PSA: Tuffy Security Enclosure
11-14-2017, 09:51 AM
#1
JK Freak
Thread Starter
PSA: Tuffy Security Enclosure
I finally decided to bite the bullet and replace my homebrew security "cargo cover" with a Tuffy 299-01 security enclosure. I ordered from a vendor whom I won't name on Amazon, since they've treated me OK and it may not have been entirely their fault.
Long and short of it is the gigantic box the thing came in had virtually no packing material so the thing was bent way beyond utility when I got it. It was literally rattling around in the enormous box. BTW the box was sized such that it barely, and I mean barely, fit in the cargo area of my JKU with the seats down.
Also this particular item didn't have the tie-down hooks on it as it was supposed to. Dunno what's up. I would have guessed that it was probably shipped this way directly from Tuffy to the vendor. For all I know Tuffy drop shipped it to me and the vendor just brokered the deal.
Anyway, second time around I ordered it to be picked up locally at my own 4 Wheel Parts store in Austin. It was about $15 more expensive but being able to inspect the item before I take delivery is going to be worth it.
I was really shocked just how completely incompetent the packing/shipping job was. Amazing.
Long and short of it is the gigantic box the thing came in had virtually no packing material so the thing was bent way beyond utility when I got it. It was literally rattling around in the enormous box. BTW the box was sized such that it barely, and I mean barely, fit in the cargo area of my JKU with the seats down.
Also this particular item didn't have the tie-down hooks on it as it was supposed to. Dunno what's up. I would have guessed that it was probably shipped this way directly from Tuffy to the vendor. For all I know Tuffy drop shipped it to me and the vendor just brokered the deal.
Anyway, second time around I ordered it to be picked up locally at my own 4 Wheel Parts store in Austin. It was about $15 more expensive but being able to inspect the item before I take delivery is going to be worth it.
I was really shocked just how completely incompetent the packing/shipping job was. Amazing.
11-15-2017, 01:08 PM
#2
JK Freak
Thread Starter
What a difference the right vendor makes. Here's an update, and now I am perfectly willing to call out the bad actor on Amazon.
The box that the first Tuffy enclosure came in was about 61" x 35" x 12". Way too big for the thing it enclosed. And that's just the maximum size (61x35) that will fit in the JKU with the seats down. There was mysterious "packing material" in the box that floated around and didn't seem at all related to the product enclosed. The sheet metal parts were literally floating around in there unbound. And there was no hardware (the tie downs, screws, etc.) and no instructions at all.
The new one which I got from 4 Wheel Parts here in Austin came in a box that was more like 29"x48"x4". The same packing material was included in this box but once I saw how it was packed it was clear what it was intended to do in the original package. In a small box this caused everything to fit together snugly and kept it in top shape.
So it looks like the vendor I originally bought from (their supplier, anyway) must have taken the security enclosure they shipped me from its original packaging and put it haphazardly in a far bigger box. My guess is this was a return and the customer shipped it back to them in this shape. Anyway, the vendor on Amazon is known as "4 Wheel Online" on Amazon Marketplace, which may be the same people as http://4wheelonline.com/ . The "warehouse" they had me return the item to is Premier Performance Products in Salt Lake City, UT https://premierwd.com/ . It appears that the 4 Wheel Online people probably never handled this product at all, just took my order from Amazon, made an order to permierwd and had them ship it directly to me. There's no chance of QC in there. Even though eventually once I filed a claim on Amazon they finally got their act together to at least get my return moving, this should never have happened to begin with if they had just ensured unmolested (and likely not returned) product was shipped to me, but they didn't. So I can't recommend buying anything from them.
OTOH the often-maligned 4 Wheel Parts came through with flying colors. I did pay a couple of $ more for it there because of in-state sales tax, but it was worth it to be able to inspect the thing before I took it home.
BTW it took under an hour to assemble and install the cargo cover in my Jeep. I am going to have to cut my Mopar slush mat for the cargo area to get it to work now since the cargo space is shorter by a few inches behind the seats. And it absolutely did take two people to get it installed. There's one little maneuver that I couldn't find any way to do without getting my next door neighbor to help for about 20 seconds.
The box that the first Tuffy enclosure came in was about 61" x 35" x 12". Way too big for the thing it enclosed. And that's just the maximum size (61x35) that will fit in the JKU with the seats down. There was mysterious "packing material" in the box that floated around and didn't seem at all related to the product enclosed. The sheet metal parts were literally floating around in there unbound. And there was no hardware (the tie downs, screws, etc.) and no instructions at all.
The new one which I got from 4 Wheel Parts here in Austin came in a box that was more like 29"x48"x4". The same packing material was included in this box but once I saw how it was packed it was clear what it was intended to do in the original package. In a small box this caused everything to fit together snugly and kept it in top shape.
So it looks like the vendor I originally bought from (their supplier, anyway) must have taken the security enclosure they shipped me from its original packaging and put it haphazardly in a far bigger box. My guess is this was a return and the customer shipped it back to them in this shape. Anyway, the vendor on Amazon is known as "4 Wheel Online" on Amazon Marketplace, which may be the same people as http://4wheelonline.com/ . The "warehouse" they had me return the item to is Premier Performance Products in Salt Lake City, UT https://premierwd.com/ . It appears that the 4 Wheel Online people probably never handled this product at all, just took my order from Amazon, made an order to permierwd and had them ship it directly to me. There's no chance of QC in there. Even though eventually once I filed a claim on Amazon they finally got their act together to at least get my return moving, this should never have happened to begin with if they had just ensured unmolested (and likely not returned) product was shipped to me, but they didn't. So I can't recommend buying anything from them.
OTOH the often-maligned 4 Wheel Parts came through with flying colors. I did pay a couple of $ more for it there because of in-state sales tax, but it was worth it to be able to inspect the thing before I took it home.
BTW it took under an hour to assemble and install the cargo cover in my Jeep. I am going to have to cut my Mopar slush mat for the cargo area to get it to work now since the cargo space is shorter by a few inches behind the seats. And it absolutely did take two people to get it installed. There's one little maneuver that I couldn't find any way to do without getting my next door neighbor to help for about 20 seconds.
11-15-2017, 01:46 PM
#4
JK Freak
Thread Starter
There are so many vendors out there you can buy the same thing from, and so many very good ones, there's no reason to risk getting burned by inadvertently ordering from one of the few that may not be so great.
BTW I still think the Tuffy 299-01 is overpriced by a factor of 2 but it definitely gets the job done pretty much right and nothing else on the market besides the more expensive Tuffy items do it even close. I may add something to the front edge that comes near the back of the seats so that I can store my vinyl windows there easily when the top is down. I have a motorcycle cargo net that would work perfectly here with some hooks in the right spot.
