1911
chupacabra
I have had both Redline and Metal Tech tube doors installed on my 1980 40, and thought that those contemplating the purchase of either might appreciate a direct comparison and an unbiased review. I bought both sets of doors brand-new, direct from each shop, and have no obligations to either and no relationship with either except as a satisfied customer.
I'll start with the Redline doors because I bought and installed those first. I bought and installed these doors in 2009. Justin (owner at Redline) was very helpful on the phone and delivered my doors to the Lone Star Land Cruisers "Roundup" at Katemcy Rocks for free, saving me shipping costs. The current list price of these doors is $360 + $40 shipping. Here they are on the Redline web site: http://www.redlinelandcruisers.com/items.php?FamID=1&CatID=1&ItemID=87
The Redline doors are both heavy and heavy duty, made of .120-wall tubing. They are made on-site in the U.S.A. The welds are very smooth and nice, and barely noticeable under powder coating. These doors are sold bare metal but were clean, smooth, rust-free and ready for powder coating or paint with only a perfunctory cleaning. I had mine powder coated and thought that the result was beautiful and looked great on my truck. I tried to match available powder coat colors to my Rustic Green truck and was not entirely successful (came out a shade too light) but the finish on the doors was such that the coated doors looked really fantastic.
These doors bolted up easily to the stock tub hinges, and come with their own new door hinges so you don't have to take the ones off of your hard doors. There is some room for adjustment on the door hinge halves, but very little was needed. My only complaint with these doors is that the provided holes for both the bolts to hold the paddle latches in the doors and the holes in the door strikers that mount to the tub were not particularly straight, and in both cases needed to be extended/oval-ed with a file or a drill for the paddle latches and strikers to fit and latch correctly. Some adhesive-backed foam tape was needed in a couple of places on the door frame of the tub, to keep the tube doors from rubbing and/or rattling, but this is not the fault of the doors and is necessary in any event.
The installed doors on the truck:
I was very happy with the Redline doors, and would not have replaced them, except that after I installed MC Designs Offroad Quik Hinges on my tub and hard doors, I decided that it would be too much work (and probably irreversible) to make the Redline doors work with the Quik Hinges. The Redline doors use the stock tub hinges but do not use the stock pattern or location for attaching the hinges to the doors themselves. So I reluctantly sold the Redline doors and bought some new Metal Tech doors, because the Metal Tech doors use the stock door hinges and are known to work with the MC Designs Offroad Quik Hinges.
The Metal Tech doors currently list for $319.95 plus shipping on their web site: http://www.metaltech4x4.com/p-26-metal-tech-fj40-tube-doors.aspx Shipping from Oregon to Texas via UPS was $34.44. These doors were substantially lighter than the Redline doors; the Metal Tech doors are advertised as weighing 13 lbs. (I didn't weigh them or the Redline doors). I bought these doors quickly and easily from Metal Tech's web page; the transaction was simple, easy, and painless. The doors were in stock and shipped the same day as I ordered them, and arrived impressively fast, in only a few business days. The Metal Tech doors come powder coated black, which would save you some time and coin, if you want black doors. Black was fine with me after trying and missing on the color of the first doors, plus I happen to think that black anything looks good on a Rustic Green Cruiser anyway. YMMV
My Metal Tech doors have much more, er, "utilitarian" welds than my Redline doors. The welds are complete and I'm sure they're sturdy, but they're not near as pretty as the Redline welds (photos are of Metal Tech door welding). Mind you I'm not complaining, they're probably better than I could do myself, but they are a contrast to the Redline doors and that is the idea here.
One big place the metal Tech doors really shine is the fit of all parts and to the tub itself. Every hole was accurate and straight, every adjustment slot had full smooth range of movement, and everything fit PERFECTLY the first time, with no filing or enlargement needed anywhere. I was impressed with the perfect fit and ease of installation. Most other 4WD parts manufacturers have room for improvement in this regard, in my experience.
These doors are made to use with your own stock hard door hinges, so unless you have an extra set or are using Quik Hinges like me, you will have to remove the hinges from your hard doors to put on the Metal Tech doors. But the upside to this is, Quik Hinges (or other stock door hinges) bolt right up without any modification. My doors installed easily in minutes, and adjustment was fast and easy because everything lined up and all the holes were straight. I also put foam tape between the doors and the tub for these doors also, but in slightly different places than the Redline doors because of the difference in shape.
