If you’ve dealt with the horrible frustration of finding weather-damaged gear in your pickup’s bed, or worse, discovered that an all-important piece of gear was stolen, you probably wasted little time finding a solution. Perhaps that led you to DiamondBack. Once here, a quick glance at the pricing of our products will lead any reasonable shopper to ask some questions. “Are DiamondBack Covers really secure?” Are DiamondBack tonneau covers worth it?” “Why a DiamondBack tonneau cover and not one of the many cheaper alternatives?”

Excellent questions, and ones we’re happy to answer.

In short: DiamondBack proudly builds a different kind of tonneau cover. We use premium materials from the best American suppliers, welded and assembled by a talented and passionate team of American welders, to build truck bed covers for those unwilling to settle for anything less than the best. We confidently back every DiamondBack product with a no-questions-asked lifetime warranty, and the type of world-class customer service that you used to expect, but probably gave up on a long time ago. We do all of this to provide maximum value to our customers, and to make the question “Is a DiamondBack Cover worth it?” an absolute no-brainer. That’s the short version, but we’re happy to elaborate.

Breaking The Mold

Scan the reviews of our covers and you may notice a common theme. Our customers regularly express at least a hint of regret for not trying a DiamondBack sooner. To some degree, we understand the hesitance and lack of trust given the poor track record of traditional bed covers. To understand why DiamondBack has such a strong determination to build an entirely different product and company, it’ll help to learn how we got started in the first place.

In fall of 2002, Matt Chverchko and Ethan Wendle were studying engineering at Penn State University, Matt in his senior year, Ethan a junior. The two were strangers up to that point but a twist of fate was about to change that.

As Matt neared graduation, he was unsure what he’d be doing next. He always had a knack for solving perplexing problems, and he found engineering a natural fit. Still, his classes did little to distract him from his passion for bowhunting. After a morning on campus, Matt made his way to his truck, excited to get to the woods. As he approached his pickup, he discovered that a tree stand had been stolen from the bed. The man now had his mission.

Determined to avoid experiencing that feeling again, Matt began shopping and searching for a tonneau cover he could trust with his gear. To Matt, the market was missing a bed cover that allowed a truck to stay true to itself. He wanted security and weather protection, but he still wanted access to his bed, and he still wanted the ability to haul. Disappointed by the options available to him, he soon began designing and building a cover of his own. Because that’s the type of guy he’s always been. And as you’d expect from a pissed engineer on a mission, he overbuilt the thing a bit.

In the end, his patented bed cover featured dead-bolt locks, hinged panels with forward and rear access, a hard barrier to rain, and a 1600-pound dynamic load rating. Matt completed his prototype bed cover and quickly won the attention of his professors and classmates.

Two’s A Company

One of those classmates was Ethan Wendle, who’s dad was already a successful engineer and entrepreneur. Ethan was taught to view the world through a unique lens. As kids, he and his brother were raised to see the problems in their community, to believe that they were just the ones to solve them, and to understand that money was little more than a means to that end. No matter how successful, the Wendles never showed it. They were always busy working to make life better for others. Living in the same old house, driving the same old cars, launching and funding myriad projects and charitable initiatives in their church and community, and often pushing them over the finish line through sheer will and elbow grease. Those with a problem or a solution knew they had allies in the Wendle family.

With a completed prototype, Matt Chverchko had a solution on his hands. As luck would have it, the professor of his Entrepreneurial Engineering class partnered him up with just the guy to help get it off the ground. Ethan immediately saw the potential in Matt’s design. What began as a class partnership turned into an after-hours obsession.

While Matt fine-tuned his prototype, Ethan drew up a business plan and began considering the true cost of finishing his education. With the endorsement of his professors who saw the same potential he did, Ethan dropped out of school.

In 2003, the two students launched DiamondBack Covers and hit the road to make their best pitch to dealers, fleets, and anyone else who would listen. Again and again, an issue came up: price. There was a limit to what a guy was willing to pay for a tonneau cover, largely because, up to that point, there wasn’t a bed cover worth more.

Our founders knew they had something different, but began to realize they’d have to do some convincing. A lot of convincing. In fact, it would take ten years before the company turned a profit, and another few before Matt’s cover got its due, earning a reputation as the best truck bed cover on the market.

Who Says We Need To Compromise?

Back to that missing tree stand. Matt set out to build an impenetrable bed cover, with each link in the chain tougher than the last. Even so, security was just one of a number of concerns that Matt had.

Many great products require compromises. Only occasionally do we get to have our cake and eat it, too. DiamondBack engineers, beginning with our founders, are a different breed. They believe the best products find workarounds to concessions previously thought unavoidable, and they’ll never stop looking for a better way. Long after our competitors signed off on the status quo, our team kept their noses to the grindstone.

It isn’t enough that a DiamondBack be the most waterproof tonneau cover, or the best locking tonneau cover. And it’s not enough to be aggressive looking, ultra-durable, and made in America if it’s at the expense of weather and theft protection. Our customers place our products on the best pickups on the market, and they’ve come to trust DiamondBack to protect and secure their most valuable gear. They demand it all and so do we.

Our peeved engineer-turned-founder can’t stand theft, but he’s no more keen on wet and weather-damaged gear. Matt didn’t just want the best locking truck bed cover. He was on a mission to protect his gear and wanted the most waterproof truck bed cover, too. After all, the first DiamondBack was built for his truck. He was determined to turn every potential entrance point for rain into a dead end.

Every truck bed cover on the market is meant to keep weather out, but few of our rivals treat weather as a winnable battle. Our install guides begin with bed prep, a step left out by companies who view leaky covers as your problem. After the bed is prepped, the rest is up to your cover. The entire perimeter of a DiamondBack is sealed with a neoprene compression gasket that’s durable enough to withstand a lifetime of use. To allow access to your gear without the threat of standing water pouring in, DiamondBack covers have guttered hinge points to send that water running.

DiamondBack’s rugged diamond plate covers are a far cry from our vinyl, ABS plastic, and fiberglass competitors, but it’s the locking mechanism that’s really an unfair advantage. Zinc-coated stainless steel lock rods extend underneath the bed rails of your pickup, and are operated by a stainless steel handle, which can only be budged after being unlocked with a one-of-a-kind, multi-angle cut key. In case you’re wondering whether our competitors’ locks are up to snuff, we’ll save you some searching.

A Cover Worth The Trouble

When Matt completed the design and fabrication of his own tonneau cover, there wasn’t another one like it in the world. That’s changed. DiamondBack Customers now number more than 100,000. An honor to us, and a testament to the fact that doing things the hard way, the right way, pays off.

Since 2003, our DiamondBack covers have only gotten better, and we’ll continue working to widen the gap between our competition. Still, most of those original DiamondBacks are still on the road, helping their owners do more with their trucks, giving peace of mind that their gear is dry and secure.

How have so many of our covers survived all those years of use and abuse? Because they were built by a team determined to change the world one bed cover at a time.