Let me start with I am not affiliated with either company and the following are my observations and thoughts between the two racks. Do your own research, make your own choices.
Prinsu Roof Rack
With that out of the way, I did my research and landed on a Prinsu roof rack for my 1994 80 series. I waited until Black-Friday / Cyber Monday and ordered one with a 15% discount. It took several weeks for the rack to arrive and it was like Christmas when it arrived.
The Prinsu rack is solid gear and well executed except for how it connects to the gutters.
I assembled the rack according to the semi-detailed directions and had a buddy help me get it on to the roof. The directions are limited on where to place the rack fore and aft on the truck as the side rails do not run the full-length of the gutters.
Once I settled on a location, I began securing the rack to the gutters and that’s where my troubles came from. The j-clips provided with the rack did not conform to the gutter profile on my truck and the connection to the gutters was not secure. The clips would pop off the gutter when I pulled on them. When I didn’t pull on them and drove a mile or two around my neighborhood on paved roads, 3 or 4 of the 8 clips would be off the gutter entirely.
Several calls and emails exchanges with the customer support team at Prinsu was less than satisfactory as the initial rep blamed the truck.
I called again after detailed documentation of the issues I was encountering and spoke with Kenny Bowcutt with CBI Off Road Fabrication, the parent company of Prinsu and he was very helpful as we tried several alterations to get the rack secure to the truck.
After many hours of futzing with the rack, it came off and sent back to Prinsu. From the outset Kenny wanted me to be happy and kept to his word along the way of sticking with me. He paid for the return shipping back to Prinsu. I received a refund for the rack excluding the original shipping charges.
In the end the Prinsu experience cost me $235 of original shipping charges and many hours of work.
Bowfin Cruisers Roof Rack
As soon as I had the shipping label for the return of the Prinsu I ordered the Bowfin Cruisers rack. Took a couple weeks to arrive and it did this past weekend.
Assembly was quick and easy, just like the Prinsu. Many similarities in the racks, more on this later. Instructions from Bowfin are limited and concise. 1 page, no pictures. Given I had taken the Prinsu a part 3 or 4 times, assembly was quick.
I did have an issue with a mis-labeled side rail that caused some issues but I quickly got it sorted.
The fore and aft location was not an issue here as the side rails for the Bowfin are longer and the expectation is the second from the front gutter mount is located at the b-pillar.
Once on to the roof the Bowfin gutter mounts are a work of art and engineering. Solid, over-built and secure. The rack was secured within an hour of being on the roof.
I kept the basket attachment from the Prinsu and added that to the Bowfin.
Design
The design of the racks is nearly identical, both have a long gutter rail mounts, both utilize t-rails for the cross-members. The primary differences are with the style of t-rail, the length of the side rails and manner of securing the rack to the gutters.
The t-rails attach slightly different, the Prinsu has a couple of washers and the bolt goes thru the side rail into the threaded t-rail. The Bowfin uses a double washer approach which I liked better, assembly is a little faster with this approach too.
+ to Bowfin
Fabrication
Fabrication of the side rails is exceptional. No quality issues for either. The finish on the Bowfin is better than the Prinsu, not in coverage but in durability. The Prinsu finish is not as durable as the Bowfin.
+ Bowfin
T-Rails
The t-rails are slightly different, the Prinsu rails have a slightly wider channel and have an opening to slide the bolt into the rail. The Bowfin relies on t-bolts.
+ Prinsu
Prinsu rail
Bowfin Rail
Left - Prinsu | Right Bowfin
Prinsu Roof Rack
With that out of the way, I did my research and landed on a Prinsu roof rack for my 1994 80 series. I waited until Black-Friday / Cyber Monday and ordered one with a 15% discount. It took several weeks for the rack to arrive and it was like Christmas when it arrived.
The Prinsu rack is solid gear and well executed except for how it connects to the gutters.
I assembled the rack according to the semi-detailed directions and had a buddy help me get it on to the roof. The directions are limited on where to place the rack fore and aft on the truck as the side rails do not run the full-length of the gutters.
Once I settled on a location, I began securing the rack to the gutters and that’s where my troubles came from. The j-clips provided with the rack did not conform to the gutter profile on my truck and the connection to the gutters was not secure. The clips would pop off the gutter when I pulled on them. When I didn’t pull on them and drove a mile or two around my neighborhood on paved roads, 3 or 4 of the 8 clips would be off the gutter entirely.
Several calls and emails exchanges with the customer support team at Prinsu was less than satisfactory as the initial rep blamed the truck.
I called again after detailed documentation of the issues I was encountering and spoke with Kenny Bowcutt with CBI Off Road Fabrication, the parent company of Prinsu and he was very helpful as we tried several alterations to get the rack secure to the truck.
After many hours of futzing with the rack, it came off and sent back to Prinsu. From the outset Kenny wanted me to be happy and kept to his word along the way of sticking with me. He paid for the return shipping back to Prinsu. I received a refund for the rack excluding the original shipping charges.
In the end the Prinsu experience cost me $235 of original shipping charges and many hours of work.
Bowfin Cruisers Roof Rack
As soon as I had the shipping label for the return of the Prinsu I ordered the Bowfin Cruisers rack. Took a couple weeks to arrive and it did this past weekend.
Assembly was quick and easy, just like the Prinsu. Many similarities in the racks, more on this later. Instructions from Bowfin are limited and concise. 1 page, no pictures. Given I had taken the Prinsu a part 3 or 4 times, assembly was quick.
I did have an issue with a mis-labeled side rail that caused some issues but I quickly got it sorted.
The fore and aft location was not an issue here as the side rails for the Bowfin are longer and the expectation is the second from the front gutter mount is located at the b-pillar.
Once on to the roof the Bowfin gutter mounts are a work of art and engineering. Solid, over-built and secure. The rack was secured within an hour of being on the roof.
I kept the basket attachment from the Prinsu and added that to the Bowfin.
Design
The design of the racks is nearly identical, both have a long gutter rail mounts, both utilize t-rails for the cross-members. The primary differences are with the style of t-rail, the length of the side rails and manner of securing the rack to the gutters.
The t-rails attach slightly different, the Prinsu has a couple of washers and the bolt goes thru the side rail into the threaded t-rail. The Bowfin uses a double washer approach which I liked better, assembly is a little faster with this approach too.
+ to Bowfin
Fabrication
Fabrication of the side rails is exceptional. No quality issues for either. The finish on the Bowfin is better than the Prinsu, not in coverage but in durability. The Prinsu finish is not as durable as the Bowfin.
+ Bowfin
T-Rails
The t-rails are slightly different, the Prinsu rails have a slightly wider channel and have an opening to slide the bolt into the rail. The Bowfin relies on t-bolts.
+ Prinsu
Prinsu rail
Bowfin Rail
Left - Prinsu | Right Bowfin
IMG_7291
