DiamondBack deck covers are perfect for quad-hauling. The aluminum deck holds 727 kilograms (1,600 pounds), enough to support two quads with the right optional accessories. The deck includes 12 cleats for ratchet-straps, and the front and back access panels are lockable. The guys at DiamondBack helped me choose the right deck, arranged shipping to my driveway and provided beefier replacement lock hardware when the initial lock failed three years in. These decks are warranted for life and give tremendous flexibility when configuring gear hauling and storage.
Knowing exactly what you want and why are the first steps to getting what you want. Because I want my quad on my truck, a fifth-trailer won’t work for me. I want to have the flexibility to haul whatever gear is needed for the job. The perfect solution for me is a solid aluminum deck that completely encloses the truck box for secure storage and provides a platform to transport the quad. I purchased the accessories to haul a second quad up top.
My quad rides side-saddle on the DiamondBack aluminum checker-plate deck mounted my Ford F350. The aluminum is treated with the same traction-enhancing coating used for spray-in bedliners. This set-up lets me store diesel fuel, chainsaw, game sled, game bags, ramps and sundry other required tools and keeps everything out of sight and secure. When we do put the tag on an elk, the quarters can be safely stowed and locked underneath the lid of the DiamondBack.
The deck allows secure storage for fuel, gear, chain saw and ramps. — Photo courtesy Timothy Fowler
The DiamondBack is constructed to accept a moveable aluminum backstop that mounts on one side of the deck to keep the quad from going beyond where it is supposed to go while loading. The folding ramps clamp on the opposite side of the deck and provide a gentle load slope. Once the quad is loaded, lock the quad down with ratchet straps using the integral cleats on the deck edge.
Honda’s 500 Foreman is a reliable workhorse
My Honda Foreman 500 is a workhorse: it’s a four-wheel drive with tractor-like power for chugging down pipelines and forestry clearcuts while I search for game sign and decide where to draw my hunting cards. Regularly my quad is loaded with moose or elk quarters or even a whole whitetail deer. When the factory tires started showing some wear, I changed them up two sizes to 26 inches. This give me more of what I want: more clearance for humping over downed logs and more traction for chewing through bog.
Alberta public land where I hunt is pretty much quad-prohibited for hunting from one hour before sunrise until noon every day of the fall big game season. Our usual routine is the have the quad parked ample time before first light to comply with the law and then walk to where we will hunt that morning. We sit the first couple of hours of daybreak and walk from there for the rest of the morning.
The guys I hunt with connect for lunch and decide scouting plans for the next day’s hunt based on what was observed in the morning. Sometimes we adjust strategy for the same place; sometimes we abandon the area and search for a new location to hunt the next day. Afternoons are spent scouting for sign on and off quads. We usually sit the evening hunt and return to camp in the dark.
The quad gives me more access to the things I enjoy. The DiamondBack truck bed cover gives me the flexibility to haul my quad and gear. It is exactly what I want.
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