Who’s at fault?

No way, especially if it's 3/16" or so...that plate could be better used for other things.

Refer to below.

Yep, scrap square tubing could solve his issue.

 

Not sure if naming the company will violate any of the terms on here.

More hints: rhymes with far fab. Located in Montrose, CO. Also first word is a synonym for conflict, battle, or combat.

 

+1. that's not bad QC. or poor welding. that's a shit design. that's also why they shipped it out. it QC'd to the design parameters-- the welds and the material specced were to the letter of the design.

i'm not even a fraction of the welder kwickvette is, and barely passed high school, but i can see at least 2 different failure modes: that plate design has zero rotational rigidity, and the mounting points aren't wide enough to long term support vertical loading from bumps, or in offroad off-camber situations, it'd be considered horizontal loading.

tldr: hack that crap apart, and build it correctly with some gusseted square tubing, otherwise that spare tire is going to be passing you by on the trail at some point.

 

After having seen the design, I have to say +1 to this.

No one needs to be driving around with that setup; last thing I need is a wheel falling off the trail I'm taking.

 

forum moderator asked you to name the company. Pretty sure it’s not against forum rules.

 

@Leon1tus

You're in So Cal, why not make the drive up here to the Central Valley?

Bet I can quickly whip something up for ya here.

Although you do have two great fabricators near you.

Had we seen the mount you were dealing with earlier, many of us would've suggested to not accept a replacement and just get a partial refund and have someone local fab you up a proper mount.

 

It’s beyond my comprehension how people agree to be treated like that. I learn from a young age to not mess with people’s time or money. Stand up for your right as a customer to get what you paid for on a timely manner. Cheers!

 

i'm conflicted at this part. i've avoided ordering a $50 part over questions on build quality. it never ceases to amaze me how few usable pictures these companies can post of these multi-hundred/thousand dollar components that lack pictures to justify the price point or their manufacturing quality, or even indicate all the options within the dropdowns offered. this isn't a 'bleh, warfab sucks!', this is an industry-wide frustration for me.

here's all the pictures regarding tire carriers off their website that can be used for knowing what one is ordering. there's really nothing to go on here to indicate how the tire mounting plate attaches to the swing arm at all until the unit is paid for, waited, custom-built, and sent out, well after most return windows. skipped here are pictures highlighting the hinge mechanism that they take specific pictures of the pivot assembly.














overall, this situation really sucks. it sucks for warfab to get dragged around. it sucks for the OP to be spending all this money on something that he had to assume the quality of based on the price point(my biggest frustration here is that this is an industry-wide problem, not specific to any one company). and now the OP is trying to move on with their build, warfab is trying to keep the doors open and new customers coming in, and the same nasty problem keeps rearing it's head to all parties.

putting myself in this situation, i can see the conflict the OP has. he had to pre-pay to get the product. it wasn't cheap. but he couldn't know of the design until it's already built, delivered, and fully paid for months in advance. and now it needs modification just to exist in a world outside the mall parking garage.

normally, i try to locate something that fits my needs the closest, and factor in the price of the component with the alterations i need to make to meet my needs vs the better/higher end model that might better fit my needs, but costs significantly more. in this case, the design couldn't be known until money was spent, and the whole thing showed up one day.

disregarding the whole powdercoating issue and dealing with it only from a fabrication/ordering standpoint, i guess the best thing here is really just to swallow the pill. fix it, make warfab know what specifically you're not happy with, and how you altered the design to better fit your requirements, and move on with your life.

no one ever said learning experiences are cheap, i guess.

 

I'd rather fix it myself to a fault. The only metal thing I sent back was to a fab shop less than 10 miles from my front door, and with the understanding that it would be another 2 month wait. Otherwise, if I can cut, grind, drill, or B.F.H. it to my needs, then it's as good an excuse as any to happily swing the Big Fucking Hammer.

Heck, when I bought my camper with a 3 year warranty, I brought it back after the first trip for wiring and plumbing issues. The mechanic on duty said "I'll be happy to warranty it, but I'm on a 3 month backlog for warranties. Or I can give you the fittings to fix the plumbing now, and you're free to enjoy the rest of the camping season." I chose option B and made the camper mine.

Oh, and tonight is a gin night at house Lobster.

 

Absolutely it’s not “ooooh warfab bad” kinda thing. I see multiple known companies doing this kind of stuff, crazy lead times, crazy prices and then customers just wondering what the hell happened. As a customer you are entitled to give feedback and share your experience. The company can use it to build upon. Usually good communication can fix a lot of simple things.

 

you would have to take them to small claims and explains the damages; cost. And you'd likely get something. But then you would have to try to collect. It's different by state. Here in CA you have to sue in the county in which the company is located. It can turn into a total cluster and not worth it.

Probably best to just move on. You've already spent a lot of time.

Or even just ask for a full return and put a different company's bumper on your truck.

 

I think OP got all the feedback he needed.

Vendor stepped in and is looking at matter.

Nothing else to see.

 

OP mentions "honoring the hardship"

If he means he wants compensated for time wasted or "damages" then he'd probably need to sue.

If he wants all his money back and they wont give it, he's probably need to sue.

OP - if you bought it on a credit card you could ship it back then make a claim from your credit card and get all money back minus your shipping cost.

 

I am no lawyer but OP will lose. vendor already stated they would replace item. Just like any warranty.

CC company won’t help if vendor already said they would warranty/replace product.
Maybe vendor can send him some stickers or tshirt for his patience.

 

He would definitely win for the cost of powder coating and his time. and his time it took to go to court.