Southern Style Offroad Full Length Roof Rack

[GX4SEVEND]

The new manager was the one who was supposed call me back. Waited three days until I finally had to call.

We understand the being busy and having the business is great for you but when there’s also no communication and it’s well past quoted lead times, that doesn’t sit well with customers. If your site says 8-10 weeks, as it did when I ordered, that’s what it should be. Not 14 that people are getting. Then the shipment wasn’t even complete for myself. I get you’re in business to make money but if you can’t keep up with orders maybe you should hold off on new orders if you can’t fulfill current ones.

I just expected more and it wasn’t delivered. It’s a great product but the issues I had takes away from the fun of building the 4Runner. Just feels like a generic email response and I’m not sure anything will change going forward or anyone who had issues will be contacted at all.

 

[SouthernSS]

The new manager was the one who was supposed call me back. Waited three days until I finally had to call.

We understand the being busy and having the business is great for you but when there’s also no communication and it’s well past quoted lead times, that doesn’t sit well with customers. If your site says 8-10 weeks, as it did when I ordered, that’s what it should be. Not 14 that people are getting. Then the shipment wasn’t even complete for myself. I get you’re in business to make money but if you can’t keep up with orders maybe you should hold off on new orders if you can’t fulfill current ones.

I just expected more and it wasn’t delivered. It’s a great product but the issues I had takes away from the fun of building the 4Runner. Just feels like a generic email response and I’m not sure anything will change going forward or anyone who had issues will be contacted at all.

No, the new manager was just hired, well after your order was placed. There was clearly an issue in our shipping department and we have acted to correct the problem. We fulfill hundreds of orders a week and manufacture thousands of products a year. At some point, it reached the capacity of the old shipping manager and staff, as you can tell.

We have taken proactive steps going forward to increase throughput in our shipping department with greater efficiencies than ever before. Managing the increase in orders we have experienced is a challenge, but not impossible. We now have the systems in place to facilitate the orders and the personnel with experience to see it through. Once again, we thank you for choosing SSO.

 

[jdm-v35]

I am at 6 weeks waiting time now, but it is still at material received status. I am excited about the product and do hope that the 8-10 week time is still accurate. I am hoping to still get a RTT on and get some camping in before summer is over.

 

[T4R_KAI]

We sincerely thank each of you for choosing SSO for your offroad products. We have been experiencing exponential growth since August of last year which has proven to be a learning experience for us. We have recently (within the last couple months) have replaced and are adding to our shipping department. We have hired a new shipping manager and are taking great strides to speed up our processes. The roof racks are tedious to pack much less to put together and get ready to ship. It takes about two hours for each roof rack to just box up from start to finish. We thank you for your patience and are going to be working late hours this week to get all these roof racks shipped out to you guys. Again, we do apologize for the lead times and are working hard towards lessening the wait times.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us via email ([email protected]) or give us a call (225-726-7979 CST) to check your order or to get more information.

2 HOURS to pack up a single rack?! Time to invest in practical packing material and/or processes. There is no way it should take that long.

 

[andrew4r]

2 HOURS to pack up a single rack?! Time to invest in practical packing material and/or processes. There is no way it should take that long.

Feel free to start building and shipping roof racks if you think you'd be so much better at it.

 

[T4R_KAI]

Feel free to start building and shipping roof racks if you think you'd be so much better at it.

Go ahead and explain why this should take 2+ hours to complete.

I’m sure it’s a tedious task from start to finish but a product shouldn’t sit in the “grinding station” for close to two weeks. I’m already at 10 weeks and it looks like I have at least another month. Something needs to change or they need to realistically adjust their lead times to reflect influxes. Like many have said, I’m sure it’s a solid product, but this is the one and only product I’ll be purchasing from SSO.

