Viking Off-Road Recovery Hitch photos

[AFSOC]

If you would not buy it, or cannot afford it, or don't care to justify the expense, why care so much? Why spend the energy to disparage the product on the forum? In reality, the motivation is obvious. . .

Scott,

I sugest you re-read the posts. I don't think anyone disparaged the product. Overwhelmingly people praised the product. Overwhelmingly people voiced their opinions that they do NOT think that they can justify paying the considerable list price when compared to the form, fit, function and performance of competitors offerings. People have kindly explained the points that lead them to their opinion. Please explain what you see as the "obvious motivation".

 

[ntsqd]

Perhaps my comment was taken wrongly. There is nothing inherently wrong their choice of steel alloy, it's just not what I would choose if I were intending to make the ultimate such device.

 

[Redline]

I'm with you Nic regarding Filson and their motto... "Might As Well Have The Best"

:lurk:


I'd buy it! I would pay the $$$$ for it!

Besides....It's from Viking Offroad! Supporting a great recovery vendor with a very cool new product.

You only cry once......I buy A LOT of Filson clothes....many people say the same thing about them.....but when rains come....It sure feels good to stay dry with a lifetime guarantee!

 

[teotwaki]

It is unique, has a high-quality finish, is super strong and has a few more features.

Again, why is that a bad thing? There are items like that in ANY market space. Sure, a $15 coffee maker from Walmart will make coffee, for a while, but there are people who want the very best coffee, and are willing to spend 100x that amount for something made in Italy, out of stainless steel.

If you would not buy it, or cannot afford it, or don't care to justify the expense, why care so much? Why spend the energy to disparage the product on the forum? In reality, the motivation is obvious. . .

It would be different if it sucked, or if the design was obviously flawed, or if it was worse than the others and only more expensive. Clearly, it is better, if even in minor ways.

I would very respectfully offer up that any of the forum owners (or a business that monetarily supports the forum) has an obvious motivation when it comes to products that the typical forum user might buy.

So I would ask if you are not actually selling the Viking product why would you care that we don't like the price of the Viking product?

 

[Scott Brady]

I do that with all kinds of stuff , and not just on this forum.

Someone's Disco that is called overpriced, the value of a Unicat. An expensive chair, etc. I am always defending the "value" of things, even if it has nothing to do with a sponsor.

I guess I am looking for some good old fashioned debate and critical thinking. Commenting that something is too expensive is fine if that person understands the material used, the CAD time, the margins, the coating and packaging, etc. Then I could see it. It is such basic economics that it drives me nuts for some odd reason - who knows. Maybe I have been spending too much time in the office recently :snorkel:

But for someone to just say. "Man, that is too much for that there thing", all they are really saying is. "Man, I would never spend my money on that there thing".

Right?

 

[teotwaki]

I do that with all kinds of stuff , and not just on this forum.

Someone's Disco that is called overpriced, the value of a Unicat. An expensive chair, etc. I am always defending the "value" of things, even if it has nothing to do with a sponsor.

I guess I am looking for some good old fashioned debate and critical thinking. Commenting that something is too expensive is fine if that person understands the material used, the CAD time, the margins, the coating and packaging, etc. Then I could see it. It is such basic economics that it drives me nuts for some odd reason - who knows. Maybe I have been spending too much time in the office recently :snorkel:

But for someone to just say. "Man, that is too much for that there thing", all they are really saying is. "Man, I would never spend my money on that there thing".

Right?

Good stuff, especially joining "Critical" with "Thinking" in one sentence. :sombrero:

I think that most of your desires were addressed but not in one coherent post. Many experienced folks know right away (without any research) that a typical hitch shackle really cannot be improved very much. Next step is to jump to a (fairly correct) conclusion that the Viking product is not something that they'll be buying for double the price of a common receiver shackle mount. Why debate the finer points of something that you know you won't buy?

Those who might have actually been tempted to buy it were the ones who looked for a reason to do so and the Viking product did not make the cut. Thsoe folks may or may not have actually posted their reasons about why they would not buy it.

Then there are folks like us posting about the quality of the posts.....:bike_rider:

 

[Redline]

All the pro and con debate aside, they're not too expensive if they can sell a few and make a profit. :elkgrin:

I do that with all kinds of stuff , and not just on this forum.

Someone's Disco that is called overpriced, the value of a Unicat. An expensive chair, etc. I am always defending the "value" of things, even if it has nothing to do with a sponsor.

I guess I am looking for some good old fashioned debate and critical thinking. Commenting that something is too expensive is fine if that person understands the material used, the CAD time, the margins, the coating and packaging, etc. Then I could see it. It is such basic economics that it drives me nuts for some odd reason - who knows. Maybe I have been spending too much time in the office recently :snorkel:

But for someone to just say. "Man, that is too much for that there thing", all they are really saying is. "Man, I would never spend my money on that there thing".

Right?

