Ultimate Racks review
Ultimate Racks!
We looked at the Ultimate Rack products.
| Ultimate Racks |  |
When the ATV Connection is asked to evaluate a product, we seldom have the opportunity to visit the facility where the product is made. The review of the Ultimate Racks ATV Carrier 
Systems would be an exception. At the same time the Ultimate Racks arrived for review, Bombardier was flying us to Utah to spend a couple days at the Winter Olympics. The Ultimate Racks facility is located in Ogden, Utah, about twenty miles from the winter games. So, we took the opportunity to check out the Ultimate Racks headquarters. Upon my arrival, I met Kurt Klev in charge of sales and marketing. He introduced me to the rest of the staff and gave a detailed explanation of the products and a tour of the facilities. The plant is very organized and split into different sections of operation; such as, assembly, powder coating, packaging and shipping. Everyone had a job to do and did it quite well. The products are durable and made with high quality materials. After a quick demonstration of the Ultimate Racks and Uni-Loader, I left the warehouse in anticipation of our own evaluation.
If your ATV can fit in the bed of your pick-up and hassle free
way to load it, then the Uni-Loader may be the right choice for you .The frame of the Uni-Loader mounts to the inside of the truck�s bedpost by drilling a small pilot hole and using self drilling “Sammy Screws”. The Uni-Loader will raise and lower in conjunction with the tailgate. Detailed assembly instructions complete with photographs take you step-by-step and gives a list of tools required for installation. The unit is completely powdered-coated and you have a choice between two steel ramps either in six or eight feet lengths. Once the ATV is loaded, the ramps are removed and stored under the ATV. An added bonus from Ultimate Racks are the foam protection guards that can be used where desired to eliminated any scratches. The only 
obstacle, I found, was the ramps are heavy ( six foot ramps are 69 lbs./ eight foot ramps are 84 lbs.). Kurt tells us that he is looking into different weight saving options to decrease the weight of the ramps. The Uni-Loader is easy to use and if you don�t want the added expense of a trailer this would be the kind of ramp system to select.
Ultimate Racks gives a rider the opportunity to bring more than one ATV to the trails. This is great for a family with multiple ATV�s or when you and a friend want to travel with one vehicle.
Two quads sit on the racks above the truckbed leaving plenty of room for your gear. We were going to be using multiple ATV�s on a hunting trip to Bedford, Pa. The three quads going along were the Kawasaki, Prairie 360, Suzuki, Vinson 500 and the Arctic Cat, TBX. A trailer still needed to be tugged along, but we saw this as an opportunity to test the Ultimate Racks out on the highway. The Shortbed Ultimate Racks ATV Carrier System was mounted inside the truckbed panels of a Ford, F350 Crew-Cab-Dually and two of the ATV�s were secured side-by-side and the third was strapped on the trailer. The racks are complete with two ten foot long ramps to minimize loading angle and they fold neatly in half to be stored conveniently on the rack under the loaded ATV�s. The entire truckbed remains open allowing enough room to store your gear.
any scrapes or scratches and the rack�s components were laid out. The Ultimate Racks comes with an assembly and installation booklet that entails detailed instructions with large pictures for step-by-step procedures. The booklet helped to organize the components of the rack along with the numerous Nylock nuts, bolts and washers. The first step before assembling the rack is attaching D-rings to the four corners of the truckbed because turnbuckles will be used to hold the Ultimate Rack in place. All the necessary hardware to complete this step is included, but the essential tools to have on hand would be a power drill with a 5/16″ drill bit, 7/16″ socket, ratchet wrench, 7/16″ box wrench,
marking pen, tape measure, Phillips screwdriver, and most important find a “buddy” for assistance. If your pickup is equipped with factory tie-down hooks, you may be able to use them instead of the D-rings in your installation package. The frame bolted together fairly easy; constructed of all steel and is powdered-coated giving it a great look along with lasting protection. The three tire pans are made of diamond plate aluminum adding more style and eliminating rust. If your looking for an eye-catcher, this rack definitely turns heads.
rack weighs in @322lbs. with the ramps. Before loading and unloading set the ramps into place on the ramp rod and secure with spring pins. Once the quads are loaded slide the racks under the ATV�s, again use the spring pins to fasten the ramps. After the quads were secured with tie down straps (*note- not included, we headed for the interstate. Following periodic inspection stops out on the highway everything remained in place. There wasn�t any noticeable jarring and the ATV�s remained stable even off road. Obviously, these racks have undergone heavy research and engineered to a high standard. The racks carry any ATV currently sold on the market and can be easily slid out of the truckbed
when no longer needed. Speaking for someone who always travels with a lot of “stuff”, the Ultimate Racks are the way to go. Best of all, you can have your ATV�s and still pull a camper or a trailer. The Shortbed Ultimate Rack retails @99.00 and the Longbed Ultimate Racks are special order, so you need to contact the manufacture for details and pricing. Because of the size of the units, Ultimate Racks will be shipped to your nearest ABF Freight terminal (@1-800-610-5544 for a location nearest you) . Residential delivery is an option for an additional .00. The Uni-Loader with six foot ramps retail @ 9.00 +shipping costs and the Uni-Loader with eight foot ramps retail @ 9.00 + shipping costs.