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[bryantd85]

I love my Gobi rack, but the ladder is starting to rust. I know i can take it off, but can I put it back on without issues? Is there anything I can do while its still attached to my truck? Its rusting at the top where the bracket is resting on the top of the hatch.

 

[bryantd85]

Pictures to go along...

 

[Chrss]

I'm not familiar with how the Gobi's installed on the 4Runner, but I'd assume you shouldn't have any issues putting it back on.

I've taken the Gobi ladder off my FJ at least twice in the past 10 years.

Any idea what caused the rust? Makes me want to check my ladder now.

 

[brtnstrns]

I can't provide any helpful answers but wow! How long have you had that? That looks well beyond what I would expect - I would think there'd be some surface rust but that looks like it's already actually deteriorating.

 

[Spenny]

You can take it off. But, you'll have to deal with the double sided tape at the base of the ladder. Same if you decide to take off the top plate.

I took mine off and left the top plate, recently re-installed the ladder and just got some 3M double sided tape for the ladder. wham bam, thank you ma'am all back together.

 

[bryantd85]

I'm not here to talk smack about Gobi, but with that being said, I've only had the rack and ladder on for a year and a half. I do live in Florida and within half a mile from the ocean, so I'm sure it has sped up the rusting process.
Do you guys think I'm better off just getting a new ladder? Should I bring this to the attention of the people at Gobi?
If I did take it off, what are my options to get it fixed and sealed?
I appreciate your input!

 

[jayhat]

I'm not here to talk smack about Gobi, but with that being said, I've only had the rack and ladder on for a year and a half. I do live in Florida and within half a mile from the ocean, so I'm sure it has sped up the rusting process.
Do you guys think I'm better off just getting a new ladder? Should I bring this to the attention of the people at Gobi?
If I did take it off, what are my options to get it fixed and sealed?
I appreciate your input!

I dont know much about rust, but I'd say you could take that off, bring it to a powder coat shop, have them sand blast it, and then recoat it.

 

[e60ral]

what i would do to repair, unless you want a full strip, would be to scrape and sand the rusty areas then POR-15 them and paint if you want (or POR-15 the entire thing)

you could re-powder coat but any nicks or imperfections and it will eventually look like this again

 

[aelarson]

I love my Gobi rack, but the ladder is starting to rust. I know i can take it off, but can I put it back on without issues? Is there anything I can do while its still attached to my truck? Its rusting at the top where the bracket is resting on the top of the hatch.

You have a couple options. The cheaper option is to sand it down your self, repaint with POR-15 or some spray paint. More expensive route is sandblast and powder coat.

I would personally try sanding it yourself first to see how bad the damage really is. You can determine what you want to do from there.

This makes me reluctant to buy a Gobi ladder living in the Midwest with all the salty roads....

Let us know what you end up doing! Best of luck!

 

[Spenny]

Not sure if this is really a Gobi issue, but maybe a bad apple on the tree. I live in southern California a few miles from the beach and literally work at the beach - zero rust issues with my ladder. But thats just one case.

Sand blast that ladder and have it re-powdercoated - or sand blast it and paint it yourself - or spot sand and POR15 it.

 

[5280 TRail-Runner]

I recently took mine off and re powder coat it as well. No issues putting it back on. You will need to source some 3M double sided tape as others have stated.

 

[bryantd85]

Appreciate all the input.
Ill take it over over the holidays and see what I can do!

 

[phillyd2]

I would first contact Gobi to see if they would do anything for you.