 

[Dave Bennett]

Wow, I hope it wasn't me who lit this here powder keg eepwall:

When I stated "ExPo Bling" :Wow1: early on in the thread, I meant just that and in a "Holy Cow that's the most high speed piece of kit I've seen lately."

Nothing negative was meant by it. I think some may have taken that comment in an unintended direction.

For the record, I'm a big fan of Viking's stuff and plan to add a few of thier pieces to my bag eventually.

Carry on!

 

[rynosurf]

There are very clear differences between the Viking shackle bracket and a typical unit.

1. No rattles in the receiver.
2. No rattles at the shackle attachment.

If it made the rest of my truck not rattle I would buy it! Kidding, it looks awesome but for the price I could replace my beat up Hi Lift. (If a Hi Lift was machined would you pay 3 times the amount for it?)

 

[BIGdaddy]

:lurk:


I'd buy it! I would pay the $$$$ for it!

Besides....It's from Viking Offroad! Supporting a great recovery vendor with a very cool new product.

You only cry once......I buy A LOT of Filson clothes....many people say the same thing about them.....but when rains come....It sure feels good to stay dry with a lifetime guarantee!

:elkgrin: nice post...I'll have to check out that link.

 

[RHINO]

well i'll put it this way, its got no value to me, not because of the price but because i dont need it. (i kinda want it though)

 

[nwoods]

But for someone to just say. "Man, that is too much for that there thing", all they are really saying is. "Man, I would never spend my money on that there thing".

Right?

No, I think there is a line, and this sculpted, artistic, functional, and dare I say sexy piece of gear crosses that line. Some things are functional, some things are beautiful, very few things are both, but rarely does one justify a 200% cost increase over the other.

If Thor could get 4WheelParts or Quadratech or similar to carry this, and he could get some volume margins, then we would all say, WOW, look at this kick *** piece of gear I just snagged. It was only $75 and included the worlds best shackle too! But when you get an overwhelming majority of negative posts on this forum that celebrates "glamping", clearly a line has been crossed.

Do I want one? Yes! Do I appreciate it? Yes! Will I buy it? No....but perhaps I can win one in a raffle some day

 

[spencyg]

If I owned a CNC machine I would totally rip this thing off, and make an exact duplicate for my very own.

I DO own a CNC machine, and I can tell you you'd be far better off paying the $110 if your time is of any value.

$10 for the steel
30 minutes for design in your choice of $5000 3D design programs...
30 minutes for CNC programming in your choice of $15k CNC Code programs...
30 minutes of setup #1 on the $30k CNC 3 axis mill
20 minutes run time
30 more minutes for setup #2 on the $30K 3 axis mill
20 more minutes of run time
10 minutes to deburr
Send it out for plating...to do just one, probably $30

So, we have $40 in material
170 minutes of your time
Use of $50k of software and equipment which, if you own it, is costing you a ton of money every single minute.

I'd rather just spend $110.

Spence

(P.S. That scenario above plays out in my shop time and time again....I seldom get business from anybody who wants some trick custom parts for their truck...at $75/hr shop rate, that hitch just cost 'em $250)

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Before I commented I went down to my shop and take a look at my Warn receiver block that I've had since... 1997 when it came with a 1975 FJ40 I bought? And still looks as good as it ever has?

It's forged, not cast. This is the same process for steering arms and other areas on your truck that need extremely high strength/life or death scenario if it fails. This is one of the strongest metal manufacturing techniques, period.

Billet is a cheaper manufacturing technique related usually to flexibility of cheap manufacturing and small demand (spencyg owns a CNC machine for example). They literally take a block of steel and whittle it down. Even in stainless applications it usually looks good for the immediate future but gets dinged up and rusts fairly quickly. Yes, even stainless. This is why billet items are also hugely over-sized, because they need to be. Because they are weaker...

That said I don't think either would ever fail, but I guarantee the Viking will look much worse in two years. Secondly if you live in a high moisture area where rust develops easily, like New England, if you left that thing in your bumper for a year or two, I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find it rusted into your receiver or having to use a hammer to get it out.

It is funny to me that somehow the Viking is placed in the category of "don't skimp" and "you get what you pay for" --simply because of its higher price -- when it is less superior in every single category.

 

[RHINO]

right-on dre,,,, i was going to comment on the fact that if we really wanted to buy for strength and safety it seems we would follow the military example,,, an outfit that typically makes requests for obscenely strong products and out of the box engineering feats to get them. they also just happen to have the money to back that need up and re-supply on a whim if something better comes along.

will the military switch from forged steel to billet because it costs more and must be better? we'll see but i doubt it.

i am sure viking would agree (and i would love to see them post here) that they were anticipating a very small market for these because the price reflects it. do any of you remember the billet receivers that got popular a few years ago? exactly the same process to manufacture, exactly the same process to test and certify weight ratings and stuff, but they spit them out for well under $100 because the market was much much bigger.

some would have you believe otherwise, but the price of something doesnt always dictate a better product. those who buy this product will be buying a product they like and want and that, my friends, is worth every penny.