Recent content by sajohnson

Sounds good to me, I was just repeating what the Amazon listing says. Probably vendor hype. Aside from the strength of the bars, rails, and roof, another consideration is the effect a lot of weight on the roof has on handling.

Those look like they could be good, but there are very few reviews. Also, it's not clear how they mount. I noticed there is a huge difference in capacity between the off-road bars (265 lbs.) and the on-road bars (~110 lbs. IIRC). The bars are trim specific.

Well said. That was my concern when I was looking at bars 4 years ago. We actually use our roof rack to occasionally carry heavy construction materials, etc., but even if we didn't there's always the possibility of a poorly made bar coming loose. Unlike most purchases, lack of quality with...

$140 is a great deal! We paid ~$300 4 years ago, and they are $350 now (I'm guessing that's for the on-road bars). Do you happen to know how long Ford has been offering the 2 versions? IIRC, there was only one set when we bought our Badlands in 2022. I wonder what the differences are...

I have a HF floor jack that's 35 years old. It's had a lot of use and still works fine. It was $50, delivered! They had to be losing money on that -- shipping a full size floor jack! FYI, there's a lot of discussion of HF on the Garage Journal Forum. I'd want to read many reviews from...

I have a couple of items from HF. They sell some good stuff, but they sell junk as well. I have no idea about their cross bars. Bill has had good luck with his. I would want to find out if HF is still selling the same ones. Also, how they are used is important. Have they had close to the...

$100 beats $300, or whatever Ford is charging now. How do they attach to the side rails? Do they utilize the slots on the underside of the rails?

There are definitely some good aftermarket bars. I do not automatically go with mfr (Ford in this case) accessories, but in this case the factory cross bars are very nice. They are low profile and strong. They have hooks that engage the slots in the bottom of the side rails, so the mounting...

From Fidelity: "The historical average annual return of the S&P 500 is roughly 10% to 11% since its inception in 1957, assuming dividends are reinvested." From Experian: "Historically, the average stock market return is around 10% annually..." Even assuming 8%, the $2,000 grows to $4,000+...

Much of this comes down to a person's outlook, or, put another way <Clint Eastwood> "Do ya feel lucky punk?" :cool: Pessimists read stories of catastrophic failure and think, "With my luck, that's gonna happen to me!" without any stats/data to back up that assumption. Optimists may think...

Good point. To clarify: We should all be self-insured to the extent possible. For most of us that means we still must purchase homeowners; health; auto; and possibly life and/or disability insurance -- because the potential loss is so great. Also, insurance or not, most folks are averse to...

Considering the profit margin, I'm not surprised more people are declining. As much as I encourage people to avoid extended warranties on all products, I would consider one if the cost was close to the average repair cost over the term of the warranty. That will never happen though, because...

Extended warranties are 'betting against the house.' The underwriter has all of the repair cost data. Most buyers are "losers" -- the cost of the warranty; plus exclusions; plus deductibles; and the foregone interest on the money spent is almost always more than any covered repairs. In the...

All but one of our pillars looks good. I was driving down a narrow road on a windy day when suddenly a broken length of coax cable swung out from a utility pole. There was a car approaching in the opposite lane, and a construction site to the right (no shoulder) so swerving was not an option...

This may not apply, but my 2002 WRX has large round fog lights with ordinary glass lenses. They are close to the road and very susceptible to damage. After one got a 'bird's eye' (aka a "Hertzian cone") from a rock strike I bought thick clear flexible covers from 3M. No issues since. I have...