New Vendor Announcement .. and Group Buy! (1 Viewer)

[RuggedBound]

We are Rugged Bound Supply Co. based in Houston, TX. We are the importers and distributors of Big Country 4x4 gear from South Africa.

Big Country 4x4 have been around for about 18 years and their racks have been around for even longer - back to the early 1990's. Known in South Africa for rugged, no-nonsense off-road gear with no compromises, we are proud to bring their products to the US market. Some of their products have been direct-imported at great expense or have been the inspiration for some other fabricators who made their own versions of these products in their absence. We are excited to offer a small but growing portion of their vast range of products from our Houston-based inventory to the entire US.

To celebrate our MUD launch, we are going to be offering a Group Buy with 25-30% discounts, limited in quantity, on pre-order basis, in each tech section on MUD to coincide with our next shipment leaving Q1 2021: welded aluminum racks, gull wing windows, drawer systems, tailgate storage lids and some vehicle specific items.

Find us at www.ruggedbound.com, Instagram & Facebook: @RuggedBound.
Our brick and mortar storefront home is planned in Rosenberg, TX for Q2/3 2021 (thanks, Covid).

Some basic info on the Big Country 4x4 gear, what makes it different?

Racks: (LC79, 60, 80, 100, 200, GX460, 470, FJ Cruiser) (4Runner Gen5 launching soon)

• Fully welded 1/8" thick custom designed extrusions - nothing off-the-shelf
• Heavy duty lattice platform design customized for each vehicle with load bars to corresponding A, B and C pillar supports
• All-OEM fitment - no drilling (exception: 4Runner front foot and other vehicles with no gutter & no OEM holes)
• No rivet nuts and no plastic parts. Ever.
• Flat platform design with optional bolt-on basket. No-lip top profile (ideal for tents)
• M8 hardware compatible tracks all over the rack, including below the perimeter extrusion
• Yes, we have a bottle opener. But also a Hi-Lift, Spade, Axe, Jerry cans and spare wheel clamps. But also bottle openers... two kinds.
• Dynamic load rating 530lbs for 3-leg pair racks and 700lbs for 4-leg pair racks
• 3 models available for 200 Series:
• Ships by road freight at our discounted contract prices to your local LTL terminal (residential delivery - where available -incurs a surcharge)

Tailgate Storage Lids (80, 100) (200 Series available if we can hit 50 units on Group Buy)

• 2 layers of 3/16" Aluminum: main deck and backing plate are both 3/16".
• Powder coated
• Carpet kit and installation hardware included
• Been around since 2008, now in USA

Drawers: (LC79, 80, 100, 200, GX460, 470, FJ Cruiser) (4Runner Gen5 launching soon)

• Big Country 4x4 Savute drawers are made for a specific vehicle, and only that specific vehicle.
• 200 Series has single, twin and combo drawer options
• No drilling. Bolt-on mild steel brackets affix to OEM holes. No turnbuckles.
• Often up to 50% larger inside than others on the market, while being slightly lower profile in most cases as a result of the model-specific design.
• Made from galvanized steel, aluminum trim and carpeted engineered wood deck, model-specific wing side cover kit
• Carpeted drawer interiors
• Comes with carpeted metal dividers & removable steel load bins ideal for muddy recovery gear or packing convenience

Gull Wings: (LC 80, 100, GX470) (LC 200 & GX 460 in the works..)

• Big Country 4x4 Gull Wings have been around for about 15 years, starting with the 80 series Land Cruisers
• Their design is not for everyone: these are heavy duty doors, not window seal inserts
• They do require drilling because they are hinged to the vehicle, not inserted inside the window rubber
• Made from 2 layers of heavy-duty aluminum sheeting welded together, laser cut and roll formed to fit the vehicle perfectly
• These doors are bolted to a custom extruded heavy-duty track, 3/16 – ¼” wall thickness via 3 stainless steel hinges
• Dustproof, waterproof, lockable, and made to do a job

Please follow us on Instagram and let us know what products you want to see next. Keep an eye on the tech forums for your vehicle - we will be posting the group-buy details in a few days with all the pricing, discount and timing details.

Thanks for sticking to the long read!

