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rocky road outfitter problems

P

phukawii

NAXJA Forum User
Location
kent
I recently purchased a over the top steering kit for my '90 xj from rocky road outfitters. when i got the kit i was pretty happy with the quality of the kit except the cheap tierod ends...first off this kit is supposed to be a complete bolt on that ANYONE can do in their garage with tools a regular joe smoe has. thats the first problem because not all the tools you need are mentioned, then i didnt get any type of instructions for instalation, this being a custom kit and myself being very mechanically inclined, i wasnt to worried and got them to email them to me. upon reading the instructions it tells me im going to need a tap and die set, and a grinder. this was making me a little uneasy since this was supposed to bolt right on. i kept reading and come to find out you have to grind the knuckle to make their knuckle adapter fit flush, ok i kind of understand this. then it tells me to drill and tap two holes into my stock steering knuckle, this makes me contact rocky road. I have been in contact with Glen Wakefield, who is not helpful. i explained that nowhere in their website said that any drilling into your existing parts was needed, also i was expected to CUT off my swaybar links, which wasnt on the website untill i said something and now they changed it. he appologizes for the confusion and i return working on my jeep. then i come to a part in the instructions that say i need a 5/8 drill bit to drill out my existing tie rod mount on my stock knuckle, and the new knuckle sent by rocky road because they didnt drill the propper size hole. nowhere in the tool list did it sai i needed a 5/8 bit, thats a expensive bit and requires a 1/2'' chucked drill. this made me a bit upset since the company didnt make it totaly clear on what tools all are needed. at this time i feel like at the point of no return and decide to finish the installation. after a day of drilling and a trip to a machine shop because the knuckle adapters from rocky road are hardened steel i finished one side of the knuckles. then i proceded to move to the track bar bracket. now my problem here is i have a vacuum actuated 4x4 so i have a sleeved axle. i told the person over the phone EVERYTHING about my axle because the vacuum disconnect isnt something most people keep on their jeep. well the bracket i recieved is for a standard axel and the bracket didnt fit. well i contacted rocky road again and Glen is on vacation and only responds to me when he feels is best for him. when he finally got back to me his instructions are to grind my axel down to acomadate the bracket. so much for a "bolt on" kit that ANYONE can install. i started this on december 8th and still have a jeep torn apart in my garage. ive asked glen to have someone contact me about a refund and it has been 2 days since anyone has talked to me.



rocky road outfitters mislead me into a $800 purchase that i ended up needed special tools for and and is not even trying to make anything right. i feel people need to know that teir so called "bolt on" kit is anything but. the tools required are not something i had in my garage like a half inch chucked drill, thats a beefy tool thats expensive. this supposed weekend job has lasted over a week and noone at rocky road will respond to me to get my money back so i can just build my own steering kit.



please ask all the questions you want about this i know i havent told all the problems i had with this kit so please ask away...
 
I feel your pain and the customer service obviously sucks donkey ____. Thank you for posting up about the misleading information. With stating that, there is no bolt on OTK steering that I am aware of for any rig. At the very minimum I know the knuckles will always have to be reamed or drilled out. Im not trying to rain on your parade, but a purchase of that size I would have done some research on what the best kit would be.

If you do get a refund, do yourself a favor and call Kris at Froehlick Suspension Products over in Yakima. He is a great guy and if your looking for a bullet proof steering product, his is definately up there.
 
i did tons of reasearch i spent three weeks and i reasearched all the OTK kits and rocky road had no reviews bad enough to make me not buy it. they pulled the bait and switch, i literally just got off the phone with rocky road and they guy was a total D-bag saying that i just need to grind my stuff down and the owner is the only one who can make decisions on refunds or technical issues. the owner being Glen the guy that dosent answer a call or return emails...its down to very very poor customer servive now, and the company not taking responsibility for their mistakes. througout all the reasearch i found nothing on how much it takes to install this, and that made me believe that it was a good kit. im now the only one who has purchased a kit this year, they told me they sold over 15000 this year,who has any problem with it.
 
From their site:
[SIZE=+1]Let's talk about "bolton". Some claim it, but they lie... like a stinky cow-pie. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]The Rocky Road OTT system is true bolt-on. No welding required. Many kits actually require welding, even though they say bolt-on. Also, no need to change your steering knuckles with the Rocky Road kit. Changing the steering knuckle (as with Tera) requires high dollar tools and/or professional installation, often requires additional welding or specialized tools which the average guy at home will not have available, and is anything but a simple bolton operation. The Rocky Road OTT steering system can be installed by anyone... ANYONE! [/SIZE]
bullet.gif
[SIZE=+1]All bolton... not partially bolton like other kits that claim they are full bolton. This is THE TRUE bolton kit on this planet for a full high steer system on your Jeep. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Why are we making such a big deal about this detail? Because it makes a difference when you are sitting at home on a weekend with your new steering kit all excited to 'bolt it on', and the kit you purchased from elsewhere isn't what it was advertised to be. Yes, it does make a difference...