 

[SR5Bart]

My rack box didn't have any plywood or even the black straps like yours did. Box kind of bent in half as well. They also sent me the wrong fairing so I called and the lady shipped out a new one same day asked if I wanted it shipped to the same place so I said yeah, well they decided to ship it to my billing address so I had to make the 1 hour drive each way to go get it yesterday. Looks like the new manager isn't so good at his job. OK I think i'm done with my rant. Solid product for sure.

My slimline bumper was packaged very well, the rack not so much

 

[ProfessorP]

Go ahead and explain why this should take 2+ hours to complete.

I’m sure it’s a tedious task from start to finish but a product shouldn’t sit in the “grinding station” for close to two weeks. I’m already at 10 weeks and it looks like I have at least another month. Something needs to change or they need to realistically adjust their lead times to reflect influxes. Like many have said, I’m sure it’s a solid product, but this is the one and only product I’ll be purchasing from SSO.

I ran a fairly small manufacturing facility with zero automation back in the early 90s. Everything was done manually from start to finish. We were shipping huge boxes with framed art prints under glass. Very few pieces were ever returned due to broken glass or damaged frames. If that packing job took SSO 2 hours, then the manufacturer is doomed!

Most small manufacturers (that have plenty of orders) get into trouble one of two ways:

1. Too much effort acquiring new business (and deposits or payment in full) and not enough effort in fulfillment. Payment in full up front breeds HORRIBLE customer service. Working hard to get paid in full in a timely manner is one hell of a motivator!

2. They get behind on payments to suppliers and the raw materials stop flowing. Can't make stuff if you don't have the materials. This is usually due to mismanagement of funds. No excuse for a payment in full up front business unless the orders dry up.

 

[md-lucky]

I received my rack last week and finally had time to install it this weekend.

I thought the packaging was very well done. I didn't have the wood inside the box like others have mentioned, but it was all very well wrapped and in perfect condition.

All of the hardware was in a press sealed compartment bag. Each compartment had a different component that was needed for the install.

I had one extremely minor mistake in my order: they sent the wrong invoice. I was really worried I would have a missing piece or two (I ordered extra bars, for example) but everything was exactly as I ordered it.

Install was very easy except for the win fairing. I will cuss that thing for a month most likely.

Fit and function is outstanding. When I went to square it at the end of tightening most everything down I was astonished at how well it squared and how even everything was. It is a quality product.

My dumb ass didn't order enough bars though so I don't have the rear-most bar. Entirely my fault. Will likely order the last bar I need soon.

Overall I looked at every option available and ultimately decided to purchase this rack. I didn't get a discount or be given any reason to pull punches or tell the truth entirely. So this is 100% my opinion on the product and service.

When looking at other options I considered their lead times too. I knew a gobi would take forever, some of the other products had fit and finish issues, and I sure as hell wasn't going to drill.

I ordered my rack on March 10th, and it arrived at my door on June 10th. Roughly 14 weeks from start to finish. It arrived exactly as I ordered it, professionally packed, was a super straight-forward install and the product itself is outstanding. Would I like to have received it sooner? Yeah. Sure. But I would rather have it take 14 weeks to arrive and have a product that is damn near perfect fit and finish versus getting it 4 weeks later and have nothing but issues.

Your results may vary.

 

[Vogold]

I ordered March 2nd, received it on June 12th and installed it today.
Overall, I am very happy with it. It looks great and is very stout and not too heavy at about 62 or 64 pounds or so according to my scale, but there are a couple of annoyances.

It went together easy with the exception of the wind fairing, that was a pain in the ass! I ended up pulling the side rails off of the 4Runner and installing the wind fairing on the ground and then reinstalling everything back on the 4Runner, even then i had to really work at it to get it all to fit. It seems like something was a bit out of spec between the side rails/wind fairing/fairing brackets and I had a heck of a time getting everything lined up.

Some of the powder coat has chipped off on the edges, maybe during shipping? Most of that I can take care of with a bit of paint, but there is a decent sized rub mark(probably from shipping?)that I’m not sure how to clean up. See pic below, the rub mark is on the left side of the side light cut out and the camera did not pic it all up, but it runs the full height of the rail.

