 |
||
| > Reader's Photo OX5 by Lockheed Martin |
||
 |
||
 |
||
| • ADVERTISE WITH US | ||
| • WHO IS MOAB JEEPER? | ||
|
Home > Jeep Articles > General - Product Reviews > Fold Down Tray Table Review |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Fold Down Tray Table ReviewArticle written by Moab ManDate Added: 08/25/2008 One of the things that make America great is the people that come up with a new idea, develop the idea, and then build it here in America. Tat Marcy, President OffRoadTrailTools.com, is one of those entrepreneurs; and we want to show you his great idea. |
 Many of us are envious of those old CJ tailgates that fold down. These were great because while on the trail they gave us a place to work, prepare some food, or simply provided a place to set stuff down other than in the dirt.All of us with YJs and TJs kinda got screwed with the swing out tailgate, but finally OffRoadTrailTools.com has the solution with their tailgate Fold Down Tray Table. We?re going to say it right up front? WE LOVE THIS TABLE!
|
|
||||||||||||
|
The table comes in either raw aluminum or black powder coat. While we prefer the look of black powder coat, we chose to go with raw aluminum. Why, you ask? Go experiment with touching black metal under a 100° desert sun, and let us know how that turns out.
In case you were wondering, yeah we stole the photo from Off Road Trail Tools. |
|
||||||||||||
|
Getting past color choice, we like the low profile of the table and how it hugs the tail gate. In the upright closed position, this table doesn?t extend any further in than the latch mechanism located on the inside of your tailgate. |
|
||||||||||||
|
Keeping the table locked in the upright position are self retracting captive pins. Wow, that is a mouthful. To fold down the table, pull out on the pins and give them a turn. This locks the pin in the ?out? position. |
|
||||||||||||
|
Folding the table down, you have a 12? x 18? surface area with a ½? lip running the full circumference of the table to prevent little parts from rolling off. And for those of you living where it rains (or just spill a lot), the table has drain holes to avoid having a mini pond in the back of your Jeep. |
|
||||||||||||
|
Nylock nuts keep the tray together. While this may seem insignificant, Jeeps vibrate and tend to shake things apart. It?s one of those little touches that make this a great product. |
|
||||||||||||
|
Attaching the table to your tailgate may give you a little bit of a challenge as ours did. Sheet metal itself is not ideal for threading the provided stainless steel bolts into it. There is just not enough material to grip the bolt threads, and they will eventually pull out. If your newer model TJ tailgate has the removable plastic vent in the tailgate, you can simply drill the necessary holes and put a washer/nut on the inside of the tailgate using the removed vent as an access panel. For the rest of us, you will need a
Threaded Insert tool. If you do not want to buy this tool, contact your local four wheel drive or "Ricer" shop. Our local 4x4 shop told us for about $5, and us having pre-drilled the holes, they would install the four Threadserts. |
|
||||||||||||
|
**Product Update**
Just prior to going live with this article; we received this updated product picture. Most notable are the raised holes punched through the back of the table. This punched raised dimpling allows the product to be more rigid, and in some applications where it matters, lighter. |
|
||||||||||||
 Final ThoughtsWe can't tell you how much we have appreciated having this table for preparing food while camping, reloading magazines while shooting, and most important... a clean place to work while out on the trail.One suggestion we have is to keep your trail gloves inside the folded table. It's no fault of the table, but metal tends to rattle and make noise. Any kind of slight pressure on the table, such as keeping your gloves in there, will stop it from vibrating? Plus you?ll always know where your gloves are. To purchase this table: Black Powder Coat To purchase this table: Raw Aluminum Installing: Fold Down Tray Table
Vendor Response On the rattling, I found 2 things after I installed a big rubber cushion to stop things from rattling. (1) The self retracting pins have spring inside them. You can take the shelf off and rattle the pins and hear them. (2) The bottom stainless steel hinge bolts and nuts can be tightened to help keep the rattling down, or loosened to make the shelf fold up or down really easy. Those bolt mounting holes have some leeway in them for manufacturing tolerances. On a foot note we're in the midst of making the shelf even better. The newest models have a few "more radiuses edges" as well as being "dimple died".
Tat Marcy |
|
||||||||||||
Purchase / Vendor Info
|
| Vendor Name: | Off Road Trail Tools .com |
| Address: | 7099 W Hutchs Pools Place Tucson, AZ 85743 |
| Phone: | 520-579-2079 |
| Contact Person: | Tat Marcy |
| E-Mail Address: | |
| Website: | http://www.expeditionexchange.com/ortt/ |
Our
Thank You's!
