Any thoughts on this Tuff Design bumper?

[Rip]

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've taken it wheeling but I haven't bashed it yet so I can't say how it holds up. I have towed with it with no complaints. The D-Ring tabs are welded all the way through front and back, VERY nicely done/ 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]

I would like to clarity several things about Rip 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 Rip 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) Rip 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.

 

[osugrads]

Preston,

I am glad to see you respond and watching the posts. I had bought one of your rear bumpers for my yj a year or so ago. You have a very good product. I found installation went much better than Rips. The only thing that did not match up well was the tabs under the frame did not match the bolt holes. I just welded them on. I can say you were not very timely in responding to voice mails and It took to many days to get it shipped out. If you are so busy that you are unable to respond to your customer inquires you must hire another person. Inadequate customer service will kill the abilty for your business to grow as well as it should. Because of my experince, you had offered me a big discount on the rack (still have email) but I have been hesitant to order it because I did not want the hassle of dealing with the customer service. I want to repeat what I said earlier, YOU HAVE A GOOD PRODUCT and your price point makes it very attrative. You must improve customer service, I would love to take you up on your discount you offered someday.

 

[mudnut]

I'll be ordering one of these next spring once my lift and V8 conversion are complete, hopefully by then the front bumpers for the CJ will be ready... This looks like high quality gear and I like the fact that there is room for Gas or Water storage, nice to know that you have extra fuel with you on the trail.

If Preston is still following this thread I would ask if there are any plans for rock sliders or other armor...

 

[Rip]

I would like to clarity several things about Rip 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 Rip 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) Rip 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.

So we're doing this on more than one forums, very well.

Point 2: Simply not true. It was FAR longer than two days on more than one occasion. This is just simply an untrue statement.

Point 3: Absolute lie. I contacted you after I modified the frame in my Jeep to fit your frame tie in kit. However YOU are the one who told me to either oval out the holes in the bumper itself, or wait for you guys to send me a new one, after I had already painted it myself using expensive POR-15 paint. So wait a couple weeks and repaint a new one, or buy a chisel and fix your product. Any way you cut it, that's a bad situation to put your customer in.

Point 4: Again, yes it was offered, but after what I stated above, I opted for the discount. Still, horrible situation to put your customer in.

Listen folks, like I said the product is good and solid, at that price very attractive. It's the service that's the problem. And again, I don't know how typical my experience was.
My personal opinion would be go to somewhere else. That's the point of this thread and that would be my call. If I could do it all again knowing what I know now, I would've saved and gone somewhere else. It's really a shame, because a product this good at this price should have more exposure, but a company with this kind of service should not.

 

[Tuffdesigns]

I do not want to fill this forum with heckling between Rip and I but if anyone is interested in our products and is worried about customer service. I would urge them to contact us and let us show you that we have excellent customer service and will go above and beyond to satisfy your 4x4 accessory needs.

Osugrads - if you are interested in a trail rack please contact us to discuss it in more detail and I sorry that our prior customer service was not up to par. I think that you would find we have changed any kinks that we previously had regarding response time.

Thank you

 

[camsyj95]

bumper looks good but not a big fan of the rack on top or the fact that without it the hi-lift wouldn't be able to be installed as it mounts to the rack itself.

 

[Tuffdesigns]

When the Trail rack is installed the Hi-Lift mounts to the support arms of the Trail Rack and when it is not installed the Hi-Lift mount bolts to the top of the tire carrier. Either way the Hi-Lift has a place to be mounted

 

[osugrads]

I like the design change for the rack, the previous design (pic in first post) seemed a little flimsy. As you bounced around I would have thought it would have created stress points in the corners. Now with it mounting along the sides it appears to be more sturdy. Is it only the tightness of the clamps on side posts that keep it from sliding down over time with the weight and bouncing or is there a pin that also goes through the side of the tire carrier and the legs of the rack.

 

[Tuffdesigns]

Because the upper support bars are curved the stress on the clamps is never in the vertical direction the force is actually in the horizontal direction so they will never slip or move. We have sold just about 100 of these trail racks and never had a complaint of them moving or slipping if that is any validation.

 

[Tuffdesigns]

Our new Front bumper have finally arrived check them out.
Page Title

 

[osugrads]

that front bumber looks really good. I wish I was closer so you could use my YJ for the test fit. I came back and ordered my trail rack to accompany the rear bumper and the customer service was much better. Keep up the good work preston and just remember without customers you are looking for a new job. If you have any stickers to put on vehicles I would be proud to sport one or two. You got my info.

 

[camsyj95]

I agree the front bumper looks great. I'd let you use my YJ but I'm across the country from you guys! Oh well maybe in the future we'll be able to work something out.

 

[bluegrassjeep]

I should have bought that one instead of the p.o.s I have now. Looks real nice red. Hope the customer service thing has been resolved. I buy American............But my tires are Korean. Go figure.

 

[rdubya]

Hey Preston, you're more than welcome to use my YJ. I live in South Cali. That way the front bumper will match the great rear bumper I got from ya'll a couple of months ago. The only problem (if you can call it a problem) that I have had with the bumper/carrier is, I now have a 3 1/2 inch lift, bigger tires and a bad ass looking YJ. The car sits in the garage and the YJ gets all the driving. Thanks.

 

[Alacran]

I also really like that front bumper. Looking forward to when you have on for the YJ.

 

[jfrabat]

I gotta say I am one of the ones that does not like the design so much; for me, the lights in the bumper dont look like they belong there, and I have never been a fan of a receiver in the front. It's personal taste, but that's how I feel...

 

[Alacran]

I gotta say I am one of the ones that does not like the design so much; for me, the lights in the bumper dont look like they belong there, and I have never been a fan of a receiver in the front. It's personal taste, but that's how I feel...

According to the ad the front receiver is an option and I can't speak for the company but it would seem very easy not to have the lights put in. Over all I like it a lot. It's between this and the Smittybuilt XRC.

 

[jfrabat]

According to the ad the front receiver is an option and I can't speak for the company but it would seem very easy not to have the lights put in. Over all I like it a lot. It's between this and the Smittybuilt XRC.

Like I said, it is a matter of taste. You like it, and I respect that, but personally, it is not my style... And I mention it strictly from a cosmetic (looks) point of view, as the bumper looks tough and functional.

 

[Tuffdesigns]

Thank you for everyone's interest and comments. The front bumper is very flexible so the light mounts do not have to be installed if you choose to have a plain front and that goes for the receiver as well.

Separately, we have also received specs on a YJ and our front bumper will accommodate YJs, TJs, LJs, or years 1987-2006.

OSUgrads we are working on getting some stickers made up and I'll send some your way when they're ready.

Thank you for the support.

Tuff Designs