still looking for a roof rack

[wadle5]

I spent a lot of time looking into racks...When the time comes I will be pulling a trigger on a rack by Baja Rack.

Baja Rack: racks_list

Take a look!

I should also mention you may want to pull the trigger sooner than later, as Gobi was pursuing them as well following the events against Whitson Metalworks.

 

[964Runner3rdgen]

Baja Racks

I should also mention you may want to pull the trigger sooner than later, as Gobi was pursuing them as well following the events against Whitson Metalworks.

No kidding, I just went to take a look at Gobi racks...Not too impressed on the aesthetics and limited rack models for the 3rd Gen 4Runner

 

[Xrider237]

unevolved- no worries...gobi does make a decent rack and they look nice enough, but theres no way i would support them after what they pulled on WM and in the process w Bajarack, then know who...imo they are not protecting their product- they are eliminating competition...its just my personal choice..out of respect for jason and T4R.org im not gonna get into all that again- its pretty obvious how/why things went down the way they did

im gonna check out the prinsu rack but im leaning towards pulling the trigger on a Bajarack

thanks for the replies and ideas..gotta get my 'runner ready for '16

 

[robaroni]

I dunno man, I've gotta respectfully disagree. I work in the automotive aftermarket (totally unrelated to offroad stuff) and people always complain that our stuff is "too expensive," but we struggle to make a profit. People always underestimate how much it costs to design and manufacture stuff in the USA. Everyone cries out when everything is made in China, but ***** and moan when US-made goods cost more, especially niche automotive products. There's a reason automotive aftermarket companies come and go every 5 years or so, and a lot of the time it's because they don't value their overhead appropriately and sell their products at an unsustainable price. Sure, it's enough for one guy to keep the lights on in a garage, but not enough money for him to grow, buy production equipment, and hire more guys. Eventually he's gonna get tired of it, and close up shop. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Also, to the "bullies" thing, I used to work in corporate R&D, and from what I've been able to read, Gobi weren't really dicks. They protected their patent. That "other" rack was a pretty obvious copy. It's pretty easy to work around a patent if you look into it hard enough, and sure the David/Goliath thing makes a great story, but Gobi is hardly a Goliath. I think I saw somewhere they've got under 50 employees? That sounds like "barely successful" to me. It's not like Gobi is the ONLY company making roof racks out there. I don't think it's unreasonable to protect their design.

/rant

When one of your own is attacked I figure you have two options. Turn your back on them or rally around them. They will not have my business.

Beside! Roof racks have probably been around since they started making cars with roofs! What is there to patent?

 

[Xrider237]

just a heads up to those that may be looking for a roofrack for their 4r, fj or taco- there is a GB currently going on for bajarack