Gobi Roof Rack

you would think right? Then why does it take 4mo to get a rack or ladder ? You would think they have someone looking at the data and knows which racks for which type of trucks sells most and requires an adjustment.
I ordered my ladder last year and it took 16weeks to arrive. It’s been a year latter and it still takes 16weeks for a rack

I just think they are not ramping up production so we can get our orders in 2 weeks :-(

 

I could think of a few reasons they are not able to meet the demand

1) the business ability to scale - could be location constraint. Their location appears to be somewhat small (warehouse in a strip mall business park)
2) Labor - Welders doing this type of work don't get paid very well to begin with. Being a hobbyist welder myself and following the welding industry, welders just don't make that much for the intense labor it requires, so high turnover and attrition
3) Poor business and management practice - They may not have the right people sitting in the right seats. The same VP making the same decisions based on a crappy budget, or lack of understanding how to improve
4) Processes - the three P's (People, Processes and Product), maybe they treat their staff like crap, maybe they have broken processes as I stated above or lack thereof, high demand for product and lack of a good operating system
5) inhouse vs outsource - Do they send their racks to be powder coated somewhere else? Can they improve their efficiencies by doing it themselves? A large oven and spray booth takes up a lot of space and they may not have it, or have another location to do it which requires more labor hours to load up pallets of completed racks, then trucked 75 miles to their other location, unpacked, set up on hooks then sandblasted and powder coated., Now we need to send them back to the first location, then unloaded and packaged up.

If I were to guess the main issue is probably their manufacturing process and work flows, and labor market.

They just may need Marcus to come in and straighten it up!

 

We all know they have some inefficiencies, like every business, but simply put they are made to order.

They made a decision from the beginning not to make a rack unless someone ordered it. That benefits them because they don't have to deal with a bunch of vendors, pay rent on additional space for rack storage, make market predictions, and potentially have a lot more overhead.

Yes, the consumer has to wait longer (and in this age of instant gratification that can be hard) but they have a good product and that's really what it boils down to.

Maybe their business model changes down the road at some point, but they still seem to be pretty popular despite the wait times, so......

 

I've seriously considered buying a dozen Jeep and a dozen 4Runner, then adding a reasonable markup and selling to those who don't want to wait. As I waited, I remember thinking, "I would have paid an extra $400 to get this thing in a week." So maybe buy them for 1600, sell for 2k? It feels like there's enough demand to build a pretty solid business and I could easily fit 20 of them in my garage (not that they would sit around for long). 1. Not sure if Gobi would allow it and 2. The outbound shipping may erode any potential profits. I should really vet this out.....

 

This is something I’ve seen in the fitness industry since covid. People would buy up all the rogue, rep and titan gear .. then resell it on eBay or fb marketplace for 3x. Funny thing is folks were buying it as they didn’t want to wait.

i for one never purchase any of these over priced items, but I would buy an over priced gobi rack, as it would be just a one time purchase. Been waiting over a month now, hope to get my rack by Xmas

 

we just made an order 2 weeks or so ago, luckily gobi is an hour up the road and they offer free install....beats paying shipping as well

 

Did they when you can come and get the install ?

 

they will set all that up once the rack is ready

 

Did they say it was going to be 4mo wait ?

 

They said 12-16 week wait time

 

Ahh .. for a second I thought you were going to get it installed sooner I’ve been waiting like 5 weeks now.

 

You've really put some thought into this!

 

Curious how much shipping they charge? In my order shipping was included, as well as the ladder, gas pistons, rack, faring, cross bars, back back, all for the price of $1595

 

Shipping is included in the $1595. Unless you order options like no-rise or sun roof insert; $1595 is the total price. It includes rack, ladder, shocks, deflector, install hardware, gobi freight to lower 48 and back pack.

 

I think they would question why someone is ordering so many. Also with a average Joe buying these and not a business, I think you'd be waiting forever to get even a few racks. I mean just think if you ordered 3 racks right now, you may be 6 months or more waiting just to make maybe $1500 and they may charge you shipping. There is still a major bottle neck in their business model producing these, being a business/reseller or a regular Joe, they can only make so many at a time. There is a huge demand, but their output is a dripping faucet. Maybe they should open up another location in another state.

 

Which model is this? Non riser?

 

stealth w/rise

This is no/rise. Note the sides and front is same height. It does not rise up

 

I like both. Not sure which I would choose.

How are you keeping underneath clean? Are you seeing any mineral buildup?

 

I’ve only had it on for ~ a month. Day of install, I claybar’d the roof and waxed. I’ll evaluate in a few months. I may ceramic or clear bra.

 

I know there’s silicone used, but isn’t it still removable? If so, it’s not like you can’t take it off and maintenance the paint with it remove right?

 

i followed gobi’s install instructions which does not include any silicone. It only uses a series of rubber grommets to seal the oem mounting points

 

Gotcha. I’ve seen videos of people using sealant around screws. However it may not have been your make/model.

 

the install process is the same for all 5th gens. if you see the rubber seals and do the install, I believe the sandwich process will block any water to seep through.

but others have added silicone and sealants. I chose not to as I’m comfortable with the rubber seals.

 

The rack is still removable without messing with the seals, right? You can leave the support brackets that are screwed into the roof in place while you unbolt the rack from the top of those support brackets and lift it off.

 

Yes, you are able to remove the rack while leaving the feet in place. The mounting feet bolt onto the roof, and then the rack bolts onto the feet.

 

Not exactly something you want to do every wash, but it wouldn't be too hard to do once or twice a year for a good ol' fashioned rub down.

 

yes only 12 bolts. Something I could do once a year to wax the roof

 

STEALTH RACK , with sunroof.

 

Since there seem to be quite a few Gobi Stealth rack owners here ... ;-) It seems appropriate to ask my question here:

Can someone tell me the exact length between the upper front basket bar (with rise) and the rear cross bar of the basket? Meaning, what's the usable length of the basket?

Thanks a lot!

 

I can measure it tomorrow, the specs says usable cargo space is 24.46 sq ft (2.27m2)