aXe Off Road rear hatch ladder: GOBI alternative? (1 Viewer)

[BEG]

I had recently been trying to get a hold of a stand-alone rear hatch ladder for my LX. The only player I knew of was GOBI and their rear hatch ladder. Unfortunately, ladders from both GOBI and Trail Duty were at least a month and a half out before I could get my hand on one. Enter Alabama Expedition Equipment.

I had seen their Sequoia ladders on social media and figured it wouldn't hurt to ask if they had something available for the 100 series. They happened to have an LX470 in their research fleet and agreed to design and produce one. We communicated back and forth a couple times and they were quick to answer any questions I had. There was a hiccup with their powdercoater at the last minute but, once resolved, I received the very first one in two days (I'm on the East Coast).

The ladder was very well packaged in cardboard and bubble wrap with a separate bag for hardware and cardboard around the adhesive strips and protective film pieces.

The contents:

Hardware was all stainless bolts and nylon locking nuts. I somehow managed to bend and shear both bottom bolts while doing the final tightening. Not sure how it happened but aXe offered to send me replacement bolts free of charge and promised to take it up with their hardware supplier. Not a huge deal to me, I just used some other spare stainless hardware I had on hand.

 

[BEG]

As far as quality, I don't have a Gobi on hand to compare to, but I'm satisfied. The powdercoat is a flat/semigloss and is even with no chips or globs anywhere. The welds were obviously done by a human. I'm not a very knowledgeable or skilled weldor but, IMO, the welds are blobby and a little messy but they don't appear cold. Not up to the standards of someone like @benc but acceptable to me for its purpose. YMMV. Here are the worst ones, IMO.

The install itself was very similar to the GOBI instructions. You position the top bracket, hang the ladder, position the assembly left to right, mark the bracket locations and then install the brackets. They include aluminum adhesive-backed strips to tighten the set screws against, and some 3M protective film to protect the paint. I opted to use 3M VHB adhesive tape instead. I did have to open up the bottom edge mounting tabs to fit over the aluminum strip and the LX metal trim:

Final left-right adjustment:

 

[BEG]

The ladder fits well, holds my weight just fine and I think it looks good too. I added some mounts to it and use it to hang a shovel and an axe. I also have a BROG spare tire bag with recovery gear that I hang on it:

Overall, I'm happy with the ladder. It does what it's supposed to do, it was in-stock/available unlike the competition, and it's available in raw steel for less money. The ladders are available here and priced at $175 raw and $225 for PC.

 

[mudbutt]

sorry to bring back an old thread but I wanted to ask how the ladder was holding up as of today.

 

[BEG]

sorry to bring back an old thread but I wanted to ask how the ladder was holding up as of today.

Still holding up perfectly. No issues whatsoever. I'm in the middle of a Dissent rear bumper install (passenger side spare mount). I'll find out soon if they play well together.

 

[KraziAzn]

Nice. never knew this existed. Just message them about purchasing one. want to see if they'll have any sale.

 

[savirc]

FYI I have the gobi one and it's holding up great (2+ years now) I have to have a ladder it was one of my first upgrades. I just wanted to post here to say that the Gobi does work with the dissent rear bumper tire arm.

 

[mudbutt]

Still holding up perfectly. No issues whatsoever. I'm in the middle of a Dissent rear bumper install (passenger side spare mount). I'll find out soon if they play well together.

Awesome, I am looking to get a rear ladder, i'm not short, but i'm not exactly tall either, and since buying a roof basket (don't plan to get a proper rack for at least a year), I wanted a way to get to the top easier without using a step stool. Great to hear, thank you!

FYI I have the gobi one and it's holding up great (2+ years now) I have to have a ladder it was one of my first upgrades. I just wanted to post here to say that the Gobi does work with the dissent rear bumper tire arm.

I'm considering this one as well because it's just a tad cheaper shipped to me (by about $20), but thank you for letting us know! Decisions...

 

[Knowbuddy]

Are these driver's side specific??? I want one but also have the tire swing on the drivers side of a land cruiser I just purchased.

 

[BEG]

Are these driver's side specific??? I want one but also have the tire swing on the drivers side of a land cruiser I just purchased.

Not sure if they've made a different version but they're all driver's side, AFAIK. They could probably make a passenger side one if you wanted.

 

[savirc]

Are these driver's side specific??? I want one but also have the tire swing on the drivers side of a land cruiser I just purchased.

Yes they are. I wish I had gotten the PS but they didn't have any in stock at the time.

 

[ChewBaca]

I picked up a rear ladder from Gamiviti here in CO. I have a GOBI rack and I needed to drill the holes for the mounting plate a bit to fit
but it worked out well. Here are couple of pics.

 

[sdnative]

Looks like a GOBI knockoff?

I like the concept of a side ladder, but the mounting concerns me. Are there any issues with the fact that it rigidly connects the frame to the body? In this case, one end of the ladder mounts to the bumper (which is rigidly attached to the frame) and the other connects to the body (which is connected to the frame through flexible bushings). Any flexing of the body on the frame it seems would cause a good amount of stress on the ladder and ladder connection points.

 

[ChewBaca]

You can find more info and a few more pics of this ladder on the website, Gamiviti , so far it's worked out great for my use and it has enough play to slide up and down without being a concern when flexing.

 

[bozncsurf]

Are these driver's side specific??? I want one but also have the tire swing on the drivers side of a land cruiser I just purchased.

Where’s a pic of this so called new land cruiser ?

 

[Knowbuddy]

Ask and he shall receive 99 209k needs some love but picked her up arb bumpers, slee sliders and brand new tires for $2k

 

[BEG]

For anyone wondering about fitment of the Dissent rear bumper with drivers side tire carrier, they fit together quite well:

 

[CanadianRockyCruiser]

For anyone wondering about fitment of the Dissent rear bumper with drivers side tire carrier, they fit together quite well:

View attachment 1994270
View attachment 1994270
View attachment 1994271

View attachment 1994272

View attachment 1994273

Personal Question: How much do you weigh? The AXE website says it's recommended for 200lbs or less, but I might test that...

 

[BEG]

Personal Question: How much do you weigh? The AXE website says it's recommended for 200lbs or less, but I might test that...

I'm a lightweight at 140.

 

[Rauhwelt]

How far out does the bumper stick out by the 3rd brakelight (Top) Trying to see if it'd interfere with the JAOS wing.