Has anyone tried the Wake Design racks?

Man my Proflight racks are beating my board to death. Does anyone have this rack and if so what do you think about it or what rack are you using and are you pleased with it?

Yes I have a set of WD racks. One broke after using them a couple of times?? Said that they had a bad cast. Was hard to deal with on the return and their warranty is only for 6 months. I would look elsewhere for a rack!

Thanks for the info Wetirish.

Anyone else have an opinion or suggestion?

I have the previous year model of that rack. It's the same as that one except for the mount. I needed a quick-release which the new style does not have. When they (Boarder's Paradise) sent me the new style, I called them up and they found me the older-style racks at one of their stores and exchanged them right away (very good customer service).

Anyway...I have mine mounted on a vertical pole so there is no problem with them falling down. If you are going to mount to a horizontal pole though, you might want to check out the double mount racks.

As far as the fork/bungee design goes, it could be a little better. I think I'd prefer one of the simpler double or single bungee designs. Summary: I'm happy with them for the price I paid (on clearance) but I think there are better racks out there.

Thanks guys. I hear good things about the Bat and Battle racks. I think I'll go in that direction..

You should check out the Fluid Concepts racks. They are super solid and well designed. Jerry also gives the best customer service.

http://www.fluidconcepts.net/Pages/boardracks/boardracks.htm}

(Message edited by cece on July 28, 2004)

I also have the Wake Designs racks and until today have been very happy with them. They look great and no damage to my boards.

But today one of the racks split in two at the mount. Looks like a flaw in the metal to me but I'm no expert.

Contacted WakeSide and they started working on getting it replaced. Hope my results are better than "wetirish" had.

Oliver,

Call and state your cast in writing. That way if the rack/s spilt again you can tract it. WD only has a 6 month warranty... the shortest in the industry? P.S. ask for your shipping cost reimbursed, I did and haven't seen it yet?

I have some of their racks (3 years old) but probably would stay away from them. Their customer service is non-existent. I have called them about 8 times, and left many voice mails without ONE call back. I have never had anyone answer the phone. Even my boat dealer has given up on them. I do not know how they can stay in bussiness. I needed to get new rubber inserts since mine are old, and leaves black crap on the board, bindings, and hands. Still trying to find some replacement rubber.

There are many other nice ones out there. I am probably going with the Battle racks on my new boat.

Hey Buzz:

Had a similar prob on my old Wake Design rack. I used 1/4" shock cord. (try Lowes)

You should get a rack with only 1 bungee cord for both boards. Buddy had the same rack, a hassle with 2 cords.

Looks like Wakeside.com is no longer selling any WakeDesign products.

This can't be a good sign.

The Mako rack is also available in chrome, can be adjusted to mount at any angle, includes a quick release at no extra charge, and won't break like some of the WD racks. They are also made in the USA!

They are available again. During May and June they were backed up two months.

If money is not object, then the all chrome Battle Rack is a great rack.

I saw the Wake Design rack up close last week for the first time. EVERY part except the cross tube was Die Cast. I had thought about future die casting for speaker, light and accessory mounts but certain would not go there with a wakeboard rack becuase of all the impact they take. Also the tooling for that rack was likely more than a top shelf wakeboat.

I must say was very impressed with the engineering and design of the product.

Update!

Wakeside.com has come through with flying colors!

Dispite not selling WakeDesign products any more Wakeside.com honored my warrenty and had WakeDesigns sent me a new mount in less than 4 days.

New mount works great.

I showed the mount and the broken parts to a friend of mine who know much more about engineering and product design and he feels that the mount is a poor design and thats why the metal failed. He feels the screws that clamp the mount to the tower do not have enough metal to hold on to the tower with. He said the screws are drilled to far into the round mount and that weakens the mound and gives them very little metal to work with. Just looking at the mounts and you can see what he is talking about.

Of course this was done to improve the look of the product. And looks is exactly why I bought this item in the first place.

I'm sure WakeDesigns knows about this issue, it seems pretty simple to figure out and sounds like I'm not the first to have this problem.

Just hope they re-work the weak area of what I consider to be a great looking and very functional rack.

Lastly, I highly recommend buying products from WakeSide.com

Great guys, great prices, great web site and they stand behind what they sell. They have earned my business and loyalty.}

I agree with chris, fluid concepts are awesome. I have used them for two seasons and not one problem. I accidenty had the rope wraped around one of the racks on the top of my tower while someone did a raley and the rack did not move a milimeter! Simple, great design and Jerry over there is a great guy!

Wakeside has added the Wake Designs R4 rack back on our site since they have fixed the problem causing the breakage. This rack has been our number one top seller at Wakeside for the 2004 season for several reasons:

1. It looks great - the style is totally new.
2. Available in Chrome or Black (polished billet is high maintenance)
3. Great value. If you consider the style, the chrome, and the design, the overall value is very good.

