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Sold the GFC earlier this summer and replaced it with a DiamondBack Switchback 2.0. Posting what I have learned since 4th gen info on this cover is still thin, and the old threads mostly describe the original Switchback, which the 2.0 replaced with a ground-up redesign (toolless clamp jaws, lower profile, lighter panels).
Why DiamondBack
Researching hard folding covers taught me that almost everything you would cross-shop is one company: RealTruck owns BAK, Extang, Gator, Retrax, Roll-N-Lock, TruXedo, and UnderCover. The classic BAKFlip vs Retrax debate is one conglomerate arguing with itself. DiamondBack is one of the last independents, building to order in Pennsylvania. At $1,599 shipped it costs a few hundred more than a BAKFlip MX4, so the question was whether the hardware justifies it.
The hardware
Flip a panel over and you can inspect the construction directly: .080" 3003 aluminum plate, 5356 TIG welds, stainless hinges, structural studs bracing the underside. Nothing glued or foam-cored. The weld beads where the clamp-jaw mounts meet the panel look like something off a fabricated bumper, not a bed accessory.
Over the aluminum goes a spray-on coat that DiamondBack says is the same bedliner material Toyota sprays into factory beds. It reads exactly like factory bedliner in hand, and it does two jobs in Arizona: fine dust rinses off without chalking, and the textured surface stays touchable after a day in full summer sun. The GFC panels used to get scorching here; these do not.
No keyed lock, on purpose
There is no lock cylinder anywhere on this cover, which bothered me until I thought it through. Two 7-inch clamp-jaw handles seize the bed rails from inside, so once the tail panel is clamped, the only way into the bed is through the tailgate. Lock the tailgate and everything is sealed. The exposed topside hinge screws spin in place against nylon lock-nuts underneath, so there is no quiet way in.
Weather
Sealing is an EPDM compression gasket around each panel perimeter with formed gutters carrying water off to the sides. Several monsoon storms parked outside plus over 3,000 miles including genuinely heavy rain, and nothing significant has made it past the gasket. Camera cases come home clean, which is my real test.
Daily use
Closed and clamped it carries 400 lb on top and holds 600 lb standing, so you can stand on it to load or strap cargo to the four included anchor plates. Two loaded San Diego runs so far: hard cases and a fullsize spare flat on the floor, duffels on top, cover closed over everything. When the load went above the rails, the panels folded against the cab and the bed went back to being an open box in under a minute. One limit from the manual: you cannot drive with only the tail panel folded, since the straps secure a full stack at the cab end. It is all the way closed or all the way folded on the move.
The one issue
During our first shock tuning run the cover shifted at speed. My read is the mechanism fastening the cab side needed more tension than I had it at. Nothing broke and it retensions by hand, but check your clamps before a fast dirt day. I will report back if it moves again after retensioning.
Trade-offs coming from a GFC
Standing height and side hatches are gone, and rack tracks would block the fold, so roof loads are off the table permanently. Packing order becomes a discipline on a 6-foot bed: trip gear at the front, daily-grab stuff at the tailgate. For how this truck actually gets used, covered secure storage every day beat standing height a few weekends a year.
Disclosure: DiamondBack sent this cover at no charge with no conditions on what I write. Full review with all photos: https://truck.bdigitalmedia.io/blog/diamondback-switchback-tacoma-review/
Happy to answer questions, especially from anyone cross-shopping this against the HD or a BAKFlip.
Why DiamondBack
Researching hard folding covers taught me that almost everything you would cross-shop is one company: RealTruck owns BAK, Extang, Gator, Retrax, Roll-N-Lock, TruXedo, and UnderCover. The classic BAKFlip vs Retrax debate is one conglomerate arguing with itself. DiamondBack is one of the last independents, building to order in Pennsylvania. At $1,599 shipped it costs a few hundred more than a BAKFlip MX4, so the question was whether the hardware justifies it.
The hardware
Flip a panel over and you can inspect the construction directly: .080" 3003 aluminum plate, 5356 TIG welds, stainless hinges, structural studs bracing the underside. Nothing glued or foam-cored. The weld beads where the clamp-jaw mounts meet the panel look like something off a fabricated bumper, not a bed accessory.
Over the aluminum goes a spray-on coat that DiamondBack says is the same bedliner material Toyota sprays into factory beds. It reads exactly like factory bedliner in hand, and it does two jobs in Arizona: fine dust rinses off without chalking, and the textured surface stays touchable after a day in full summer sun. The GFC panels used to get scorching here; these do not.
No keyed lock, on purpose
There is no lock cylinder anywhere on this cover, which bothered me until I thought it through. Two 7-inch clamp-jaw handles seize the bed rails from inside, so once the tail panel is clamped, the only way into the bed is through the tailgate. Lock the tailgate and everything is sealed. The exposed topside hinge screws spin in place against nylon lock-nuts underneath, so there is no quiet way in.
Weather
Sealing is an EPDM compression gasket around each panel perimeter with formed gutters carrying water off to the sides. Several monsoon storms parked outside plus over 3,000 miles including genuinely heavy rain, and nothing significant has made it past the gasket. Camera cases come home clean, which is my real test.
Daily use
Closed and clamped it carries 400 lb on top and holds 600 lb standing, so you can stand on it to load or strap cargo to the four included anchor plates. Two loaded San Diego runs so far: hard cases and a fullsize spare flat on the floor, duffels on top, cover closed over everything. When the load went above the rails, the panels folded against the cab and the bed went back to being an open box in under a minute. One limit from the manual: you cannot drive with only the tail panel folded, since the straps secure a full stack at the cab end. It is all the way closed or all the way folded on the move.
The one issue
During our first shock tuning run the cover shifted at speed. My read is the mechanism fastening the cab side needed more tension than I had it at. Nothing broke and it retensions by hand, but check your clamps before a fast dirt day. I will report back if it moves again after retensioning.
Trade-offs coming from a GFC
Standing height and side hatches are gone, and rack tracks would block the fold, so roof loads are off the table permanently. Packing order becomes a discipline on a 6-foot bed: trip gear at the front, daily-grab stuff at the tailgate. For how this truck actually gets used, covered secure storage every day beat standing height a few weekends a year.
Disclosure: DiamondBack sent this cover at no charge with no conditions on what I write. Full review with all photos: https://truck.bdigitalmedia.io/blog/diamondback-switchback-tacoma-review/
Happy to answer questions, especially from anyone cross-shopping this against the HD or a BAKFlip.
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