Otc hub grappler vs matco?

[WhiffySpark]

Anyone have both? Best I can tell its relabeled. But matco is 810 vs 450 for otc

Does otc warranty them if there's an issue? I know matco guy will either way, but that's a big price difference

 

[CZ_Greatwrench]

Besides toolboxes and a lot of their hard line, MATCO is almost all rebranded items. All of the tool truck companies sell a lot of rebranded items. OTC will warranty, but you have to find a dealer willing to do it or pay shipping to mail the items. You have to ask yourself is the support of having the truck dealer worth the extra cash to you. Spending some time looking at discount or tool liquidation sites at brands like OTC, KD/Gearwrench, Actron, Star, Ferret, and etc you'll quickly be able to look at MATCO, Snap On, Mac, and Cornwell brands and be able to identify what's rebranded. For the extra money all you're really buying is ease of warranty and buying the loyalty of that specific dealer.

 

[Shadowdog500]

I have a poor mans hub grappler and love the darn thing for home use.

To make my poor mans version I bought:

Harbor freight FWD Front Wheel Bearing Adapters. Currently on sale for $119 then use 20%coupon = $95 It's $89 if you get it tomorrow using a 25%coupon.
I measured every adapter and this is an exact copy of the OTC hub tamer Set but the forcing screw is nowhere near as good as the OTC one
http://t.harborfreight.com/fwd-fron...829.html?utm_referrer=https://www.google.com/

Then I bought the OTC hub grappler upgrade kit that is meant for people who had the old hub tamer kit for $122 plus free shipping on Amazon. It has the hub grappler upgrade along with the OTC impact rated forcing screw, nut, and washer. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005PL1PDA/?tag=atomicindus08-20

The only part I had to make was the small adapter to pull the hub out and that was only a few minutes on my lathe. But the same could be done with a hacksaw and file if needed.

Chris

 

[phikshin]

I have a poor mans hub grappler and love the darn thing for home use.

To make my poor mans version I bought:

Harbor freight FWD Front Wheel Bearing Adapters. Currently on sale for $119 then use 20%coupon = $95 It's $89 if you get it tomorrow using a 25%coupon.
I measured every adapter and this is an exact copy of the OTC hub tamer Set but the forcing screw is nowhere near as good as the OTC one
http://t.harborfreight.com/fwd-fron...829.html?utm_referrer=https://www.google.com/

Then I bought the OTC hub grappler upgrade kit that is meant for people who had the old hub tamer kit for $122 plus free shipping on Amazon. It has the hub grappler upgrade along with the OTC impact rated forcing screw, nut, and washer. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005PL1PDA/?tag=atomicindus08-20

The only part I had to make was the small adapter to pull the hub out and that was only a few minutes on my lathe. But the same could be done with a hacksaw and file if needed.

Chris

I did the same thing but haven't had to use it yet. Which adapter did you have to make? Any pics of it?

 

[ihateminimumwage]

Matco relabels a LOT of OTC tools. It's up to you what the truck warranty is worth, but if you can mail it in (if you ever break it), it'd be worth paying almost 50% less than Matco wants for the same tool.

 

[Buckgnarly]

I did the same thing but haven't had to use it yet. Which adapter did you have to make? Any pics of it?

X2...i have the HF kit, interested in adding the OTC like you did...

 

[Shadowdog500]

I did the same thing but haven't had to use it yet. Which adapter did you have to make? Any pics of it?

X2...i have the HF kit, interested in adding the OTC like you did...

Here is my combined set. I keep the grappler in the box it came in.


Here is the adapter I made to pull the hub out of the bearing. I made this on my old mini lathe. I put the dimentions of mine on the sketch but the aren't critical. I just wipped something up. The OD just has to be slightly smaller than the ID of the bearing. I put a step in the face to center it. The step OD is slightly smaller than the ID of the spline in the hub. The hole is the same size as the holes in the other adapters. The thickness was whatever looked good when I made it.





Here is where it goes when in use. sorry for the messy sketch.



Chris

 

[WhiffySpark]

I'm going to text matco guy Monday and see what he says. Thanks for the idea chris, that's slot of work for someone that is lazy as me lol

 

[WhiffySpark]

Besides toolboxes and a lot of their hard line, MATCO is almost all rebranded items. All of the tool truck companies sell a lot of rebranded items. OTC will warranty, but you have to find a dealer willing to do it or pay shipping to mail the items. You have to ask yourself is the support of having the truck dealer worth the extra cash to you. Spending some time looking at discount or tool liquidation sites at brands like OTC, KD/Gearwrench, Actron, Star, Ferret, and etc you'll quickly be able to look at MATCO, Snap On, Mac, and Cornwell brands and be able to identify what's rebranded. For the extra money all you're really buying is ease of warranty and buying the loyalty of that specific dealer.

I know this. 95% of what I buy is snapon. I don't really care about who makes what anymore.