What's wrong with this picture? Ok, technically nothing is wrong with it. It's a photo of my Ford Raptor XLT. But is it complete? Not quite.**
The bed of the truck is exposed, and that means that unless I'm hauling a motorcycle, there is no reason to have it in that condition because I can't load the back of the rig with "stuff" and keep it secure. "Stuff" loosely defined is everything from flashlights, sleeping bags and tools to recovery gear.
I settled on the Diamondback as the solution best suiting my needs. I've had it for over a month now and still love it, so I decided to give the company a plug.
The deck is "hard" with four cleats that can be used to tie-down. This particular model is rated to hold 400 lbs. on top of the deck. There is a utility to being able to open either side selectively to load "stuff" i.e. cargo.
I configured the front hatch to open to a bay inside (stainless steel) that organizes bits and pieces of snatch straps, 550 cord, socket sets, wrenches, canteens, MRE's, spare ammunition, etc. Med kit is in the truck under the rear seat.
The back hatch is utilized for bulk cargo. You can just see the 'bed extenders' folded up against the bulkheads on the side of the truck bed. They fold out to form a barrier around the extended tail gate so that I can put the motorcycle back there and keep the whole thing in the truck bed and secure.
The Diamondback comes off in about 10 minutes with minimal labor. Because it's in two segments, it stores easily in the garage and is not too heavy.
** There are a number of minor modifications that will be added to the trick truck but today I'm just focusing on the latest one.