These Manik tail light guards can save you hundreds of dollars on the cost of replacing damaged lenses.

   If you''ve ever smashed a tail light lens on a late model truck while off roading, then you know that their replacement cost is precisely equal to the credit limit on your Mastercard, times two plus your mortgage payment.

   It's obscene what they get for a crappy piece of transparent red polystyrene that can''t cost more than five bucks to manufacture. But being a dreaded "'dealer only" item they charge whatever they want.

   Having smashed far too many in my illustrious career I thought it was time to step up for some prevention this time around. Again we opted for a product from Manik. After looking at several similar products, theirs seemed to be the best made, had the cleanest lines and the same tough powder coated finish as the tube steps and grill guard we got from them.

   Again installation was idiot proof, I didn't even look at the directions, it was so simple. The tail light guards use existing bolts for the main mounting point, but do require that one small hole be drilled on each side for a sheet metal screw (supplied) to secure the lower tab. Simple enough, it took less than a half hour to install both sides.

   The guards look good and do the job they are intended for. Whether protecting your lenses from shopping carts at Safeway or trees and rocks on the trail they are cheap, good looking insurance against the breakage of a several hundred dollar lens.

Ratings:

   Like all the other Manik products tested, fit finish and quality are superb. Installation can be done by a child and appearance is excellent.

The Wilderness Roof Rack from Garvin Industries was the answer to our spare tire storage dilemma.

    Plans for our truck include extensive forays into Baja and remote desert areas, as well as towing the boat on trips to river. This requires at least one full size spare. We will be retaining the factory spare mounted under the rear deck as well for an emergency back up.

   Problem is, what the hell do you do with a 150lb, 37x12.50 spare wheel and tire? Keeping it in the cargo area is out of the question, it would dominate the entire space. No suitable swing away carrier was found, plus they can tend to beat up the body work with such a heavy spare dangling on them. Also a swing away is a pain when you want to access the rear lift gate.

   By attrition we decided and expedition roof rack was the way to go to carry our enormous spare. While there are trade offs to wind resistance and center of gravity by mounting it so high. They are more than offset by convenience.

   After having looked at many racks, we chose the Wilderness rack by Garvin Industries. It is a light to moderate duty rack that offers tons of accessories like a spare tire carrier, light tabs, axe, jack and shovel mounts etc. We did look at heavy duty racks as well, but with greater strength, comes increased weight. And we wanted to keep from tinkering with the Expedition's center of gravity any more than absolutely necessary. The Garvin rack has a weight rating of 250lbs, more than enough.

   The Garvin rack is made of mild steel tubing, with a tough black powder coated finish. It is a sectional rack that requires a large amount of assembly. While no being difficult to assemble, it is very time consuming and will take several hours to complete. The advantage to this construction is ease of shipping and low cost. Once the rack is assembled, installation on the roof of the Expedition was a little tricky, requiring two people to get it up and positioned. But the mounting system while requiring a large amount of fasteners is well thought out, utilizing the existing roof rack rails. Once bolted in place this rack ain't going anywhere.

   I was able to stand on the rack and bounce without effect. At a svelte 225lbs, if I didn't break it, you won't!

   With the spare mounted in place and the Hella lamps installed the Garvin Wilderness rack looks and is tough and functional. While it's load carrying capacity may be less than a one piece rack like the Con-Ferr or Rover Accessories, it's weight, wind drag, wind noise and most importantly cost are far less, and it will support more than enough weight to carry extra gear for a long trip. Ratings:

Fit finish and quality are all excellent, assembly is easy but tedious and time consuming. Thank god you only have to do it once! Appearance is good and while this rack is not top of the line expedition strength it is low profile, lighter, quieter and more than strong enough for us and 99% of users.   On to still more goodies...

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