Hanson Offroad issues

rockwell

Member
Anyone dealing with Hanson Off-road? I ordered their rear bumper in March and they charged my card. I waited about a month before contacting them to find out the status and was told "it's at the power coater and will ship next week". That was in April and I was told that once a week until June even when I kept calling them on that canned answer, it kinda became a joke between my GF and I. They eventually stopped answering the phone and ignored emails. I filed a mail fraud case with my bank and let them know about it and all of a sudden they said it already shipped but couldn't provide a tracking number. I called back a few days later for the tracking number and a young woman answered and said they will be sending me something and I was put on hold to get Steve (manager?) but never came back or answered my calls again. About a week later it just shows up at my door. I decided to install it and noticed there was some scratches and a little rust, no big deal because it's going to see a lot worse off road but I though it was a little strange that it was a little rough considering it was just out of powder coating. When I went to install it I found that the main mounting bracket (it picks up the 4 hitch mount points on the cross member) was welded in the wrong spot at a 45° angle which makes it completely useless for towing or recovery and won't make this right. I think they sent me a reject that was sitting on a shelf so they could provide my bank a tracking number. This is the worst company I've ever had to deal with. They make nice stuff but Steve can't run a business apparently. Has anybody else had issues with these guys? I don't see much about these guys so I guess that should have been a red flag.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
I am really sorry to hear about your experience dealing with Hanson. There was a time that they and Full-Traction were a great company that made great products and provided good service. In fact, I used to be good friends with Steve, the owner of them but things have really changed over the years.
 

Spazbyt

Hooked
I am about to order some cj-7 bumpers from them so this is good info. Thanks op. I can only hope this was a isolated incident.
 

aermotor

Member
That sucks. If you order from a vendor who has their products in stock you shouldn't have an issues I would imagine.
 

rockwell

Member
I am about to order some cj-7 bumpers from them so this is good info. Thanks op. I can only hope this was a isolated incident.

Google 'Hanson buyer beware' for another opinion his story is the same as mine. They make some nice stuff but just can't seem to deliver. I get that they are probably a smaller shop and there are delays, but he just couldn't be honest with me about it. I even called him out on his 'it's at the powder coater and will ship next week' line and he INSISTED that that was the case and it would ship. It didn't. If he would have been honest I would have been fine about it. That was the first part of the problem.
The second part of the problem was the bumper being put together wrong. I was unhappy about it but tried to work with the on it, I sent them pictures and they agreed it was messed up, now they refuse to do anything about it. They are not standing behind their product. I was informed I would be responsible for shipping both ways (100 pound, 6 foot box across country), no way I was doing that, I'll fix it myself. If they made some sort of effort to make things right I would have let it go but they wouldn't even return my emails or call me back. I have my wedding next week and my Prorocks just came in so I don't really want to deal with poor customer service right now. It's too bad because I ordered the spindle bumper so I could get the tire carrier and I was probably going to get the rock rails. If you have a 'plan B' for bumpers I'd recommend going elsewhere. Too many options out there to deal with a company like that.
 

DeJkUnlimited

Caught the Bug
I am about to order some cj-7 bumpers from them so this is good info. Thanks op. I can only hope this was a isolated incident.

Doesn't appear to be an isolated incident at all, after doing just a quick google search. I'd do a complete 180° the other way.
 

rockwell

Member
Here are some pics from where the bumper should attach to the frame crossmember using the hitch holes. The bracket is welded in upside down putting it about a half inch away and at a 45° angle. I have to cut it out and reweld it in, damaging the powder coating in the process. Hanson will not honor their workmanship guarantee, it's like I am complaining about a scratch in the powder coating or something.

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piginajeep

The Original Smartass
Here are some pics from where the bumper should attach to the frame crossmember using the hitch holes. The bracket is welded in upside down putting it about a half inch away and at a 45° angle. I have to cut it out and reweld it in, damaging the powder coating in the process. Hanson will not honor their workmanship guarantee, it's like I am complaining about a scratch in the powder coating or something.

0B0511F7-7DE1-40F3-8328-95B86ECD853F_zpsc1prbizk.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

You talked to Steve the owner and he won't fix it?


