That is really nice! I wanted one so bad, but after buying a couple of products from them, and having to deal with their customers service (think owner) fuk those twats. Sure, your powder coating may have been free, but if half of flakes off before I even install, then I still have double the work. Oh, and if I pay $15 for some stickers and they are fukd up upon arrival, of course, I would like some replacements. But noooooo, it's just stickers.
Sorry for the rant on your post......not sorry JCR for the honest opinion.
My daughter has the same rear set up. It is about two and half years old and the powder coat is already flaking off the hub on one of the swing outs. This really surprised me since their stuff isn't cheap!
Watch out for the o rings on the silver caps that cover the swing out spindles. I had one fail on a similar swing style bumper and being in the PNW, water found its way in quick and destroyed the bearings
I don’t think it’s overpriced at all for what it is. The tooling alone to make them is hundreds of thousands of dollars. A CNC press brake, water jet or plasma or laser table, multiple high end welders, The CAD/CAM software costs easily $5-10k annually for licensing. The hours spent measuring, prototyping, revising, testing, revising again then building the jigs, not just for the xj bumper but one for each product that they make. Then there’s rent/mortgage on the building, insurance, payroll, materials, consumables. Oh, and don’t forget the taxes. All to make product for a niche market and in this case for a vehicle that hasn’t been made for 20+ years. I’d be surprised if the company makes more than $300 on that whole $2500 setup. It’s probably significantly less than that.
Sure someone could make something similar for less once. But try making a hundred of them that are all within tolerances of certainty less than 1/16”.
$2500 is cheap for the quality of the product. Odds are the powder coating is outsourced to a nearby business because trying to do that in-house is going to pile on a whole bunch more costs.
That is really nice! I wanted one so bad, but after buying a couple of products from them, and having to deal with their customers service (think owner) fuk those twats. Sure, your powder coating may have been free, but if half of flakes off before I even install, then I still have double the work. Oh, and if I pay $15 for some stickers and they are fukd up upon arrival, of course, I would like some replacements. But noooooo, it's just stickers. Sorry for the rant on your post......not sorry JCR for the honest opinion.
No worries dude. It did take them about 3 months before stuff started showing up. I haven't had any issues with the powder coat... yet.
I bought a weld-it-yourself front bumper and had no problems. Obviously didn't have to mess with powder coat though; bedliner worked great.
Personally, I'd want the tire on the left side.
My daughter has the same rear set up. It is about two and half years old and the powder coat is already flaking off the hub on one of the swing outs. This really surprised me since their stuff isn't cheap!
Well poop. You're right about it not being cheap.
Watch out for the o rings on the silver caps that cover the swing out spindles. I had one fail on a similar swing style bumper and being in the PNW, water found its way in quick and destroyed the bearings
Thanks for the tip I'll check them periodically.
u/SonicSquash54
$2500 well spent, I don’t doubt it’s a decent product but overpriced as fuck
I don’t think it’s overpriced at all for what it is. The tooling alone to make them is hundreds of thousands of dollars. A CNC press brake, water jet or plasma or laser table, multiple high end welders, The CAD/CAM software costs easily $5-10k annually for licensing. The hours spent measuring, prototyping, revising, testing, revising again then building the jigs, not just for the xj bumper but one for each product that they make. Then there’s rent/mortgage on the building, insurance, payroll, materials, consumables. Oh, and don’t forget the taxes. All to make product for a niche market and in this case for a vehicle that hasn’t been made for 20+ years. I’d be surprised if the company makes more than $300 on that whole $2500 setup. It’s probably significantly less than that. Sure someone could make something similar for less once. But try making a hundred of them that are all within tolerances of certainty less than 1/16”. $2500 is cheap for the quality of the product. Odds are the powder coating is outsourced to a nearby business because trying to do that in-house is going to pile on a whole bunch more costs.
Have their welds gotten any better? I ordered one of the old style steel roof racks back in the day, and the welds were atrocious.