need recommendation - rear rack

As an update – on the hope it will help someone else in the future.

The Moose Rack was ~195 plus shipping. The Strong Made Rack was $138 shipped.

I was searching for a rear rack because the customer feedback on Cabela’s website showed that their racks were not that sturdy and many folks had to weld supports to improve them. Based on price, I went with the 1” Strong Made rack.

While I can’t find a marking, the rack on my older ATV looks just like the Moose and the bracket to attach the rack is identical to the picture that TRX2five0 posted above. Compared to that rack, the fit and finish on the Strong Made rack is not as good. The Strong Made rack appears to be slightly out of square (but did fit OK). While both are secure, Moose uses a better mounting system.

The rack I got from Strong Made was obviously dropped after it was powder coated. This made it very difficult to put the plastic plug into the tube. (Used a rubber mallet and had to pound it in.) It was obvious this was not done in sipping because there were grinder marks on the outside edge of the of the 1” tube. They didn’t bother to paint or repair the defect. Just shipped it with the bare metal.

Strong Made does make a nice bracket that fits the rack to hold a Kolpin gun case. It is very similar to the older Kolpin gun brackets – that are no longer available. I like the older Kolpin better but the new Strong Made bracket is better than what Kolpin is currently offering.

If cost is a factor then the Strong Made rack is OK. Assuming the current Moose product is as good as the ~6 year old rack on my other ATV; the Moose is better designed and will probably be square. You’ll have to decide if it’s worth the additional $60+ (more than that after shipping).

If I had to buy again - the bare metal grind marks really bothered me so if I purchased a new rack, I would probaly not call Strong Made.

The other thing that surprised me was the guy at C&S Sales. He also works for the manufacturer. I have a hard time finding the right adjective to describe him. He seemed unwilling to answer questions or unable to understand my questions. Example, when I asked him if he was familiar with the older Kolpin bracket and could compare it to their bracket he said “we made the Kolpin bracket, the new one is different." When I asked if he could compare their rack to the Moose he said "we don’t make junk.” Frankly, it was a bit like talking to a wall.

I asked about return policy and he said he didn’t know. (Maybe nobody returns things??) How do you not know - you own C&S and work for the company that makes the rack.

But what really amazed me – I finally caught him by phone and said I’d left a message 2 days earlier so there was no need to call me back. He said “yeah, I really don’t like voice mail so I never check it.” Now tell me, how you can have a business where the phone says ‘leave a message’ and just ignore all messages?

The experience with C&S also plays into my feeling that I would probably not work with Strong Made. I did contact other dealers listed on their website. Most dealers were familar with other Strong Made products none of the people I spoke with were familar with the racks.

So you might be wondering why I bought the Strong Made rack. The first time I called the company I got someone that was sitting in on the phones over lunch. (I think he said he was in HR.) He used the rack on his ATV and did a real good job explaining the differeces betwee the 3/4" and 1" options. He also talked about the fit and finish of the racks and sold me on the overall quality. I really wish I had the guy's name and phone number - I would have called him with my follow-up questions.

The rack will meet my needs - heck it going to get beat up on the trail during hunting season so I figured I could just add paint to cover the bare metal. And, the 1" tubes should ensure it is strong enought for the job.