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I’ve used a mixture of Thule t-slot bolts, and various others off e-bay…………
Shovel fitted with Quick Fist grips, mounted to the rack with T-slot bolts and M6 nuts ARB awning fitted with quick release clamps Recovery boards now fitted with L-Angle brackets. Frame fitted and now with Wolf boxes in place Original recovery boards fitted with T-slots and thumb screw *****. Close up of fixture mounts Frame fitted with t-slots and thumb screw nuts Frame fitted with t-slots and thumb screw nuts Framework fitted CB aerial mounted to roof rails with fabricated bracket CB aerial mounted to roof rails with fabricated bracket
National Hardware makes a ton of different black powder coated brackets used in construction that can be used to make loads of different brackets. Just roam the bracket section of an Ace Hardware or Truck Value Hardware. Home Depot really has a lousy selection. There are a myriad of tie down eyes that will go with the T bolts, again on Amazon.
This gizmo works quite well to access your rack and at the price, how can you not get one. I know it does not look cool sitting in your glovebox instead of being attached outside. Really, people are making the vehicles look as if they drove through a junkyard after being highly magnetized.
It is a bit of a misconception on how the steps work. We used to use these things in climbing called "Bat Hooks." They where made by Chouinard and where super popular for "Buildering." They could let you hang from the seam in bricks. If you hung your weight directly on the hook nose, it would indeed chip off the brick and you would fall to your death, of course after saying, "Watch This." What they do is actually through the wizardry effects of physics (a class I was so good at in UCLA, I took it twice), It re-directs the force 90° to the sill on the big rubber foots. The Bat Hook did the same with the way the webbing hung off the hooks. I am still alive, so kind of a proof it works after climbing part of Reiber Hall. Later, I shudder at the thought, since I kind of developed a forebrain around 30. I say 30, since I was still landing on Aircraft Carriers during my 20's. That was defiantly a foolish occupation, but a clever, again, adaptation of physics.
I've climbed quite a bit too, and am familiar with all kinds of protection and aid devices. Rock is a bit different from the body and frame panels of a car. Every car is made differently of course, but the door latch receiver is made to hold a certain direction of force, and may not be built to handle the type of forces put on it by these kind of steps. Whether it's an outward lever, coupled with some downward force, it may deform from use over time. That force has to go somewhere. All I know is I put one on our subaru several years back and it flex'd the body panel holding the door latch like crazy just from me stepping on it once. Doing that over and over would definitely have caused problems Maybe the Defender is built better (certainly hope so) but I wouldn't use it if I saw any flex at all.
Originally Posted by Dogpilot
It is a bit of a misconception on how the steps work. We used to use these things in climbing called "Bat Hooks." They where made by Chouinard and where super popular for "Buildering." They could let you hang from the seam in bricks. If you hung your weight directly on the hook nose, it would indeed chip off the brick and you would fall to your death, of course after saying, "Watch This." What they do is actually through the wizardry effects of physics (a class I was so good at in UCLA, I took it twice), It re-directs the force 90° to the sill on the big rubber foots. The Bat Hook did the same with the way the webbing hung off the hooks. I am still alive, so kind of a proof it works after climbing part of Reiber Hall. Later, I shudder at the thought, since I kind of developed a forebrain around 30. I say 30, since I was still landing on Aircraft Carriers during my 20's. That was defiantly a foolish occupation, but a clever, again, adaptation of physics.
I have had one for several years now and have used it a lot on the Range Rover. Never had an issue. Now there is a tiny bit of difference in a Range Rover and a Subaru. If my Son's Subaru in Brisbane is any measure of build quality, it would not be a fair comparison. I think he refers to it as the some kind of S box he drives to the mine to be thrashed and discarded after two years. He replaced most of the suspension after just a year going back and forth to Hail Creek from McKay. The painful part was the insane prices for subi parts in OZ. It turned out to not be the economic car he had hoped for. Since it literally fell apart before his eyes. He ended up with an LR4 one of the other engineers sold him when he departed for another mine in another country. Actually sold that for a bit of gain when he departed.
Be careful using those door steps. Reports that they pull on the latch in a way not designed for and end up screwing up door function.
Having just purchased one of these ‘Steps’, I can attest that contrary to alleged “reports”, with no reference or attribute to the source of the “reports”, that the Defender does not suffer from any flexing or deformation of the body panel. These reports may refer to an inferior vehicle built less rugged. Also, be aware that physics are at play here. Being 180 lbs, and with the step having a rating of 400 lbs, my first footstep onto the device was with some body weight being countered by holding onto the roof rails and door sill, and realizing no flex or movement, slowly added full body weight with no adverse effects. If I was 300+ lbs I would probably not be as confident. And the design of these devices varies, with some ‘hanging’ off the door pintle, or latch, and the weight being transferred directly downward, with a risk of pulling the pintle down, and misaligning it. Other designs utilize geometry and with large soft rubber cushions that contact the inner door opening, the direction of force is outward, not downward. That being said, thinking of how a lever works, I would suggest keeping the foot planted closest to the attachment point, since the further out on the step, the greater the transfer of forces. And I would only use this to assist a quick reach across the roof to grab a strap when affixing a load, not to rely on the step to hold my full weight unsupported for long periods of time. And don’t cheap out. Buy the best made one, and use it wisely and safely. Mine works fine.
Sure hope the Defender has stronger metal there than my old Subie. Just to avoid any confusion though, I wasn’t concerned about flex in the step itself. It’s the outward pull on the latch which was the problem on the subie. I could see the metal panel holding the latch flexing. That’s the flex to watch out for. The latch itself is probably perfectly fine. It’s the panel holding the latch, which was likely designed for sideways shear strength, not outward pull. May be fine on the Defender as you say, but it’s most definitely an issue on some other cars. I’d watch it either way.
