anyone have the tuff designs tire carrier?

jackbauersmom · 11-28-2008, 08:45 PM

anyone have this http://tuffdesigns.com/TireCarrier.html? do you like it, ease of install, customer service, etc. etc.?

**Unlimited04** · 11-28-2008, 08:52 PM

search!!!

I used their upper and my lower bumper: fab'ed it myself...http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/4374292-post290.html

the hinge design sucks. if i was to do it again, i'd get something with a ball bearing design.

jackbauersmom · 11-28-2008, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unlimited04

search!!!

thanks, did that. only found a few sigs with "tuff designs" in it. also, someone in a garvin wilderness rack thread said they bought it and it didn't line up to bolt on, so they wasted $500. neither of those real helpful. i am looking for owner's personal feedback.

it is good to know about the hinge design, thanks!

any others?

bplv · 12-02-2008, 05:45 PM

I'd really like to know as well. This rack is at the top of my list, but there are more complaints than praise on the internet.

WranglerMB · 01-20-2009, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bplv

I'd really like to know as well. This rack is at the top of my list, but there are more complaints than praise on the internet.

Did you end up buying it, if so how's it working out for you?
Thanks,
mb

bplv · 01-20-2009, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WranglerMB

Did you end up buying it, if so how's it working out for you?
Thanks,
mb

no, I didn't buy it. following "if it's too good to be true" rule. I'm considering the LoD one right now, but haven't gotten around to making the purchase.

ColoradoEMT · 05-22-2009, 12:20 PM

Just bought one of their bumpers and liked it except for one thing. The hold drilled out for the zerk fitting was too big. When contacted Tuff Designs aknowledged that they had a run of 10 bumpers that had this problem. Their answer was to wrap the fitting in teflon tape but the hole is too big for this to work. Since then they will not return my calls. I'd stay away from them.

Paratrooper82 · 09-09-2009, 09:39 AM

Got mine a couple of days ago. I am very impressed with the quality and even more impressed with the price. $500 delivered which included 1000 hour rated powder coat, reinforcing brackets to tie into the frame, and D-ring tabs. Shipping was lightning fast!!

very heavy duty and for the price you get a lot. One thing that I did not like was the telescoping portion of the tire carrier wobbles even after you secure with the bolts. It is easily fixed with either a rubber sleeve or wedging washer or something similar into the sleeve.

other than that, the Tuff Designs carrier kicks ***.

9 out of 10 rating.

**Unlimited04** · 09-09-2009, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paratrooper82

Got mine a couple of days ago. I am very impressed with the quality and even more impressed with the price. $500 delivered which included 1000 hour rated powder coat, reinforcing brackets to tie into the frame, and D-ring tabs. Shipping was lightning fast!!

very heavy duty and for the price you get a lot. One thing that I did not like was the telescoping portion of the tire carrier wobbles even after you secure with the bolts. It is easily fixed with either a rubber sleeve or wedging washer or something similar into the sleeve.

other than that, the Tuff Designs carrier kicks ***.

9 out of 10 rating.

the hinge sucks, the latch sucks, and the telescoping thing sucks bad. it vibrates BAD on washboard roads when going fast.

heres somebody elses opinion- http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f9/tuff-design-rear-bumper-tire-carrier-830604/

Good luck.

Paratrooper82 · 09-09-2009, 10:14 AM

Got it, however...

I dont work for Tuffdesigns nor am I intentionally providing them with advertisement. I am just a soldier that works hard for my money and tries to get the most bang for the buck.

The only thing that moved on my carrier was the telescoping portion...but I fixed it. So really the bottom line is for $500 you get a LOT for your money. I didnt say it was the best, nor did I say it was better than a $1000-$1200 carrier. There are a lot of bumpers out there in that price range that are awesome, but they are $1000-$1200 dollars...not $500 dollars.

The latch works fine. Yes its a pin latch system, but TD has added a rubber grommet that fixes a lot of the origonal problems with this latch system. I can go out and for $50 dollars get an upgraded latch and still be well under $1000 dollars. The hinge...c'mon....yes it could have ball bearings and have a spring load....but for what? If i wanted to upgrade the hinge I could do that and STILL be under $1000-$1200 dollars. So yes, you might think it sucks based on this other review, but the reality is that for $500 dollars I am completely happy with it.

AMT373 · 09-10-2009, 11:47 AM

Concur with Paratrooper 82.

Solid Tire Carrier.
Customer Service is Excellent. Preston O'Connell and his guys are great. Very responsive - both by phone and email.
Fast shipment.
Great Price.
Solid kit manufactured by small business ower.
Intend to purchase the front bumper soon.

AMT373

**Fropleyqk** · 09-10-2009, 12:49 PM

thats funny you posted that. I was just looking at the same carrier yesterday. I also agree with paratrooper82. I dont need perfection I just need cheap/functional. Do they have a vendor here on the forum? $500 would be excellent. The one on ebay/their site was more than that.

Paratrooper82 · 09-10-2009, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fropleyquark

thats funny you posted that. I was just looking at the same carrier yesterday. I also agree with paratrooper82. I dont need perfection I just need cheap/functional. Do they have a vendor here on the forum? $500 would be excellent. The one on ebay/their site was more than that.