I botched the install of the clear vinyl and ended up not using it. I should get some more and install it, but I hate to take off the wind fairing for fear that I will not get it back on.

 

[GX4SEVEND]

As others have stated, the front wind fairing brackets do not line up at all. Well not all three holes at the same time. I basically just pushed it together with my hand as hard as possible then put the bolt in. I wasn’t about to remove the rack.

 

[SR5Bart]

I had the same issue with my fairing. I spoke to Kevin at SSO and sent him a couple of pictures as well. He will be sending me a new set of brackets but I simply oblonged the 3 holes on the front of the bracket just like the side 2 are when you get it from them. I let him know what I did to make it fit without pushing it together and he said he will for sure look into it.

 

[andrew4r]

If you install the wind faring on the ground, is the whole thing still easy to attach to the vehicle afterward (being that the fairing doesnt fit to the rails well)?

Did you add any crossbars before hoisting it up to the roof?

I ordered March 2nd, received it on June 12th and installed it today.
Overall, I am very happy with it. It looks great and is very stout and not too heavy at about 62 or 64 pounds or so according to my scale, but there are a couple of annoyances.

It went together easy with the exception of the wind fairing, that was a pain in the ass! I ended up pulling the side rails off of the 4Runner and installing the wind fairing on the ground and then reinstalling everything back on the 4Runner, even then i had to really work at it to get it all to fit. It seems like something was a bit out of spec between the side rails/wind fairing/fairing brackets and I had a heck of a time getting everything lined up.

Some of the powder coat has chipped off on the edges, maybe during shipping? Most of that I can take care of with a bit of paint, but there is a decent sized rub mark(probably from shipping?)that I’m not sure how to clean up. See pic below, the rub mark is on the left side of the side light cut out and the camera did not pic it all up, but it runs the full height of the rail.

I botched the install of the clear vinyl and ended up not using it. I should get some more and install it, but I hate to take off the wind fairing for fear that I will not get it back on.

 

[csw2001]

Finally got to test the new rack! Didn't have the full recovery gear on this trip but everything has its spot. Worth the wait.

 

[andrew4r]

Finally got to test the new rack! Didn't have the full recovery gear on this trip but everything has its spot. Worth the wait.

How did you go about strapping down the containers on top? Ratchet?

 

[csw2001]

How did you go about strapping down the containers on top? Ratchet?

Yep, one ratchet on each end over side handles of both boxes and one over the top. Allows for easy access. Used supplied eye nuts and threaded studs. Have supplemented that gear from local hardware suppliers since. Endless variations. Meant to take close up pics for the plano box forum thread but forgot. Its pretty straightforward though. Survived offroad for six hours and highway driving for six more so I feel its proof of concept!

Also not really visible is the hilift mount:

Hi-Lift Jack - Hi-Lift Jack 4xRac Mount Kit - 4X400 | 4WheelParts.com

 

[Vogold]

If you install the wind faring on the ground, is the whole thing still easy to attach to the vehicle afterward (being that the fairing doesnt fit to the rails well)?

Did you add any crossbars before hoisting it up to the roof?

Yes, once I got the fairing on, it was very easy. I Attached the fairing to the rails and left the hardware loose, then had my son help me set the rails/fairing on top of the 4Runner, loosely put in the rail hardware and then put the cross rails on and proceeded to tighten everything up and center the rack.

 

[andrew4r]

Used supplied eye nuts and threaded studs.

So the rack comes with eyebolts, etc? I ordered roof rack mounting hardware kit separately.

 

[andrew4r]

one ratchet on each end over side handles of both boxes

Hmm, really? The side handles of my Plano Sportsmans pop out pretty easily.

 

[csw2001]

So the rack comes with eyebolts, etc? I ordered roof rack mounting hardware kit separately.

Yes, was talking about the separate kit.