsed it goo. There was a bit of water in the bed, but surprisingly little. What there was stayed within the channels on the floor. A suitcase can get wetter if an airplane is being unloaded in the rain or snow.

Plug the stake pockets if you're really worried, and install some foam weatherstrip. I bought mine at Home Depot for about two bucks.

 

[Big Red Rebel]

I don’t think you’ll be disappointed, turnaround was about 3 weeks direct from Diamondback. Post some pics when you get it on your new truck.

Absolutely

 

[Ken Robbins]

As others have said you may get a little water and it can get dusty back there even with a cover. When I travel with luggage I have 3 or 4 of those XL black storage totes with yellow lids from Home Depot. I can fit 2 smaller bags or one large plus misc items in each tote and seal with a lid. When not in use the totes stack together and the lids all stack on top so it doesn't take up much room. They're strong and relatively inexpensive.

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That's about my setup also. I got three 22 gallon Craftsman totes with lockable lids for the back of my truck. You can always buy bigger totes if needed.

I store my Pro Eagle 3 ton jack in the back and always have one of the totes back there with emergency supplies.

I still haven't got around to installing a 2ch dashcam. But installing a good dashcam with parking mode would catch anyone if they trying breaking into the bed.

 

[rresd]

I bought it directly from Diamondback and the install was a breeze and the fit is excellent, zero water leaks.
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This Tonneau Cover is looking awesome. I am also using one like this.

 

[Driver]

Ive had 5 different tonneau covers on 5 trucks. You can usually get a good seal around the top bed rails, however tonneau covers do not seal tailgates. Period.

You have to buy a separate tailgate seal kit from various makers and some are pretty good and some not so much. With all tailgate seal kits I have seen, you likely still get a small amount of water, but not enough to worry about.

Bone dry in a huge downpour is not generally in the cards.

 

[asgadf/lkjnadsfg]

I work in what is one of the worst cities in the country for crime. The vehicle theft and burglary here is so bad, that I don't work with a single person who hasn't had their vehicle broken into or stolen. It is a constant, day and night barage of smash and grabs, theft, and carjackings. Having said that, I've had a tonneau cover on my trucks for around 15 years, and the thieves have never forced their way into the truck bed. I don't know of anyone who has had their bed "broken into" either.

Thieves here are typically looking for guns, cash, and electronic valuables, none of which get left in a truck bed.

I can't tell you that nobody will ever do it, but I can say that in almost two decades of working and driving in one of the worst crime cities in America...they haven't yet.

 

[cerbo]

I work in what is one of the worst cities in the country for crime. The vehicle theft and burglary here is so bad, that I don't work with a single person who hasn't had their vehicle broken into or stolen. It is a constant, day and night barage of smash and grabs, theft, and carjackings. Having said that, I've had a tonneau cover on my trucks for around 15 years, and the thieves have never forced their way into the truck bed. I don't know of anyone who has had their bed "broken into" either.

Thieves here are typically looking for guns, cash, and electronic valuables, none of which get left in a truck bed.

I can't tell you that nobody will ever do it, but I can say that in almost two decades of working and driving in one of the worst crime cities in America...they haven't yet.

what city?

 

[Pikeman_66]

I plan to take a few long road trips in the coming year, and have never had a pickup.

If I install a bed cover, can I store the luggage in the bed and not have to worry about it getting stolen or rained on? The gas mileage isn't great on these Rams, but otherwise they seem like great road trip vehicles.

I have had both soft and hard covers and rail or on top of the bedside mounted over the years. I have had the least problems with water intrusion with hard covers that mount on top of the bed side. I just had a rail mounted GM one on the Silverado I turned in. it leaked like crazy I had to use some extra silicone on it. I will probably go with the Gator hard tri fold that mounts on top of the rail for my Ram. Real truck has them on their site and review well.

 

[E.Hands]

I work in what is one of the worst cities in the country for crime. The vehicle theft and burglary here is so bad, that I don't work with a single person who hasn't had their vehicle broken into or stolen. It is a constant, day and night barage of smash and grabs, theft, and carjackings. Having said that, I've had a tonneau cover on my trucks for around 15 years, and the thieves have never forced their way into the truck bed. I don't know of anyone who has had their bed "broken into" either.

Thieves here are typically looking for guns, cash, and electronic valuables, none of which get left in a truck bed.

I can't tell you that nobody will ever do it, but I can say that in almost two decades of working and driving in one of the worst crime cities in America...they haven't yet.

Would you mind adding the name of the city or at very least the state?

 

[Rambilt]

It keeps honest people honest and all of them leaks!

 

[Neil McCauley]

No joints over the bed and edges that overlap the sides and tailgate is a must if you live where it snows/ices imo. Never had an issue with mine.

 

[theblet]

I put my luggage in the back with my retrax. Sometimes there are some water drops by the tailgate she it rains, but nothing crazy. If it was an over the bed cover it would probably be water proof