What many don't know is that this rack is totally different than any other rack on the market. WD uses an injection molded aluminum alloy process instead of CNC machined billet like all of the other racks.

Many aircraft, race cars, motorcycles, and space ships use high-end aluminum alloy that is injection molded for an incredibly strong and light-weight structural piece.

Wake Designs has improved three areas to eliminate the problem that showed up later this season. They had three batches without any problems and one batch with a weakness on the lower fork. They will stand 100% behind all racks and will replace them without question or hassle.

Based on this commitment, Wakeside has decided to give WD the benefit of the doubt. Wake Design invented the wakeboard rack, holds several patents on them, and continues to pioneer and innovate every year. This problem could happen to any manufacturer (I have seen recalls from BMW and Mercedes) so let's all hope that they have totally eliminated the problem.

I talked with Todd at WD on Thursday and it sounds like they will reveal several innovative new products at surf expo in September including a super thick tube new tower design. We're excited to see the latest.

http://www.wakeside.com/page/W/PROD/wakeboard_racks/wd_wakeboard_rack_single_mount

Mike


(Message edited by wakeside1 on August 14, 2004)

(Message edited by wakeside1 on August 14, 2004)

I have a question, does any company out there make a board rack to hold Wakeskates and/or Kneeboards? I do not mind different racks on each side of the tower but I would like to get those boards out from under the seat. I suspect due to the foam on the kneeboard that not many options exist but I thought I would ask.

There are several options for wake surfboards and kneeboards. Wake Skates should work in most wakeboard racks. Some people put their wake skates in their v-drive compartments since the boards are short and often fit in there.

Check out this chart:
http://www.wakeside.com/wakeboard_rack_comparison_top.htm

Mike,

I'm glade to hear that you as a vendor of WD products that you get great customer service, it's too bad that WD does not offer the same level of customer service to the general public. As far as your quote (They will stand 100% behind all racks and will replace them without question or hassle.) I did not or others on this form find that to be true...James at WD was unresponsive to e-mail's and phone calls? And did not pay for shipping back of their inferior product, most companies bend over back wards when returning a product that is flawed due to manufacturing.

I have the wake design racks that are 3 years old and I hate them.the new ones look the same.they scratch up my boards,the 2 bungee cord style sucks.you have to fish your hand between the two boards to get the bungee cord.the rubber board protector is already cracking and falling off.a friend has monster tower racks.I like them allot.1 bungee,adjust to different angles.easy to use and best of all they don't ding my board.just my $0.02

Wetirish,

I agree that WD direct retail customer service is not that good. They really are a manufacturing company that needs their dealers to handle the issues like warranties. Wakeside is replacing all defective racks and we pay for the freight to get them back to our customers.

The Monster Rack is an exact knock-off of the 2003 Mako Rack. Mako has greatly improved their rack for 2004 so if you like the Monster Rack, then it is worth checking out the newer design of 2004 Mako rack.

They are available in Chrome or Clear Anodized this year.

http://www.wakeside.com/page/W/PROD/mako_wakeboard_racks/mako_std_wakeboard_rack_src2

Mike,
I agree. At first WD asked me to go through the dealer that I got them from, after I contacted the dealer, WD said no we want you to go through us only and send us the defective rack and we will look at it and decide if we are going to replace it or not? I paid the shipping. With the breakage problem I am a little concerned that their short 6 month warranty will expire this winter after I have a chance to maybe use the rack 10 or so times this season.

If anybody is interested, I have 2 Wakeside Battle Racks (1 7/8" mount) for sale in the classifieds for $400 plus shipping.

I had the older design (before this one) Wake Designs single mount racks and they never stayed upright on my tower. One bolt top and bottom isn't enough to get a good grip on the tower. The Battle Racks have 4 bolts per mount and haven't moved 1 mm since i put them on, easier to strap the boards down too. In addition the QR on the WD racks was pretty shabby, it never held tight so the whole rack part would wobble around in rough water.

Todd at WD told me that they will replace all the defective racks and I assume they mean into next season. If they don't for whatever reason, then Wakeside will warranty the rack for 12 months from purchase. I will talk to Todd about changing their company warranty policy. Everyone else is 12 months.

Mike,

Great news that WD will replace all the defective racks! It would be nice if their warranty would change to 12 months like the others, it might even help sales. Thanks for stepping into the defective racks issue... you guys ROCK!!

Wake designs racks are made in Malaysia. They cost about 50 dollars to make, chrome and all, and they mark them up a great deal. I would have to say that wake designs has to be the shoddiest W.B. Company around, from customer service, to their recent tower production. Seems like they hired a 12 year old kid to build their towers. So I ask, Oh great wake designs, the innovators, not imitators, where art thou quality. Dealing with WD makes me sick.

Oh yeah, kudos to wakeside for no longer dealing with wake designs. You guys at wakeside rock.

I had the wake designs rack and it dinged up my boards pretty bad and was wobbly. Buy the bat rack. Its good quality and under $300.