Customer Reviews

Racor InterChange ICK-11B 23-Piece WallDocking Kit, Black

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Fuzzy Wuzzy's Summary:
**** Recommended with warm fuzzies.

The Racor InterChange system is like the garage version of mix-and-match separates in fashion. In theory, you mix and match its wide variety of hangers and hooks, moving different attachments onto the various WallDocks that you have permanently mounted onto the walls of your garage, workroom, basement, etc. And so, in theory, during the summers, you want your gardening tools and summer recreational toys hanging on those WallDocks, and during the winters, you want your snow shovel, skis and snowshoes hanging on those same WallDocks instead. But in reality, when you swap out your summer gear for your winter gear, where would you store your summer gear then??? This reminds me of comedian Steven Wright's quote of: "You can't have everything. Where would you put it?"

Every so often, I get an itch to completely redecorate rooms in my house, repainting walls with completely different colors, and moving sofas, seating, tables, furnishings, accents around. But for the stuff that I normally keep in my garage, I want consistency in the location of where garden hose, gardening tools, extension cords, snowshoes, ice axe, etc, are located. Also, to really ensure that you can move the hooks around to the different WallDocks that are mounted in your garage, thus allowing you to hang a variety of items throughout the year, you would need to mount each WallDock with plenty of spacing separating between each WallDock. But this would also make far less efficient use of your garage wall space.

I am a little wary of getting too close to the hooks' 50-pound rated load capacity (when the WallDocks are firmly screwed into the wall studs). I have a fairly heavy 22-foot telescoping multi-ladder than weighs close to 50 pounds, and it does seem to be hanging okay on one of the hooks. But I also purposely positioned the hook so that the ladder hangs very close to the ground in case the hook ever breaks/bends under repeated fatigue.

Overall, I like this package... NOT for the reason that I can move all of my hooks around back and forth, but more for the usefulness of all the attachments provided. Now, if someone could invent an InterChange system that lets me rotate my house on its foundation so that my windows face south during the winter and face north during the summer, I would really be in a tizzy.

I've had this product for a while and it is doing great holding many of the items that I would normally lean against the garage wall. It was easy to install - I installed the walldocks using 2 screws into studs to make sure they would stay in place for a long time. The hooks snap onto the walldocks. If you ever want to remove the hook, or move it to another walldock, you push a red button in the middle of the walldock and the hook "unlatches" from it. every hook fits on every walldock.

the best part really is the amount of items you can place on them. I have 2 bikes, 50 foot hose, many extension cords, a ladder, car cleaning stuff, weed wacker, leaf blower, and at least 6 shovels/rakes/dethacher and other items. I think it is alot of items that are now safely on the wall of the garage and out of the way.

Pros
this set is so easy the kids all helped clean out the garage and set it all up
we can move out the seasonal toys with no problem
have so much more room in the garage now too

Cons
would be nice if the product would come with information about load bearing on each hook
for this reason we are only using it for the lighter kids items
one thing is it seems too easy to change them out
but so far thankfully kids have not snapped one off
when they go to get their gear off them
(though i did it once )

for this reason i am going to just give the product three stars
because i think should be more of a way to really lock it in place once it is on the wall
so far on two different hooks when i took an item off i hit the red button
so i guess for me i just have to be more careful when i am getting things off the hooks

as for those saying it is nuts to move stuff around
we do it all the time in our garage with 6 kids things are moving all the time around here
yes most of the big items and tools do not change from their locations
but is nice to move items that are not being used in the winter like rakes to the back
and move the shovels to the front now not sure the style of hooks i will change out alot
guess will have to wait and see with more usage if we change out the hooks much or just the items on the hooks

I've been using the Racor system for about a year now. I was impressed at first by the variety of hanging implements included in the kit but soon realized that the variety didn't fit well with my needs. I would have appreciated more of the implements used for hanging handled garden tools, for instance. There were a couple of hanging implements in the kit for which I never found a use. Finally, the hook, while useful, is too shallow to optimally hang heavy yard equipment without scraping the equipment aginst the wall. Also, there's only 1 hook.

