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@DrPizz - How do you like the Classic Mud Flaps? Did you install yourself? Also, what do you think about the quality of the Vulkan Gearbox?
Thanks!
So far so good. Classic Mudflaps were portside installed. Of course they collect large packs of snow, but I find they do a great job at keeping the rest of the vehicle pretty clean from spray. I chose them for that reason + aesthetics. They are quite rigid and I could see them getting torn off if you're getting pretty wild off road.
As far as the gear carrier box, please see my earlier post below. Overall, I think its a worthwhile accessory, just be aware you may have to fight some misaligned holes/screws and such when installing. Now that it's installed, it seems sturdy and fitting of the purpose. I really like the look of it, especially with the black and white LR badge.
Originally Posted by DrPizz
To be honest, I have some mixed feelings about the quality of Vulkan accessories as a whole after installing the ladder, rack, and gear carrier. As far as the gear carrier is concerned, I think it the shell or door, depending on how you look at it, is very well done. The inner plastic box where stuff is stored could be better. Where I feel Vulkan leaves a significant to be desired is on the mounting braces and the threaded holes at the back of the box. In fact, mine required use of a pencil grinder in those threaded holes just to get threads to line up well enough to accept the bolts. We're talking two mounting points per brace to hold the back of the box and it coulda/shoulda/woulda been a piece of cake otherwise. I couldn't help but feel like "maybe should bought OEM" while installing it at that point in the install process. Don't get me wrong, it worked out in the end, and now that it's installed, it's very solid and probably 95% as good as OEM I imagine. I had the same feeling about the ladder. I don't feel like the mechanisms are quite right (opening and unlocking is difficult) and my top ladder cover didn't fit at all. So I can't help but feel like quality control in these products isn't quite up to snuff. This all said, Vulkan is in the process of sending me another, but apparently genuine LR this time (as of early December) and they were quick to respond. I just followed up today on status. Others on this forum have echoed similar sentiments about Vulkan customer service responding to these problems quickly and reasonably, so it does make up for some of the areas they lack versus OEM.
The paint and finish are quite nice in my opinion, which is the main reason I wanted it (gloss black vs. OEM silver only). The outer appearance doesn't look cheap on the box, but would like to see better quality braces for mounting of the box. Vulkan supplied a genuine LR badge, still in it's OEM packaging. End of the day I would buy it again if I was installing a gear carrier, but would be interested of other's opinions on quality too. I'll try to take some pics inside/out tomorrow for you to evaluate.
thanks for the pics. i have only seen the oem in pictures but the Vulkan looks similar. Prob just with inferior materials. Are the braces only plastic or is there any metal support.
i really like the look. I made a mistake of ordering Vulkan wide fender flares. I had oem ones on my other defender but liked how the Vulkan came in gloss black. figured i could save some money.
Well quality wasn’t there and you could see each clip point in the paint. Vulkan refunded all my money. They are great guys to work with
i think the consumer needs to understand you pay for what you get.
I would definitely go Oem but with the higher cost of the part and prob another 300 to paint it i’m not sure it’s worth it anymore
Originally Posted by DrPizz
Here are some pics to give you an idea of size, paint finish, materials, etc. of the Vulkan gloss black gear carrier.
The braces are light plastic, and I would like to see these made of stronger materials. This is the hinge that locks open to hold the lid open. Although it's plastic, its relatively tight and does the job. I've heard that the OEM isn't much better, but can't comment on that myself. No cameras or wine allowed, just whiskey
01-06-2023, 01:00 PM