Cheers,
Theo Ferreira
Rugged Bound Supply Co.

200 Combo Drawer:

80 Twin Drawer:

 

[Wafflroo]

Can’t wait to see those gull wing windows for a 200!

 

[RuggedBound]

Can’t wait to see those gull wing windows for a 200!

When we have them at the prototype stage I can share some photos - the challenge of course is getting the window removed safely and without damaging the paint. Most likely there will be some paint damage during removal that will need to be treated before install can begin - so not a straight forward job. But - if the demand is there we will have the product!

 

[Wafflroo]

Paint damage doesn’t bother me, especially since it’ll most likely be covered. Group buy with a discount once those are available?

 

[RuggedBound]

Paint damage doesn’t bother me, especially since it’ll most likely be covered. Group buy with a discount once those are available?

The group buy with a discount will be how we do the first batch, for sure. I hate to mention a number and then not stick to it - but they will likely retail at $1150/set with a pre-order group buy around $800 per set. To be confirmed

 

[CharlieS]

@RuggedBound - It'd be awesome if you provided a filter by vehicle feature. It took me way to long to figure out that you don't have drawers to fit the 200.

 

[RuggedBound]

@RuggedBound - It'd be awesome if you provided a filter by vehicle feature. It took me way to long to figure out that you don't have drawers to fit the 200.

That is certainly a work in progress (the site) and we have the vehicle sorted listings scheduled for this week on the next update.

We actually have 3 drawers for a 200 and they will be on the site tonight. Twin (side by side), Single (one drawer, one fridge deck space (left or right) and a Combo (2 drawers stacked on the left, fridge space on the right with a surrounding enclosure for attic and side hole stowage of soft items.

Single Drawer (fridge slide sold separately)

200 GX twin version shown - there is a 200 VX twin version also..

200VX Combo drawer. Bolts to OEM mounts in floor and uses side OEM mounts via custom brackets for upper corners.

 

[Lester did that]

Big Country is a great maker. Glad to hear there is a distributor in the lower 48. I like their drawer systems better than ARB and they weigh less.

Please show the prototype for the gull windows. What is the material you plan on using? Hope it's not glass. Some do have a tendency to leak a bit when the gasket gets older. Will this be an easy repair? Don't want to go to a glazier every 1.5 years. They will have a firm lock from the exterior I assume. But I am sure if you make them proper you will have sales. Opens up more storage. Very hard to find in the states. Also make the install notes clear and post a video of the install. A lot of the fellows starting out with a small company provide horrible instructions. They make good products but for the DIY guy you need to walk them thru it or the professional installer. IE don't just ship a box of parts and say good luck and not have a tech available from 9am-9pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Much luck to you guy's. Looking forward to seeing a prototype! If they are not glass, have a replaceable seal, lock and can be opened from the exterior I'd be interested.

 

[CharlieS]

@Lester did that - if you click on the links, it looks like the one in the photos is is aluminum treadplate (5 bar?).

Toyota Land Cruiser 100/Lexus LX470 Gull Wing Windows - By Big Country 4x4

Made from 1/8” two layers of aluminum sheeting, laser cut and roll-formed to fit the vehicle perfectly. Dustproof, waterproof and lockable. Gas-strut supported. These gull wings work like doors, not windows. They are mounted on 3 black powder coated stainless steel hinges on heavy duty 1/4”...

www.ruggedbound.com

 

[RuggedBound]

Big Country is a great maker. Glad to hear there is a distributor in the lower 48. I like their drawer systems better than ARB and they weigh less.

Please show the prototype for the gull windows. What is the material you plan on using? Hope it's not glass. Some do have a tendency to leak a bit when the gasket gets older. Will this be an easy repair? Don't want to go to a glazier every 1.5 years. They will have a firm lock from the exterior I assume. But I am sure if you make them proper you will have sales. Opens up more storage. Very hard to find in the states. Also make the install notes clear and post a video of the install. A lot of the fellows starting out with a small company provide horrible instructions. They make good products but for the DIY guy you need to walk them thru it or the professional installer. IE don't just ship a box of parts and say good luck and not have a tech available from 9am-9pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Much luck to you guy's. Looking forward to seeing a prototype! If they are not glass, have a replaceable seal, lock and can be opened from the exterior I'd be interested.

