Good ladder rack for the price,
November 23, 2009
By JVander from Indianapolis, Indiana
"I bought this rack for my 2001 Sierra half-ton extended cab shortbed. Overall I like it. The price was good compared to other racks out there, it's strong and sturdy, the only complaint is that the 'clamp' means of holding the two halves together (the rectangle-shaped part on the photo with the 2" diameter circle cutout) is a stupid design. The back rack tubes are crimped in order to slide into the front rack tubes, then they are held together by means of a 'clamp' that spans the joint by about 4" on either side. This friction means of holding the tubes together can't take much stress before the rack starts to come apart, no matter how tight you make the clamp bolts (admittedly I did have a lot of tension on the rack because I had stuff lashed up off the front and other stuff lashed up off the back; long story). I didn't care to take off the powder coat in order to weld the two halves together, so I just drilled a hole through both tubes on the front side of the joint and put a bolt through to lock the tubes together. I just did this to the larger bottom tubes, I have to do it to the top tubes now since they are starting to come apart too. Someone here said that their rack didn't have as much clearance over the cab as shown on the picture, that's probably because the picture is of a Ford truck and they have a GM truck. Ford bedsides are taller than GM. For what it's worth, my rack came with risers to lift the rack another 6" or so, I didn't use these so I can't say how sturdy they are. Since the product description doesn't say that the risers are included it may just be a fluke that I got them with my rack.
This rack is sturdy with no squeaks or rattles, though the wind does howl through it on the highway. It's not exactly easy to take off, but I was able to do it by myself in about 30 minutes including taking off the clamp bolts, which I suppose does fit with the product claim that it can be removed in minutes. The rack is plenty sturdy without the center brace, but I installed my center brace over the cab roof instead of the center of the rack. I did this because it makes moving about the bed easier and to give the cab roof a little extra protection. The grab handles off the back are very handy to climb up in the bed. All in all this is probably the cheapest rack you'll find, and it's a universal fit, so don't expect that you can install it without some tinkering around, and if you expect to put a lot of stress on the front section you should plan on bolting or welding the tubes together.
One other thing is that Northern also sells the same rack under the Buffalo Tools brand, Item# 3309672. They look identical to me except that the Buffalo tools rack specifically states that it comes with the riser kit, and the Buffalo rack is $20 more plus you have to pay shipping."
What is your level of technical expertise? Professional
J-hook clamps don't work, etc.,
October 29, 2009
By KenM09 from Waynesville, NC
"Out of the box ...
1) The paint is chipped in many places and has rusted there.
2) The instructions are poor, missing some steps. Small pictures, printed poorly help some, but not much.
3) The J-hook clamps, for temporary installation, don't tighten down onto my trucks side. ('95 Toyota T100) When tightened, the curve of the j-hook tightens onto the sleeve of the mounting feet before the pad of the j-hook even touches the truck side railing. So, the whole rack can still be moved by hand. I had to drill holes in the truck and mount the rack as a permanent installation, after buying 1/2 " bolts to do this, the bolts for permanent installation did NOT come with the rack."
What is your level of technical expertise? Professional
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
Idustrial Contractor Rack Kit,
July 13, 2009
"Idustial Contractor Rack Kit is a excellent Rack
It has help me on over 50 contracting jobs and it also looked really good on my 2008 super crew F-150"
What is your level of technical expertise? Professional
