Wild Boar 4-dr JK Rack Review
04-09-2008, 10:42 AM
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Wild Boar 4-dr JK Rack Review
Moderators Note: Please read Post #20 of page 2 for a response from Wild Boar prior to reading this review as we feel that it is necesary to put things into perspective.
One of the Wild Boar roof racks I installed last time had the mounting tabs in the wrong place, so Wild Boar sent me out a new rack (had to pay $181 in shipping, though, but to their credit, they sent me one of the new-style swiveling racks to replace the older style stationary rack). I got it installed last week and here are my impressions are below. Before you read on, know this: If I feel a product is good, I will sound like a paid spokesman for the company. I will let the world know about how good they are and anything bad, if I find it.
So here is my review on the Wild Boar rack after installing three of them for my "business" vehicles:
In a nutshell, this rack is really good - I love that it swivels up, but apparently the quality control and the selection of supplied hardware is very poor at Wild Boar.
Missing Pieces:
The last rack I installed was missing all of the pan-head screws to keep the pieces together. While this new one was not missing all of them, it was missing three of them. THis is not a big deal; I had a stash of them left over from when I went to Home Depot and bought all of the ones for the first rack. If you live out in the boonies, however, you may have issues.
It was also missing one of the shocks. There are supposed to be two; one on the front and one on the back. I was told last week another would be shipped, but I've not heard or seen anything from them yet. If worse comes to worse, I will go to the local autoparts store and get another one.
I would review on the opening of the rack, but with only one shock installed, if you open it, it's a mother to close and secure because the one shock prevents the holes from lining up properly.
Rust:
Apparently, when they made these new racks, they decided to use the absolute crappiest foreign mounting hardware available. The rust from these are absolutely horrible. After it rained, all the bolts were bleeding rust and getting "blood spatter" all over the vehicle. :brickwall
THis has made a horrible mess all over the paint and I will have to change all of the bolts before the next rain. It should be noted the two other racks don't have this problem because they came with stainless bolts. Below are some photos:
The end result? The design of this rack is phenominal, but the quality control and quality of hardware included is beyond poor. three racks, three problems. I think Wild Boar needs to look at their business and evaluate their products before selling them to the public.
Do I think the design is great? Yes, I do. Would I buy the rest I need for my business? Nope. I'm going to seek out another rack manufacturer for this. For the price you pay, these racks are too much of a headache. The install is a breeze but the work trying to find new hardware is inexcusable. I buy a "kit" to have everything I need right at my fingertips. Otherwise, I might as well save the money and make the product myself.
WIld Bar has some really innovative products that look fantastic. I do hope they put more R&D into these than in the racks. :thumbdown:
Moderators Note: Please read Post #20 of page 2 for a response from Wild Boar prior to reading this review as we feel that it is necesary to put things into perspective.
One of the Wild Boar roof racks I installed last time had the mounting tabs in the wrong place, so Wild Boar sent me out a new rack (had to pay $181 in shipping, though, but to their credit, they sent me one of the new-style swiveling racks to replace the older style stationary rack). I got it installed last week and here are my impressions are below. Before you read on, know this: If I feel a product is good, I will sound like a paid spokesman for the company. I will let the world know about how good they are and anything bad, if I find it.
So here is my review on the Wild Boar rack after installing three of them for my "business" vehicles:
In a nutshell, this rack is really good - I love that it swivels up, but apparently the quality control and the selection of supplied hardware is very poor at Wild Boar.
Missing Pieces:
The last rack I installed was missing all of the pan-head screws to keep the pieces together. While this new one was not missing all of them, it was missing three of them. THis is not a big deal; I had a stash of them left over from when I went to Home Depot and bought all of the ones for the first rack. If you live out in the boonies, however, you may have issues.
It was also missing one of the shocks. There are supposed to be two; one on the front and one on the back. I was told last week another would be shipped, but I've not heard or seen anything from them yet. If worse comes to worse, I will go to the local autoparts store and get another one.
I would review on the opening of the rack, but with only one shock installed, if you open it, it's a mother to close and secure because the one shock prevents the holes from lining up properly.
Rust:
Apparently, when they made these new racks, they decided to use the absolute crappiest foreign mounting hardware available. The rust from these are absolutely horrible. After it rained, all the bolts were bleeding rust and getting "blood spatter" all over the vehicle. :brickwall
THis has made a horrible mess all over the paint and I will have to change all of the bolts before the next rain. It should be noted the two other racks don't have this problem because they came with stainless bolts. Below are some photos:
The end result? The design of this rack is phenominal, but the quality control and quality of hardware included is beyond poor. three racks, three problems. I think Wild Boar needs to look at their business and evaluate their products before selling them to the public.