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
 

rockwell

Member
You talked to Steve the owner and he won't fix it?


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app

Steve has not reached out, via email or phone, threw out this whole debacle after many emails and calls asking to speak to him. Last email I sent requested that he contact me as I am heading out of country for two weeks for my wedding and didn't want this left unanswered for so long, never heard back. I followed up a day or so later with a phone call (Steve was too busy as usual) and whoever I spoke to said Steve hadn't even looked at the pictures yet. I said "am I right in assuming Steve doesn't want to address this?" and he said "ok" and hung up. That was my last contact with Hanson, I have too much going on to let this bumper get under my skin anymore than it has.
 

NFRs2000NYC

Caught the Bug
Anyone dealing with Hanson Off-road? I ordered their rear bumper in March and they charged my card. I waited about a month before contacting them to find out the status and was told "it's at the power coater and will ship next week". That was in April and I was told that once a week until June even when I kept calling them on that canned answer, it kinda became a joke between my GF and I. They eventually stopped answering the phone and ignored emails. I filed a mail fraud case with my bank and let them know about it and all of a sudden they said it already shipped but couldn't provide a tracking number. I called back a few days later for the tracking number and a young woman answered and said they will be sending me something and I was put on hold to get Steve (manager?) but never came back or answered my calls again. About a week later it just shows up at my door. I decided to install it and noticed there was some scratches and a little rust, no big deal because it's going to see a lot worse off road but I though it was a little strange that it was a little rough considering it was just out of powder coating. When I went to install it I found that the main mounting bracket (it picks up the 4 hitch mount points on the cross member) was welded in the wrong spot at a 45° angle which makes it completely useless for towing or recovery and won't make this right. I think they sent me a reject that was sitting on a shelf so they could provide my bank a tracking number. This is the worst company I've ever had to deal with. They make nice stuff but Steve can't run a business apparently. Has anybody else had issues with these guys? I don't see much about these guys so I guess that should have been a red flag.

You can still call the bank and dispute the charge. Receiving goods has nothing to do with it. Take photos for your records, and send an email to Steve saying the bumper is on your front porch and they can have it picked up anytime they want. This is why I pay all vendors with my amex...if they fvck around I'll just let Amex deal with them. In the meantime, just grab an LOD destroyer and call it good.
 

Hangemhigh1

New member
JEEZ!! I should've done my research better on these guys. I ordered a front skid plate for my 2013 JKUR after I bought a new front bumper(not from Hanson Off-road). The goal was to protect my swaybar disconnect motor.After getting a confirming email right after placing the order 3 days ago, I heard nothing. I tried to contact them via email and phone to no avail. This sent up a red flag and I started digging a little deeper to see what others had experienced. I have not heard one good thing about these guys. I looked at the BBB website to see if they were even open anymore, and they had one review, it was bad. Next step......cancel the order! Thanks for sharing your experience.


Sent from my iPad using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
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rockwell

Member
OP here. Since my last update I made several more attempts to get ahold of 'Steve', or anybody, to help me with the workmanship issue I had. They wouldn't answer my calls (number blocked?) and if I called from another phone I was put on hold indefinitely until one of us hung up. They would not respond to email at all. They stuck me with a bumper that needs its main mount refabricated, the welding will ruin a lot of the powder coating. This is the worst company I've delt with and the only one that ever completely disregarded a legit quality issue. The welds look like shit too, but that didn't bother me until I realized they weren't going to stand behind their product. I filed a complaint with the BBB but it never showed up on the website. I have since realized this is the same Steve that operates Calmini. I got into wheeling in the '90s with a Samurai and they were one of the major players back then for them and he had a similar reputation. He's been at it over 20 years, he just doesn't give a *damn* about screwing over a couple guys.
PS - let me know if you are able to cancel, I tried at one point but they ignored my request.

Buyer beware to anybody coming across this while searching Hanson Offroad.
 
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The Wandering Jeeper

Caught the Bug
Ordered a bumper for the wife's Grand Cherokee on April 14th and still have yet to receive it. Still getting the run around from the owner, Steve. Just disputed the Amex charges and he can go pound sand.
 
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