Both sets of doors appear to use the same (aftermarket) paddle latches, but the Metal Tech doors were easier to install and adjust because the holes were straighter and their design of the door strike plates is a little better, and they have much more room for adjustment than the Redline strike plates.
The Metal Tech doors have a small Metal Tech logo on a white background on the outside of each door. They're fairly unobtrusive, and if you don't like them I suppose you could pry them off or paint over them with black paint.
The Metal Tech doors installed on the same truck as before:
Conclusions and opinions:
I would buy either set of doors again for a given situation. Both vendors have excellent customer service. Both sets of doors represent good value for their various strengths (in my opinion). The choice between the two comes down to which criteria are most important to you, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend either one.
The strengths of the Redline doors (in my opinion) are the robust heavy construction, and I think they're the most visually appealing and best-looking doors. If you are looking for maximum protection for intense wheeling with the possibility of needing real protection for you and your passenger, and still look great at all times, then these doors are for you.
The strengths of the Metal Tech doors (again in my opinion) are in the impeccable perfect fit and adjustment, and the flexibility of using the stock hard door hinges or similar. They are also a good value as you will save some money in price, shipping and not having to finish them, as long as you like black.
SUMMARY, PROS & CONS:
Redline tube door "pros"
Exceptionally heavy & sturdy construction.
Finish of welding and metal work; smooth and ready for paint/coating, lack of welding splatter.
All tubing "ends" and connections welded shut, no open ends.
Looks the best (my subjective opinion only).
Comes with door hinges.
Redline tube door "cons"
Less than perfectly-accurate mounting/adjustment holes for the latches and strikers; may require some work to fit.
Doesn't use the stock door hinge location/pattern, making it more difficult to use Quik Hinges.
Limited adjustment range of strike plates.
Metal Tech tube door "pros"
Absolutely perfect fit and adjustment right out of the box.
Ease and quickness of installation and adjustment; wide range of adjustment of strike plates.
Uses stock door hinge location and pattern; easy use of Quik Hinges.
Lower price, cheaper shipping (because of less weight), comes powder coated.
Easier to open and close, because the striker adjustment is easier/better.
Metal Tech tube door "cons"
Welds not as neat.
Open ends of tubing closed with plastic caps.
Does not come with door hinges; you supply your own.
I'll start with the Redline doors because I bought and installed those first. I bought and installed these doors in 2009. Justin (owner at Redline) was very helpful on the phone and delivered my doors to the Lone Star Land Cruisers "Roundup" at Katemcy Rocks for free, saving me shipping costs. The current list price of these doors is $360 + $40 shipping. Here they are on the Redline web site: http://www.redlinelandcruisers.com/items.php?FamID=1&CatID=1&ItemID=87
The Redline doors are both heavy and heavy duty, made of .120-wall tubing. They are made on-site in the U.S.A. The welds are very smooth and nice, and barely noticeable under powder coating. These doors are sold bare metal but were clean, smooth, rust-free and ready for powder coating or paint with only a perfunctory cleaning. I had mine powder coated and thought that the result was beautiful and looked great on my truck. I tried to match available powder coat colors to my Rustic Green truck and was not entirely successful (came out a shade too light) but the finish on the doors was such that the coated doors looked really fantastic.
These doors bolted up easily to the stock tub hinges, and come with their own new door hinges so you don't have to take the ones off of your hard doors. There is some room for adjustment on the door hinge halves, but very little was needed. My only complaint with these doors is that the provided holes for both the bolts to hold the paddle latches in the doors and the holes in the door strikers that mount to the tub were not particularly straight, and in both cases needed to be extended/oval-ed with a file or a drill for the paddle latches and strikers to fit and latch correctly. Some adhesive-backed foam tape was needed in a couple of places on the door frame of the tub, to keep the tube doors from rubbing and/or rattling, but this is not the fault of the doors and is necessary in any event.
The installed doors on the truck:
I was very happy with the Redline doors, and would not have replaced them, except that after I installed MC Designs Offroad Quik Hinges on my tub and hard doors, I decided that it would be too much work (and probably irreversible) to make the Redline doors work with the Quik Hinges. The Redline doors use the stock tub hinges but do not use the stock pattern or location for attaching the hinges to the doors themselves. So I reluctantly sold the Redline doors and bought some new Metal Tech doors, because the Metal Tech doors use the stock door hinges and are known to work with the MC Designs Offroad Quik Hinges.