Do I think the design is great? Yes, I do. Would I buy the rest I need for my business? Nope. I'm going to seek out another rack manufacturer for this. For the price you pay, these racks are too much of a headache. The install is a breeze but the work trying to find new hardware is inexcusable. I buy a "kit" to have everything I need right at my fingertips. Otherwise, I might as well save the money and make the product myself.
WIld Bar has some really innovative products that look fantastic. I do hope they put more R&D into these than in the racks. :thumbdown:
Moderators Note: Please read Post #20 of page 2 for a response from Wild Boar prior to reading this review as we feel that it is necesary to put things into perspective.
Last edited by wayoflife; 08-13-2008 at 08:49 AM. Reason: inserted sentence
04-09-2008, 10:51 AM
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Wow, thanks for the heads up. I've heard good things about this company. I would really like to hear what they have to say.
In the second to last pic, it actually looks like rust is coming, not from the fasteners, but from the tubular steel that is the rack itself. Is this right, or is there a fastener which is not visible in the pics?
In the second to last pic, it actually looks like rust is coming, not from the fasteners, but from the tubular steel that is the rack itself. Is this right, or is there a fastener which is not visible in the pics?
04-09-2008, 10:58 AM
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Not good that dripping down the car.
Can i suggest pulling the sections apart, applying silicone sealer, then fitting back together, and obviously stainless fittings, please don't feel i am teaching granny to suck eggs.
It does look a nice rack though, but unless its zinc plated, alloy, or all stainless, this will always happen sooner or later with steel racks, once powder coat is chipped, it rusts.
I have an engineering company, so we spell out the problems of using steel outside, without galvanising and powder coating on top.
Stainless is expensive, but you dont get the grief of rust. IMHO.
Can i suggest pulling the sections apart, applying silicone sealer, then fitting back together, and obviously stainless fittings, please don't feel i am teaching granny to suck eggs.
It does look a nice rack though, but unless its zinc plated, alloy, or all stainless, this will always happen sooner or later with steel racks, once powder coat is chipped, it rusts.
I have an engineering company, so we spell out the problems of using steel outside, without galvanising and powder coating on top.
Stainless is expensive, but you dont get the grief of rust. IMHO.
04-09-2008, 11:08 AM
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Not good that dripping down the car.
Can i suggest pulling the sections apart, applying silicone sealer, then fitting back together, and obviously stainless fittings, please don't feel i am teaching granny to suck eggs.
It does look a nice rack though, but unless its zinc plated, alloy, or all stainless, this will always happen sooner or later with steel racks, once powder coat is chipped, it rusts.
I have an engineering company, so we spell out the problems of using steel outside, without galvanising and powder coating on top.
Stainless is expensive, but you dont get the grief of rust. IMHO.
Can i suggest pulling the sections apart, applying silicone sealer, then fitting back together, and obviously stainless fittings, please don't feel i am teaching granny to suck eggs.
It does look a nice rack though, but unless its zinc plated, alloy, or all stainless, this will always happen sooner or later with steel racks, once powder coat is chipped, it rusts.
I have an engineering company, so we spell out the problems of using steel outside, without galvanising and powder coating on top.
Stainless is expensive, but you dont get the grief of rust. IMHO.
There are screws on the insides that you can't see from the outside, so I am guessing the rust is traveling down to the crack, giving it this look. I will let you know, however, when Ido a second inspection when the JK gets back from the field.
04-09-2008, 11:11 AM
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Not good that dripping down the car.
Can i suggest pulling the sections apart, applying silicone sealer, then fitting back together, and obviously stainless fittings, please don't feel i am teaching granny to suck eggs.
It does look a nice rack though, but unless its zinc plated, alloy, or all stainless, this will always happen sooner or later with steel racks, once powder coat is chipped, it rusts.
I have an engineering company, so we spell out the problems of using steel outside, without galvanising and powder coating on top.
Stainless is expensive, but you dont get the grief of rust. IMHO.
Can i suggest pulling the sections apart, applying silicone sealer, then fitting back together, and obviously stainless fittings, please don't feel i am teaching granny to suck eggs.
It does look a nice rack though, but unless its zinc plated, alloy, or all stainless, this will always happen sooner or later with steel racks, once powder coat is chipped, it rusts.
I have an engineering company, so we spell out the problems of using steel outside, without galvanising and powder coating on top.
Stainless is expensive, but you dont get the grief of rust. IMHO.
04-09-2008, 11:16 AM
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04-09-2008, 11:23 AM
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There's 2 kinds of stainless steel, the kind that rust and the kind that doesn't.