[/SIZE]
bullet.gif
The swaybar axle links will need to be trimmed for installation.[SIZE=+1][/SIZE]
​





Yeah, I think they pushed the simple bolt-on a little far
 
thanks for recomending Froehlick Suspension Products i actually looked at that kit and decided not to go with hyme joints but im reconsidering that decision. i will contacj kris and see what he can offer me...thanks again:peace:
 
whats really funny souske, they changed all that after i told them its not a simple bolt on kit and it was unacceptable that they didnt tell anyone in the website how much is actually involved. they put more into it it used to say everyone elses kits are garbage and that ANYONE!! and it was in all caps with multible exclamation marks...
 
This is why I prefer to go local for my parts. A good counter guy will know what it takes to install the parts they sell.

And I'm not just saying that because I'm a 4wd parts counter guy in your hometown. ;) Or, maybe I am...
 
nw-xj-scott said:
Can i ask where you found a Good review for Rocky road Outfitters?
Click to expand...

LOL

x2.

thier website is full of false claims and bullshit. they talk down other companies products and make thiemselves seem like gods gift to the offroad world.
 
http://www.rocky-road.com/xjott.html

Is this the kit you are reffering to? I have never installed anything that complex on any vehicle, that was a simple bolt on. Let alone, a 20 year old XJ.

As far as changing knuckles and balljoints, my $60 worth of HF tools have always worked.

Question to the OP, was the last sentence there when you bought your kit?
 
Around 2004 I bought their complete 1.5" boost kit with bar pin eliminators. When I got the kit they had accidentally given me an extra pair of spacers for the front. Score! However, the BPEs didn't fit. I tried to make them fit, karstic tried, xjohnnyc tried. None of us could make them fit, causing us to make a last minute run to buy a new shock in order to steal the bar pin since we'd had to cut one off. When I got home, I called RRO to let them know the problem. I was assured it was a universal part and would therefore fit my XJ as well as the TJ and YJ. I assured him that they indeed did not fit. We tried multiple fitments and placements. The holes were much too far outboard to line up in the front especially. He said the holes were slotted to allow us to adjust to fit. I reiterated that the holes were nowhere near lining up.

At this point he decided to offer me a refund for the extra cost of the BPEs. Minus 15% restocking fee. And I had to pay return shipping. Basically I would've ended up spending more money to give them back than I would've gotten from them. I dealt with Glen also.

I had been dealing with him for a while before I got my XJ, asking about parts for my Tracker. I was deployed at the time and planning on putting some work into my Tracker on return and he'd seemed very helpful at the time. I didn't know enough about wheeling or building a rig at the time to recognize all the BS on their site, but I do now.
 
Since you are talking about RRO; this company was previously known as Summit OffRoad back around 1999 and their name changed to RRO around 2002.
In December 1998 I purchased a set of Rock Rails from Glen and they were charged to my CC. At the time of order I expected the rock rails to arrive within 3-4 weeks. After sending numerous emails and voice messages and an occasional response or returned call by Glen the Rock Rails continued to be delayed due to business problems, changes in personnel, waiting for materials, and his personal problems I finally received the rock rails.
I even offered Glen that I would pay him extra to get moved up the list of people waiting for items. He said that wasn't necessary and promised it wouldn't be much longer....
When the rock rails arrived the quality was acceptable, but after waiting for 10 months you would expect them to be OUTSTANDING and then I found out that Glen had charged me twice for the items.
This was one week prior to leaving for the NAXJA Forum Fest in 1999 and this was money that I was supposed to use for traveling and it would take a couple weeks to refund the money.

Apparently some things still haven't changed when the business name changed.
 
Darky said:
Around 2004 I bought their complete 1.5" boost kit with bar pin eliminators. When I got the kit they had accidentally given me an extra pair of spacers for the front. Score! However, the BPEs didn't fit. I tried to make them fit, karstic tried, xjohnnyc tried. None of us could make them fit, causing us to make a last minute run to buy a new shock in order to steal the bar pin since we'd had to cut one off. When I got home, I called RRO to let them know the problem. I was assured it was a universal part and would therefore fit my XJ as well as the TJ and YJ. I assured him that they indeed did not fit. We tried multiple fitments and placements. The holes were much too far outboard to line up in the front especially. He said the holes were slotted to allow us to adjust to fit. I reiterated that the holes were nowhere near lining up.

At this point he decided to offer me a refund for the extra cost of the BPEs. Minus 15% restocking fee. And I had to pay return shipping. Basically I would've ended up spending more money to give them back than I would've gotten from them. I dealt with Glen also.

I had been dealing with him for a while before I got my XJ, asking about parts for my Tracker. I was deployed at the time and planning on putting some work into my Tracker on return and he'd seemed very helpful at the time. I didn't know enough about wheeling or building a rig at the time to recognize all the BS on their site, but I do now.
Click to expand...

That was 2004?!?! :D I remember that night well.
 
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