Absolutely agree. Big Country 4x4 supplies mainly professional outfitters in South Africa - all the big stores carry their gear and hence the installation notes have been inadequate for the DIY direct-sale US model. We have spent a lot of time working on that with a lot of videos coming to our Youtube channel for exactly this reason, especially for the more tricky stuff like Gull Wing installs and awning mount kits to the hard shell Roof Top Tent.

As a result - I am on call 100% of the time and at the outset spent a lot of time ensuring installations are done correctly.

For the 200 Wings we will make them just like the 100 and 80 - 2 layers of Aluminum sheet welded together for rigidity, roll formed to match the curve of the vehicle (your most likely source of leaks... ) and yes, replaceable face seals that we will keep in stock if needed. Twin push locks for safe outside entry. Gas struts.

The only issue we see is apprehension for our style of gull wing vs. the "in window seal mount": they are extremely heavy duty and have an actual structural hinge tied to the body of the vehicle on 3/16" thickness custom extrusions. This means the wing is actually a door - and works like one. You can safely mount stuff on the wing itself like recovery tracks, small axe/spade/etc or bolt on some MOLLE panels. Also,

We are currently developing the interior MOLLE panel add-on for all the Gull Wings as a bolt-on option.

These are completely different to the other versions on the market, and won't be for everyone. They are however going to give you the most access area and the strongest mounting/seal/locking available.

 

[Lester did that]

View attachment 2538606 View attachment 2538605

Those look stunning. I think I might be looking at my new $1000 spice rack. JK but not kidding. Looks like your already addressing the issues they can have. I really like the look. Well played sir.

 

[DPA200]

@RuggedBound Are you doing the same discounted group buy pricing on the 200 drawers? I see you had prices over on the GXOR thread but nothing here. Also still didn't see any of the 200 versions shown on your website. Let me know if you'd rather I PM for pricing. Thanks

 

[RuggedBound]

@RuggedBound Are you doing the same discounted group buy pricing on the 200 drawers? I see you had prices over on the GXOR thread but nothing here. Also still didn't see any of the 200 versions shown on your website. Let me know if you'd rather I PM for pricing. Thanks

Sorry for the delay - we have been overwhelmed with the GX OR, 100 & 80 questions but we will absolutely have a dedicated 200 Group Buy thread and updated product postings on the website to go along with it. It will also run to the Feb 15th deadline for buy-in to ensure everyone gets a chance.

For those who do not want to wait on the group buy option - we do have 1 x 200 twin drawer left in our container arriving this week from South Africa that will be for sale on our website.

 

[Bullgump]

In Houston and definitely interested in double drawers for my 200. Still not sure on upgrading my current setup but with a group buy price it just may sway me. Plus if you need a local 200 for fitting and pics, etc. let me know.

 

[Bullgump]

Any update on the 200 drawer system group buy?

 

[RuggedBound]

Any update on the 200 drawer system group buy?

The group buy was posted on the tech thread and group buy thread pages with a link - but we only ran it for a very limited time to ensure we cover everyone. We do have a 200 drawer in stock right now if you don't want to wait.

 

[Bullgump]

The group buy was posted on the tech thread and group buy thread pages with a link - but we only ran it for a very limited time to ensure we cover everyone. We do have a 200 drawer in stock right now if you don't want to wait.

Oh ok. I was looking for it on this thread. Was hoping to get the group price. Thanks.

 

[linuxgod]

Any info on the tailgate storage lid for the 200?

 

[RuggedBound]

Any info on the tailgate storage lid for the 200?

It is under development in South Africa - will be close to the same price - it will be USA-only as the folks in South Africa either have the GX with barn doors or are happy with the storage provided in the stock tailgate door on the VX. So part of the development over there includes finding a donor 200 tailgate to cut up

 

[linuxgod]

It is under development in South Africa - will be close to the same price - it will be USA-only as the folks in South Africa either have the GX with barn doors or are happy with the storage provided in the stock tailgate door on the VX. So part of the development over there includes finding a donor 200 tailgate to cut up

I'd offer but you're quite far away from Chicago