Gobi Ladder install - impressions.....

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tlin

tlin

10 Year
Joined
Jun 25, 2013
Threads
120
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1,282
Location
Gilbert, AZ.
I guess this is the right spot to put this. Got my ladder an eternity ago (month) after a pretty lengthy order/ship duration (~5 weeks from memory). Before getting to the install and impressions, throwing out a big 'THANK YOU!' to Brian at AXXIS. He's the one who shepherded the order fulfillment with Gobi and shielded me from the headache (they never called or emailed me back despite several attempts on my part at directly contacting them.....). Brian's a full-blown customer service guy, really enjoyed our email exchanges in particular.

So......for personal reasons, I've been unable to get the install going until this weekend. Cracked open the delivered package last night and was immediately impressed with the product. Well made, well finished, looked the part and was excited about the install. Being that I opened it up Friday night late (because my WagonGear lid install got delayed), I didn't have the energy to actually push through with the full install. I started with the installation instructions just to get familiar, I'll pick up from there:
  1. Instructions are decent - nothing wrong with them but the dot matrix printer and font size made them tough to read. Definitely a great effort at detailing a not-entirely straightforward installation and the figures were a good attempt to complement the instructions.
  2. Saturday morning (today) was the actual day for installation. Long-ish story short, this is a tough product to "get right". Looking back, I wished the top bracket were slightly "skinnied up" across the top so that it's width were trimmed down by ~3" (1.5" less per side as this is where I experienced some rubbing). I have the requisite 3/8" clearance prescribed but experienced some rubbing (both sides) regardless - not a ton but enough where the clear on the left side is gone and clear/paint are gone on the right (~1" worth). A pic's worth 1E3 words.....
  3. The installation involves 3M adhesive which is fairly permanent once you get going. The ladder's all lined up, per the instructions, and is absolutely rock solid. I knew in advance the clam-shell design would be solid but it's also comforting to, once installed, use it and really feel like that thing's planted and supporting me easily and doing what I wanted.
The added weight of the ladder now totally defeats the lid struts - I'll need heavier-duty ones ASAP (I'm now currently using a 3' stick....fun). Simply not something I was anticipating, not a product flaw itself.

Enough for now, Saturday night and we've got friends over......pics later. Ladder's installed and it sure does look cool.......and functions as expected. Other than trying to make the horizontal surface that attaches to the top of the lid, I'm not sure if there are any other significant design changes I'm recommend. I need to live with installed for a bit (after I get new struts) to share a final opinion.

Happy M Day folks......
 
a couple of pics...have plenty more if interested....

IMAG0631.webp


IMAG0632.webp
 
This is the one that just mounts to the top of the hatch and the bottom just adheres the foot to the bottom of the lid? If so that's the one I had and decided to remove and sell after only a week. Curious what your long term impressions are.
 
That's misleading, sorry. 3M is part of what helps keep the upper and lower components attached to the body - those then bolt to the ladder forming a "c-clamp" - it's very rigid when completely installed. Now that the ladder is on the truck, it feels somewhat semi-permanent since the two parts are partially attached via the 3M tape. No simple matter to remove if I ever simply changed my mind about having it on the truck.....
 
looks good! How much was this ladder? Thanks
 
NLXTACY said:
This is the one that just mounts to the top of the hatch and the bottom just adheres the foot to the bottom of the lid? If so that's the one I had and decided to remove and sell after only a week. Curious what your long term impressions are.
Click to expand...

While not "long term" impressions, I've got a few details to share:
  1. I'm curious why you removed yours so quickly.
  2. I'm happy overall. This isn't a DD, I only use during weekends during the summer.....so while not a TON of experience with the ladder, I've climbed/used it at least a dozen times since installing and this beats no ladder any day.
  3. It's HEAVY.....that's a relative term so please understand that. I emphasize it's weight simply because stock struts will quickly make you aware of the fact that there's added weight on the hatch.........if you want to get one of these, plan on also replacing your hatch struts.
1shot1kill said:
looks good! How much was this ladder? Thanks
Click to expand...

Sorry dude......I should have subscribed to my own thread, just now seeing this. I spent ~$220 delivered......I don't remember exactly what it cost since it's been a while but that's pretty accurate. Happy hunting....:cheers:
 
Old Thread Bump --

I'm considering buying a Gobi Ladder for my truck. Does anyone else have a rear ladder? If so, do you know if we could mount it while leaving the stock spoiler installed?
 
koifish said:
I have one of these. I like it because it's removable and I don't need a ladder all the time.
Spare Wheel Step - by Front Runner
View attachment 1510221
Click to expand...

Those are a nice solution (if you haven't checked out FR's YouTube videos, spend a few minutes over there - well worth it). I met someone else last year w/ one of those who also mentioned occasionally taking it off - seems like an odd thing to do but that's just me (I suppose proactively ensuring someone doesn't steal it is a good thing).

I also put a Gobi ladder on my GX470 - these things are terrific.
 
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