The Metal Tech doors currently list for $319.95 plus shipping on their web site: http://www.metaltech4x4.com/p-26-metal-tech-fj40-tube-doors.aspx Shipping from Oregon to Texas via UPS was $34.44. These doors were substantially lighter than the Redline doors; the Metal Tech doors are advertised as weighing 13 lbs. (I didn't weigh them or the Redline doors). I bought these doors quickly and easily from Metal Tech's web page; the transaction was simple, easy, and painless. The doors were in stock and shipped the same day as I ordered them, and arrived impressively fast, in only a few business days. The Metal Tech doors come powder coated black, which would save you some time and coin, if you want black doors. Black was fine with me after trying and missing on the color of the first doors, plus I happen to think that black anything looks good on a Rustic Green Cruiser anyway. YMMV
My Metal Tech doors have much more, er, "utilitarian" welds than my Redline doors. The welds are complete and I'm sure they're sturdy, but they're not near as pretty as the Redline welds (photos are of Metal Tech door welding). Mind you I'm not complaining, they're probably better than I could do myself, but they are a contrast to the Redline doors and that is the idea here.
One big place the metal Tech doors really shine is the fit of all parts and to the tub itself. Every hole was accurate and straight, every adjustment slot had full smooth range of movement, and everything fit PERFECTLY the first time, with no filing or enlargement needed anywhere. I was impressed with the perfect fit and ease of installation. Most other 4WD parts manufacturers have room for improvement in this regard, in my experience.
These doors are made to use with your own stock hard door hinges, so unless you have an extra set or are using Quik Hinges like me, you will have to remove the hinges from your hard doors to put on the Metal Tech doors. But the upside to this is, Quik Hinges (or other stock door hinges) bolt right up without any modification. My doors installed easily in minutes, and adjustment was fast and easy because everything lined up and all the holes were straight. I also put foam tape between the doors and the tub for these doors also, but in slightly different places than the Redline doors because of the difference in shape.
Both sets of doors appear to use the same (aftermarket) paddle latches, but the Metal Tech doors were easier to install and adjust because the holes were straighter and their design of the door strike plates is a little better, and they have much more room for adjustment than the Redline strike plates.
The Metal Tech doors have a small Metal Tech logo on a white background on the outside of each door. They're fairly unobtrusive, and if you don't like them I suppose you could pry them off or paint over them with black paint.
The Metal Tech doors installed on the same truck as before:
Conclusions and opinions:
I would buy either set of doors again for a given situation. Both vendors have excellent customer service. Both sets of doors represent good value for their various strengths (in my opinion). The choice between the two comes down to which criteria are most important to you, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend either one.
The strengths of the Redline doors (in my opinion) are the robust heavy construction, and I think they're the most visually appealing and best-looking doors. If you are looking for maximum protection for intense wheeling with the possibility of needing real protection for you and your passenger, and still look great at all times, then these doors are for you.
The strengths of the Metal Tech doors (again in my opinion) are in the impeccable perfect fit and adjustment, and the flexibility of using the stock hard door hinges or similar. They are also a good value as you will save some money in price, shipping and not having to finish them, as long as you like black.
SUMMARY, PROS & CONS:
Redline tube door "pros"
Exceptionally heavy & sturdy construction.
Finish of welding and metal work; smooth and ready for paint/coating, lack of welding splatter.
All tubing "ends" and connections welded shut, no open ends.
Looks the best (my subjective opinion only).
Comes with door hinges.
Redline tube door "cons"
Less than perfectly-accurate mounting/adjustment holes for the latches and strikers; may require some work to fit.
Doesn't use the stock door hinge location/pattern, making it more difficult to use Quik Hinges.
Limited adjustment range of strike plates.
Metal Tech tube door "pros"
Absolutely perfect fit and adjustment right out of the box.
Ease and quickness of installation and adjustment; wide range of adjustment of strike plates.
Uses stock door hinge location and pattern; easy use of Quik Hinges.
Lower price, cheaper shipping (because of less weight), comes powder coated.
Easier to open and close, because the striker adjustment is easier/better.
Metal Tech tube door "cons"
Welds not as neat.
Open ends of tubing closed with plastic caps.
Does not come with door hinges; you supply your own.
Last edited:
we need more of these here
. 