Go directly to the site Home and call preston direct. He's a good dude. Tell him the "NC boys" sent you.

XRipX · 09-21-2009, 04:58 PM

I signed on to this site so I can reply to this thread and share my experience with them. I'm a long time watcher of these forums anyways...

I bought the tire carrier and let me say that they are an EXTREMELY flaky and unprofessional company. Preston NEVER answers his phone and when I left a VM (of which there were MANY) he took forever to return them. First off, NO mounting hardware came with it. Called and called and called left VM after VM until I finally got a call from him and he said that they send the mounting hardware separate... fair enough... but why wasn't I informed of this before hand?
Got the frame tie in kit with it and let me say the holes were WAAAAAYYY off! 3/8" off on both holes. Plus hardware didn't come with that kit either (which later I was told I had to go and buy it at the hardware store because they don't provide it... again fair enough but why wasn't I told and why wasn't it in the instructions?)
Had to re-drill holes in my frame to get them to work. Sucks, but fine.
Put the rear bumper in place and lo and behold! The mounting holes don't line up!!!! Again after call after call after call and after several voice mails I get a hold of him and going back and forth on what to do, he said he wanted to come out here and see it in person (he's in San Francisco, I'm in the East Bay area) and also told me to go out and buy a chisel and oval out the holes in the bumper! He said that all bumpers made NOW have oval holes and I must've bought one of the last circular hole ones! I had to modify their product to get it to work!!
For my trouble he said he would give me a discount and come take picture of my Jeep to use on their site with the new front bumper on it and he'd give me a discount for a new front bumper. Didn't hear from him in two weeks, I called and called but no response. Finally I sent him e-mail basically stating that I don't want him taking pictures of my Jeep or him coming to my home because I don't want to support his product. Furthermore, one of the bumper caps are missing from the kit. He responded saying the cap is "in the mail". That was a few months ago, I haven't received it.... I suspect I never will.

The bumper itself? It's good. Has corner guards, hi-lift mounts and Jerry can holders. However, I haven't bashed it yet so I can't say how it holds up. I have towed with it with no complaints. The only complaint I do have about it is the spare tire holder is very flimsy. I can grab spare tire and twist it and turn it several degrees in every direction. I tightened it as much as humanly possible and decided it's a design flaw.

For the price the product is great. I don't know how typical my experience is with them but I suggest to anyone looking at this bumper.... BUYER BE WARNED! PLAY IT SAFE AND SAVE, BUY ONE MORE PROFESSIONALLY BUILT!

tuffdesigns · 09-22-2009, 01:01 AM

I would like to clarity several things about XRipX post because it is not exactly accurate.
1) We had a fixture come loose which caused the mounts to be slightly off on about 6 bumpers we produced. The problem has been fixed and we have not had any mounting issues since.
2) I respond to any e-mails or calls within 2 days at the longest and usually within several hours. In the case of this transaction, I had to go to our production shop to figure out exactly what happened which I told XRipX would take a few days so that we could send him a product that did not have the same issue.
3) He did not try to contact me to refund or sent him a new unit until after he had modified the bumper and his jeep. This is why we have a warranty so that if an issue like this arises we can fix it or sent you a new unit. We don't expect you to make major modifications to get our products to fit your jeep.
4) One thing that was not mentioned was that we offered to send him a new unit and he preferred to have a partial refund instead. We did not leave him out to dry we asked what would work best for him given the situation and he opted for a refund.
5) The telescoping tire mount rattling problem is currently being addressed and will be fixed on all future orders.
6) XRipX I sent you three new end caps and they should be at your address within the next several days. I was under the impression you already got one from the hardware store and was part of the refund my mistake.
7) We aim to offer the best possible product and customer service and if we do make a mistake we will go out of our way to fix it to the best of our abilities.

09-22-2009, 01:01 AM	#15
tuffdesigns Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Boise Posts: 11 Profile Gallery Classifieds My Jeeps	Response I would like to clarity several things about XRipX post because it is not exactly accurate. 1) We had a fixture come loose which caused the mounts to be slightly off on about 6 bumpers we produced. The problem has been fixed and we have not had any mounting issues since. 2) I respond to any e-mails or calls within 2 days at the longest and usually within several hours. In the case of this transaction, I had to go to our production shop to figure out exactly what happened which I told XRipX would take a few days so that we could send him a product that did not have the same issue. 3) He did not try to contact me to refund or sent him a new unit until after he had modified the bumper and his jeep. This is why we have a warranty so that if an issue like this arises we can fix it or sent you a new unit. We don't expect you to make major modifications to get our products to fit your jeep. 4) One thing that was not mentioned was that we offered to send him a new unit and he preferred to have a partial refund instead. We did not leave him out to dry we asked what would work best for him given the situation and he opted for a refund. 5) The telescoping tire mount rattling problem is currently being addressed and will be fixed on all future orders. 6) XRipX I sent you three new end caps and they should be at your address within the next several days. I was under the impression you already got one from the hardware store and was part of the refund my mistake. 7) We aim to offer the best possible product and customer service and if we do make a mistake we will go out of our way to fix it to the best of our abilities.