RockHard 4x4 Bumpers Powder Coating Issue - Buyers Beware

[Apparition]

Gerry - I've told you a million times not to exaggerate...

Who?

 

[NashvilleTJ]

Who?

Oops….😳

NashvilleTJ has now left the building…

 

[ranger101]

This is why I have a hard time spending so much on bumpers/armor that are brand new.. you want them to be in great condition to justify your purchase, so then you can take it out and smack it on the rocks haha I’d rather pick up something used and hit it with a coat of spray paint.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

I should've known better.

My build changed scope a few months back and I decided I was going to focus on building a nice tow-behind Jeep for some light trails etc....Anyway, I got rid of the Savvy front bumper for something that was a little bit more conducive for flat towing. I ultimately ended up going with RockHard 4x4 front a rear bumpers. I liked the look of the front; I liked that I could order it with Blue Ox brackets and I could use the D-rings to mount safety chains. It was a pretty good setup for what I needed. Additionally, the rear bumper is adjustable up to hide the body lift if you'd like and it has a built in hitch that I can use to carry a couple mountain bikes.

I decided to place an order. The first thing that struck me as odd is their shipping. When I put the front bumper in my cart with the tow brackets, etc..., the shipping was about $55. Pretty reasonable for a heavy steel bumper.
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Now when I added the 55 lb rear bumper, the shipping jumps to $300 flat FedEx freight to a local terminal.

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At this point, I checked to see how much it was for just the rear bumper, and it was also $300.

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So I made a phone call and spoke to a nice guy who basically told me that shipping was expensive now and that FedEx freight was the only way they ship...strapped to a pallet. (Remember this for later)

I ultimately placed the order and to my suprise, they arrived at FedEx within a few days. I expected longer. I went and picked them up. When I got home, I unloaded them and opened up the boxes on the garage floor and was immediately disappointed. On the rear, it was immediately apparent that the hitch had been welded in crooked. Not a big deal with a trailer, but a pretty big deal when you have a vertical bike rack off the hitch. Then I started to notice how thin the powder coating was. I could see the lines in the metal from the milling process through the coating.

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The lines aren't too bad, but they're there. Then I opened the front bumper box and I was disappointed again. More bad powedercoating.

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I sent an email to Rockhard with the photos and to their credit, they told me they would send me replacements and have FedEx pick up the old ones. They apologized and said that they should have never made it past their QC process. OK. Things happen. A few days later I get a text saying a shipment was on the way via.......WAIT.....FedEx Ground??????

But I thought they were too big and heavy to ship via anything other than $300 flat freight. That pissed me off. Additionally, when they arrived, I talked to the FedEx delivery driver and he told me they ship stuff like that all the time. Again, pissed off.

Just wanting to get these on, I decided to not worry about the shipping and let it go.

Today, I opened the boxes and guess what......more horrible powder coating. The front is even worse than the last one. The back is better, but there are four chips in the new coating right on the outer face of the bumper.

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I think I figured out what the problem is. They use that chemical foam in a bag packing material which I believe is discoloring the finish in the box. The areas that are screwed up are where the packing material is touching the bumpers.

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I sent another email and I am awaiting their response. At this point, I'm going to have them blasted and coated locally. Originally I was going to buy a few pounds of the powder they use from them directly to match some other parts to these bumpers, but now it looks like I take all of it to a local shop and just pick out whatever black I like and go with it. I'm not going to deal with the chance that a third set may be defective. We will see what RockHard has to say, and when I get a response, I'll let you know. If you are planning to order anything from them, I'd order it raw and have a good powder coating shop do it.

I certainly wouldn't pay to have them powder coated again. Go buy a can of Rustoleum Satin Black and give them a couple coats and they'll look great. Just pay close attention to the time intervals described in the directions on the can regarding additional coats. If subsequent coats are applied too soon or not quickly enough the paint will craze.

That's how I painted my Dirt Worx bumpers on two TJs and nearly 12 years later the paint is still in excellent condition on my current TJ. This photo isn't recent but the paint is still doing great.

Sorry to keep reposting this particular photo but it's literally the best photo of that bumper I have.

 

[UND_Sioux]

Update:

Yesterday, James (owner) called me personally which I really appreciate. He wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on with the coating issues. He was thinking maybe a certain batch of bumpers packed at the same time had some kind of issue with the packing foam bags that they used. This was the first time he said that he's heard of this problem with any of their products. He said that he was going to have to unpack some of the bumpers and take a look to see if there are any others with this issue or if mine was just an isolated issue.

He assured me that they would make it right. I told him that I was going to take them along with all of the brackets and accessories to a local shop and have the blasted and recoated. He asked me to send him the quote for the job. I know that what I was quoted is a good bit more than RockHard credits when you opt to buy parts raw. I'm sure RockHard has a huge powder coating operation with the amount of product they sell, so their costs are a lot less than retail I would guess.

We didn't discuss the shipping pricing. I'll let ya'll know how this all shakes out.

 

[ranger101]

Cool of him to reach out and get to the bottom of things. Hopefully it all works out for you. In the end, it’s just cosmetics and if they’re willing to give you some cash back I’d call it good enough.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Again, I'd just apply a couple coats of Rustoleum Satin Black and be done with it. It'll look great afterward. 30 minutes of work and you won't have to continue bitching about the shitty powder coating.

I have been spray painting Rustoleum Satin Black over my scraped up powder coated bumpers and rocker guards for years and you can't tell the difference between the Rustoleum and the powder coating which is just a form of paint.

 

[John Cooper]

Again, I'd just apply a couple coats of Rustoleum Satin Black and be done with it. It'll look great afterward.

And the hassle would be done!!!

I understand the frustration, I understand being upset for not getting a perfect product. But I have also learned over the years to not sweat the small stuff.

Now small stuff to me may not be to others so there is that.

 

[Duredel]

I have their rear tire carrier bumper and I love it. I have family near where their shop is and I'm told they are really good guys. Hopefully they make it right for you.

 

[UND_Sioux]

Update on this. Took the bumpers to be powder coated locally. I sent RockHard the quote directly via text message. No response. Oh well, lesson learned. I won't be buying anything else from them or recommending their products to anyone.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Next time try some Rustoleum satin black at 1/20th the price. You'll discover it covers scrapes and matches powder coating perfectly.

 

[UND_Sioux]

Next time try some Rustoleum satin black at 1/20th the price. You'll discover it covers scrapes and matches powder coating perfectly.

Maybe next time.

 

[Jamesval035]

All this noise of FedEx…yikes. Getting some wheels shipped through them. Hope they get here unharmed.