It's frustrating I know, but definitely worth the wait.
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I wasn’t too surprised about paying up front although my past experiences with custom fab parts is 50% down and balance due when work is completed. Paying for shipping up front when the lead time was quoted 12-14 weeks seemed really weird - but the guy seems to have a good reputation so what are you gonna do? If there was a way to order one without paying everything up front I would have loved to do so.
Hopefully you don’t have to wait as long as I am.
Everyone says product is great - I guess my expectations were just way too high regarding them following their quoted schedule. My prior experiences with custom fab work (Dirty Deeds Industries and White Knuckle Off-Road both in southern CA) I have always had items ship exactly when promised(during Covid). I certainly expected the same when spending the $1,000 back in January. Hopefully I hear something soon.
D
When i ordered mine (online) i paid in full, was given a date and time to pick it up in person. It was ready, i couldn't make the trip so it shipped a couple of days later. A good experience for me, the lead time is a bad deal. Pretty sure if i was running this shop, prices would go up until i had a small inventory
stellarpod
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I'm fairly confident that DRF's willingness to wait for payment until they started fabrication of my specific unit was due to the fact that they had a huge backlog and knew they'd have no problem getting rid of it. I likely asked that they wait to bill until that time and was granted that wish. Probably isn't something they would advertise.
At any rate, I know you'll be knocked out by the finished product. Only wish you'd had a better experience thus far.
Steve
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Here is the follow-up since I decided to cry in this thread - received notification today the rack is back from powdercoat and being shipped - exactly 19 weeks after it was paid for. It should be here next week and hopefully I’ll confirm it’s as great as everyone says.
stellarpod
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CID
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There are only two holding mine on also. My two holes are near the top, right under the cross tube, I almost had clearance problems getting the nuts to fit but figured it out - you won't have that 'problem'.
I believe the baseplate isn't used to mount the RotoPax cans, or it's an option via just the 2 holes. See if those 2 holes line up with the back of the extended piece.
Here's how I mounted mine... it's bolted from the other side directly into the threaded holes in the mount.
CID
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Thanks for the pic, Steve. I remembered that I had some sort of problem but when I went out to look, I couldn't really see behind the spare and assumed I had problems getting nuts to fit because they were so tight to the cross tube. More likely I had to oval the holes just a bit to get the bolts into their holes. 👍 It's been well over a year and I'm sure I mounted mine like yours, without the baseplate.
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Thanks Steve. To their credit, they sent an email stating what you’ve said. The problem with their choice in doing this is it removes the designed offset of about .75” so now the support notch of the t-handle barely reaches into the designed recess of the fuel can for support so it is more clamped on than riding as it’s supposed to IMO. In other words the back side of the gas can contacts the mounting surface too soon without the offset. Not sure why they would sell a mount then tell you to throw the engineered plate it comes with in the garbage and run it with no offset.
stellarpod
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This ^^^
The Rotopax mount is universal and therefore includes pieces/parts that aren't always necessary. Mine mounted with two bolts perfectly. I'm not sure I understand the "it removes the designed offset of about .75” so now the support notch of the t-handle barely reaches into the designed recess of the fuel can for support" statement. Perhaps it's just me, but could you clarify, @AZBoatHauler please?
Steve
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See pic below. Tell me how this is better than using the mounting plate to get more support? Drill two holes and that support piece is where it should be. Unused mounting bolt inserted to show how buried the support is… it will be awesome falling off as you unscrew it.
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And when you read the website description, it talks about “through the bottom” and “through the top” when not using the baseplate indicating a horizontal application not a vertical application like this where the center support counteracts gravity. When going “through the side” it would make sense to use the plate for the reason stated above in the last two posts.
A
It definitely is directional and on the right way. There is slope/angle built in to the gas can recess which is why you’d want to use the plate to cover as much as possible but what do I know.
stellarpod
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That looks exactly like mine and I have ZERO problems with it. I've attached pictures of my 2 gal. water can mounted on my DRF tailgate. I've also attached pics of my 2 gal. fuel can mounted on another manufacturer's mount (RB3 perhaps?) and you'll notice that it's the same as well. If you want to drill holes to accommodate the [unnecessary] mounting plate with 4 bolts then knock yourself out. If it gives you a further level of confidence in the mount then by all means, go for it. I don't have any such concerns and I've put a fair amount of miles on these mounts with full cans and have had no problems.
Steve
stellarpod
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We'll just have to agree to disagree with this one. Installing the baseplate only adds a relatively thin piece of sheet steel to the whole affair. The center oblong post that protrudes into the fuel can is supporting the entire weight, whether using the stamped steel baseplate or not. Arguably, mounting the post directly to heavier steel (in this case the DRF tailgate) actually supports the post better than the sheet metal possibly could. To illustrate this, imagine a heavy blow applied to the side of the post with the baseplate installed, thereby imparting a severe shear load. It will likely bend the sheet metal where it is bolted to the post.
Steve
Which mount do you have?
Standard
Or DLX?
If I'm understanding the issue, maybe the DLX mount will fix the problem? I had a mounting issue with the less expensive FuelPax container (blow molded design) vs the RotoPax (rotational molded design) as it wouldn't secure nearly as well with the FuelPax. The DLX design has more surface area to support the weight of a full can. I'm up in Pine right now for a few days, I can bring the DLX mount back with me to the Valley if you're interested in seeing if will solve your problem.
