Hello fellow cruiser nerds,
I have been using the Front Runner back door ladder (old model made from one piece) for the small door on my J76 to reach the top (RR Pioneer roof rack).
The first time mounting was a PITA. It took me half an hour just to get the first screw bolted to the license plate brackets mount holes (3 holes altogether). The screw thread is just to short. I talked to a friend and he had the same issue. Anyways, I found a way and after an hour it was mounted.
Looking at it the ladder is slightly asymmetrical. If you look at it from the side it looks like a bracket holding itself on the top of the door and down where the license plate is. Looking again from the back side the left side of the ladder is slightly tighter than the right.
So I just called it a day and went on with life and travels.
It does not appear so bad on the picture, but is noticeable with the bare eye and while you are trying to mount it you will never get it straight.
After two years in use the back door is not in good condition.
The mount holes are bent slightly.
On the left of the bottom ladder mount the door is bent aswell. So when you step on the left side of the ladder it bents inwards with a little "knickknack" metal sheet bending sound. Not what I wanted ...
Also, the protective rubber/metal thingy, which you put in between the top of the ladder and the top of the door is also rusting away. Not a good composition!
The rubber seal to protect the back side of the license plate bracket can not be mounted due to the too short thread. So dust and dirt goes around where it shouldn't.
It's a cool idea to start with but this gagdet has not been thought through @ FrontRunner if you read this consider my critique.
I do prefer a fixed-mounted ladder, instead of an on/off mobile ladder which has to be carried around and stored inside the vehicle and so on. No space in the J76.
Now there are two options (for me) to replace the ladder:
A) Mount the original Toyota step, which came with all J7 that have the OEM aluminium roof rack. And add the front runner spare wheel step "ladder" as an addition.
OR
B) Mount the new front runner ladder - bolted version - with the new design:
And here comes my question:
Does anyone have any experience with the new bolted version of the Front Runner ladder for the 76 (71/73) and 78 series?
Is it really an improvement over the older version? There must be good reasons for a complete overhaul of the product and a discontinuation of the old.
FR completely changed the design and the way it is built, but still base it on the same idea to mount it like a bracket between the top of the door and the license plate mounts.
Here is what I think is missing:
1. A reinforcement is needed inside the small door, so it can not be bent anymore by just using the ladder as intended. It's just the door's outer metal sheet holding all the horizontal forces.
2. rust free material all the way!
3. Adding the bracket to the frame behind the bottom of the small door. This comes only on cruisers that are fitted with the fuel tank carrier. So it's meant to hold the extra weight. It's the identical bracket like all the cruiser have on the right side, holding the weight of the spare wheel.
Altogether I am pretty much disappointed by the poor quality of engineering that went into this ladder, resulting in damages to the small back door.
One thing, which I thought would happen, but didn't: The top part of the frame of the small door is not bent. So I don't really need to replace all the door because of the FR ladder... Just fix the dents and bents.
I have been using the Front Runner back door ladder (old model made from one piece) for the small door on my J76 to reach the top (RR Pioneer roof rack).
The first time mounting was a PITA. It took me half an hour just to get the first screw bolted to the license plate brackets mount holes (3 holes altogether). The screw thread is just to short. I talked to a friend and he had the same issue. Anyways, I found a way and after an hour it was mounted.
Looking at it the ladder is slightly asymmetrical. If you look at it from the side it looks like a bracket holding itself on the top of the door and down where the license plate is. Looking again from the back side the left side of the ladder is slightly tighter than the right.
So I just called it a day and went on with life and travels.
It does not appear so bad on the picture, but is noticeable with the bare eye and while you are trying to mount it you will never get it straight.
After two years in use the back door is not in good condition.
The mount holes are bent slightly.
On the left of the bottom ladder mount the door is bent aswell. So when you step on the left side of the ladder it bents inwards with a little "knickknack" metal sheet bending sound. Not what I wanted ...
Also, the protective rubber/metal thingy, which you put in between the top of the ladder and the top of the door is also rusting away. Not a good composition!
The rubber seal to protect the back side of the license plate bracket can not be mounted due to the too short thread. So dust and dirt goes around where it shouldn't.
It's a cool idea to start with but this gagdet has not been thought through @ FrontRunner if you read this consider my critique.
I do prefer a fixed-mounted ladder, instead of an on/off mobile ladder which has to be carried around and stored inside the vehicle and so on. No space in the J76.
Now there are two options (for me) to replace the ladder:
A) Mount the original Toyota step, which came with all J7 that have the OEM aluminium roof rack. And add the front runner spare wheel step "ladder" as an addition.
OR
B) Mount the new front runner ladder - bolted version - with the new design:
And here comes my question:
Does anyone have any experience with the new bolted version of the Front Runner ladder for the 76 (71/73) and 78 series?
Is it really an improvement over the older version? There must be good reasons for a complete overhaul of the product and a discontinuation of the old.
FR completely changed the design and the way it is built, but still base it on the same idea to mount it like a bracket between the top of the door and the license plate mounts.
Here is what I think is missing:
1. A reinforcement is needed inside the small door, so it can not be bent anymore by just using the ladder as intended. It's just the door's outer metal sheet holding all the horizontal forces.
2. rust free material all the way!
3. Adding the bracket to the frame behind the bottom of the small door. This comes only on cruisers that are fitted with the fuel tank carrier. So it's meant to hold the extra weight. It's the identical bracket like all the cruiser have on the right side, holding the weight of the spare wheel.
Altogether I am pretty much disappointed by the poor quality of engineering that went into this ladder, resulting in damages to the small back door.
One thing, which I thought would happen, but didn't: The top part of the frame of the small door is not bent. So I don't really need to replace all the door because of the FR ladder... Just fix the dents and bents.
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