Friday, Jul 11, 2014 at 19:40
I bought a "cheap" bar advertised a popular magazine and fitted myself, i really only wanted a steel bar, not so for spare tyres, just to replace the rear plastic bar that was there.
The instructions where a little vague, the LED lights didn't have wiring diagram and they didn't have the same color wire for earth, that took me an hour to work out why weird stuff was happening, but the kit came with everything needed and no drilling or other modifications where needed except for where the mudflaps mounted on.
I got the twin wheel carrier, also paid the extra and got jerry can holders and a sizable LED reverse/work light with pole, again the extra kit came with everything needed.
Now, once fitted up I found the latches where a little difficult to adjust, mainly trying to access to the internal nut/bolt with a spanner to loosen and tighten, and also the geometry of where the pin catches the latch, I had to grind a bit off tho make it work freely.
The light pole offered the ability to be extended upwards aiding the excellent light, but the grub screw was plastic and came loose constantly, I was worried about over tightening and breaking it, The poles also rattled inside itself when retracted, plus it protruded forward of the spare tyre and came close to the
barn door, not an issue in the closed position but if you opened the tyre carrier, and opened the
barn door, the door would hit right in the middle leaving marks and denting if allowed to open too fast, or even if you leaned against it whilst accessing the inside rear.
You have the choice between having 2 spares or 1 spare and the double jerry can holder(if you chose to pay the extra)and came with number plate mounting bracket and light as the factory mounting position will now be covered.
I would not trust the jerry can holder for anymore than a run to the servo, it was poorly designed and simply mounts under 3 wheel nut studs used for the second spare, it flexed and moved around WAAAAAY too much for it to last any sort of trip, mine is in the shed, . . . . somewhere.
I found that driving around for a couple of weeks, the opening proceeded was cumbersome and it got old quick, they have a latch with a locking pin, so you have to pull the pin then open the handle, swing around until the arm with the tyre locks into place, then open the door, same to close in reverse, I had 1 spare on the drivers side and tried to get by just using the passenger side
barn door but it still got old quick, that's the difference between spending the $$$ I suppose, but remember, I just wanted a bar.
I haven't used either the tyre racks or jerry can holders since I fitted the bar, the bar itself has actually caused more damage to my cruiser the plastic bar ever did, I found myself on a track that was much more difficult than my previous visit, it had deep erosion and exposed rocks, I bottomed the bar quite heavily underneath the fuel filler port and it pushed up underneath a crease in the cruiser's body line denting the whole quarter panel, the bar flexed much more than I expected, it sprung back and wasn't damaged, they appear to have sturdy mounting points and also have mounts that go to the chassis just behind the wheels offering support to the sides of the bar, I found that these where flimsy and didn't do much at all on this occasion.
I got tapped in the back by a car that wasn't watching where it was going and wasn't damaged in that event, the falcon had a lovely big black mark right across the bottom of the bonnet and the towbar smashed his headlight.
I definitely would not get this bar if I was depending on it to carry anything on any sort of trek offroad, just as bar to replace the standard plastic one, no problems, it looks the part but no real strength,
no longer a member, cant post photos
Shane
AnswerID:
535913
Follow Up By: Member - Cruiser74 - Saturday, Jul 12, 2014 at 10:09
Saturday, Jul 12, 2014 at 10:09
Cheers Shane,
Sounds like you get what you pay for! As long as it works for you then that is the main thing. I bought my Cruiser completely stock and have spent about $25K in mods so far and have tried to seek out the best quality for the most reasonable price but as you would know the best quality usually comes with a hefty price tag. I would rather pay a bit more and have that quality and re-sale value than struggle with something that I'm going to want to chuck in the bin after a month. I have done, and plan to do a lot more long offroad
treks. After the last one I realised how much my departure point suffered with having the wheel underneath. I took it off and put it on the roof but then that sacrificed space up top so I am looking for something functional and very reliable. It also has to be easy to access the back as the Mrs will not take too kindly to struggling with dodgy latches etc when she just wants to get the milk out for a cuppa! Never hear the end of it!
Craig
FollowupID:
819911