Torklift Tiedowns Original Steel or Talon Aluminum
I am trying to decide between the Torklift original steel vs the Talon aluminum tiedowns.
Truck Camper Magazine interviewed Torklift about the Talons when they were first introduced and the discussion is quite detailed:
www.truckcampermagazine.com/news/tcm-exclusive-torklift-international-talon-camper-tie-downs
I have also read the Torklift website, did google searches, and searched this forum.
My conclusion is that the summary is this. Talons are 30% to 50% lighter but cost around 30% more. Torklift tested the Talons to be as strong as steel (although how can testing really know how they will hold up after 10 years). And the big one, since the Talons are aluminum they won't rust.
In my case, specifically it is $500 for steel vs $680 for Talons. But the Talons include the finishing kit (the caps for the pieces that remain on the truck when the camper isn't loaded) which is worth $20. So really it is $500 for steel vs $660 for Talons.
Are Talons worth the $160 more?
Someone said with steel you should paint them once a year. Someone said to put car wax on the steel to keep them from rusting. So possibly some maintenance for steel. I have plenty of truck capacity so weight isn't a problem, but less weight never hurts.
From the web searches I didn't find a single bad word about Talons. But then there isn't much you can say about tiedowns. Either Torklift tiedown will hold the camper, especially for newer tiedowns which is the case here that Talons have only been out a few years.
I guess my main question is to ask if anyone has had any negative experience with the Talons. Does anyone have any reason not to get Talons except for cost?
If not, it is $160 to not worry about rust. Very borderline decision. The thing is that tiedowns are matched to the truck and you probably won't be able to move them to a new truck. So as long as they last as long as the truck that is all that is needed. I assume there are other critical steel parts on the truck which can also rust. On the other hand, 5 or 10 years from now for a tie down to break due to rust could be very bad and very expensive.
I suppose I am leaning towards spending the extra $160. Opinions?
Truck Camper Magazine interviewed Torklift about the Talons when they were first introduced and the discussion is quite detailed:
www.truckcampermagazine.com/news/tcm-exclusive-torklift-international-talon-camper-tie-downs
I have also read the Torklift website, did google searches, and searched this forum.
My conclusion is that the summary is this. Talons are 30% to 50% lighter but cost around 30% more. Torklift tested the Talons to be as strong as steel (although how can testing really know how they will hold up after 10 years). And the big one, since the Talons are aluminum they won't rust.
In my case, specifically it is $500 for steel vs $680 for Talons. But the Talons include the finishing kit (the caps for the pieces that remain on the truck when the camper isn't loaded) which is worth $20. So really it is $500 for steel vs $660 for Talons.
Are Talons worth the $160 more?
Someone said with steel you should paint them once a year. Someone said to put car wax on the steel to keep them from rusting. So possibly some maintenance for steel. I have plenty of truck capacity so weight isn't a problem, but less weight never hurts.
From the web searches I didn't find a single bad word about Talons. But then there isn't much you can say about tiedowns. Either Torklift tiedown will hold the camper, especially for newer tiedowns which is the case here that Talons have only been out a few years.
I guess my main question is to ask if anyone has had any negative experience with the Talons. Does anyone have any reason not to get Talons except for cost?
If not, it is $160 to not worry about rust. Very borderline decision. The thing is that tiedowns are matched to the truck and you probably won't be able to move them to a new truck. So as long as they last as long as the truck that is all that is needed. I assume there are other critical steel parts on the truck which can also rust. On the other hand, 5 or 10 years from now for a tie down to break due to rust could be very bad and very expensive.
I suppose I am leaning towards spending the extra $160. Opinions?