The main reason I rate the system with 2 stars has more to do with the quality of the components than their variety. Simply put, they are not up to the job of hanging the types of items one finds in a typical garage: ladders, bikes, heavy tools, etc. If the system were not advertised as being suitable for such equipment, I wouldn't count the lack of structural integrity against it, but I purchased it with this belief. What happened to me is that I was able to hang heavier equipment for a while. As time passed, the hangers started popping off the wall, failing at the plastic part (top of the white insert in the pictures where the plastic meets the metal), which is identical for each piece (it's the part that actually bears most of the load). The plastic simply deforms then breaks and whatever you were hanging crashes to the floor. This happened to me three times. The metal part of the hanger doesn't break, so theoretically it could be re-used with a new plastic piece, as long as a lighter item is hung. It is likely that temperature swings in the garage contributed to the deformation.

Overall, I can't recommend the system until the manufacturer strengthens the components.

We appreciate the versatility of this product. We moved a lot of things off our floors and onto the walls. The interchangable part is also nice because you don't feel like you have to get it all right the first time- which can be a really crippling concern that stops you from getting anything done in the garage while you try to figure out the 'perfect' system.

They were easy to install.

This is a solid mounting system and even comes with high quality screws to mount the hardware. The cord wrap is especially useful. The basket is also nice. I just have never found a reason to exchange the hardware places on the wall. I drilled screws into a certain place for a reason and have not had a reason to change that pattern by swapping the hardware. The only convenience of being able to disconnect a bracket is to carry an extension cord to some remote location.

Excellent interchangeable wall docking kit gives you many choices in design with light weight but strong hooks and hangers
making it possible to hang as many things as you can. These are easy to install and strong with many possible uses. Really,
it is just a matter of imagination with what you can hang from these things. They aren't overly big so can fit into tight spots
and frees up shelves and floor.

I've had this set for 2+ months and installed several of the pieces. They are useful, but the idea of relocating pieces has proven good for hype, but not practical. Once I installed the bike rack hooks, I can't imagine moving it to another spot and reusing that current spot for something like the hose rack.

I do like the individual pieces & installation is easy. I especially like the large basket. But in the end, it's just a normal set of hooks, useful for organizing but not unusual.

The attachments are very heavy duty and intelligently designed. It took me a while to figure out what some of the fixtures were for, but when I did it made sense. As wall fixtures/utility hooks, they are of good quality and design and do the job. However, I question whether the fact you can change the fixtures to something else in the same location is really needed. Looking back at what I've done around the garage and house over time, most of the hooks and racks I've installed are still there and I've never had a need to replace them with something else (am I really ever going to replace the hose rack with a bike rack?). The universal "wall dock" that serves as the fixtures' attachment point to the wall appears to work as intended. Two screws (they also provided a box of universal screws I appreciated because I have a lot of cinder block walls that are hard to attach things to) are used to hold it in place. A little red button pushes down to allow the fixture to slip over it and then lock in place. It seems to me the wall dock may be a little weak and may not stand the test of time (it's plastic), but that remains to be seen. The only other issue I see is that when the fixture is attached, it is not tight against the wall. I believe I am installing it right. It stays on the wall dock, but it jiggles. This is a bit disconcerting because usually when you attach fixtures to walls, especially to hold a lot of weight, they are firm against the wall. But they are usually permanent, so I guess that's just the nature of the interchangeable design. In sum, good hardware, intelligent design, questionable usefulness of the interchangeability feature.

I saw these on Gold Box and thought I would take advantage of a possible shed cleaner.

First of all, my box did not come with instructions. It came with a pretty, double-sided picture of what all the pieces could do (allegedly). I installed the bike mount, exactly how the picture illustrated. It was installed flush and secure in a stud. I snapped the hook in place and hung the bike up. After 1 minute, the bike fell suddenly. I caught it out of reflex and almost broke my finger. Apparently, the hook is supposed to rest against a plastic lip on the top part of the plastic mount. Mine put so much pressure on the mount that it hook popped right over that lip.

If you want to get rid a family member under the guise of an accident, this is YOUR PRODUCT. Otherwise, buy standard metal hooks from a hardware store.