Titan Fitness Fold Back Wall Mount T-3 Power Rack Review

[Beyondhomegym]

I know there is the Rogue Clone of this same product. But after considerable research and realizing I could save half the money after shipping and cheaper attachments I decided to go with the Titan Fitness rack. Im willing to bet the Rogue is a nicer version, however for me the cost of the Titan Fitness rack is half the Rogue. So far I am incredibly happy and dont see the need for things like a possibly better paint job or the 3x3 construction as this thing is a tank. Anyway, heres a full review for the community. Also heres the link to the product:

http://www.titan.fitness/41-inch-dee...ount-rack.html


Specs:

Material: 2″x3″ 11 gauge steel tubes

Finish: Black Powder Coat

Height: 91″

Depth: Available in 41.5″ and 21.5″

Width: 50″

Capacity: 1000lbs

Weight: 175 lbs for 41.5″ and 150 lbs for 21.5″

Includes: J-hooks

Optional Attachments:

T-3 spotter arms
T-3 dip bars

Operation:

The locking pins attach easily through the hinge points and secure via cotter pins.





A unique surprise I came across was that the two attachment side bracings had shorter beams at the folding hinge point than the other two beams.



Notice larger attachment brace on left of photo.


This was a dilemma for me during set up. I actually called Titan Fitness after hours, I was expecting no one to answer. Someone did answer and outstanding service was delivered. Ranting just a bit, I always expect good customer service but when I truly get it I often feel surprised and its something that does draw me back to a company. Continuing, they explained that the previous design had the rack folding in the same direction, both bracings to only the left or right side. Now with this design, the rack can fold in on itself, towards the middle. This was a feature once reserved only for the 21.5″ version of this rack. Just remember to put the shorter bracing on one side and the longer bracings on the others side.

Craftsmanship:

The Titan Fitness Fold Back Wall Mount T-3 Power Rack has two configurations. There is an option for a 21.5″ version and a 41.5″ version. This is the measurement of each version of the power rack protruding from the secured wall when fully extended. The benefit of having the 21.5″ would be a smaller foot print when fully extended. The 41.5″ allows one to be inside the power rack for a multitude of exercises. It will also fit a full sized weight bench within the power rack for bench presses, overhead presses, etc.

The steel is 11 gauge. All the foldable power racks I came across used 11 gauge steel. Tube construction is 2×3 constructed steel. You will find a majority of these racks are 3×3. However, plenty of power racks exist in the 2×3 range and are more than capable for most lifters. This rack is rated capable of holding 1000 lbs.

I personally like to powerlift and do CrossFit/functional training workouts. I will never lift more than 500 lbs on any of my lifts. Therefore, 2×3 construction is not a concern for me. The 3×3 steel may be something to consider if you are a professional powerlifter because it is technically stronger. For the majority of lifters that can handle serious weight, 2×3 steel is more than enough steel strength.

All the holes for J hooks, dip attachment and spotter arms are laser cut and showed no inconsistencies. The westside hole spacing was a bit of a nice surprise. These allow me to set that perfect height on my spotter arms for the bench press. Welds were solid and gave no indication of being cheaply put together. The pull-up bar is solid as well. It should also be mentioned that the power rack comes with 4 J hooks.

T-3 J hooks



There were some reviews from those with smaller hands wishing the pull-up bar was 1.5 inches instead of the currently designed, 2 inches. This is an understandable request. Many women have smaller hands and their grip strength just isn’t ready for a 2-inch bar. A fix would be to consider wrapping some athletic tape around the bar to provide a natural gripping surface. I am 5’11” and my wife is 5’8″ Both of us found the pull up bar to work well. In fact, I prefer a fatter bar to encourage grip strength. The pull-up bar attaches easily with pins and stores nicely to the side when the rack needs to be folded.

The powder coat was even and looked sharp. However, the product arrived with a few small chips in the powder coat. Based on some reviews I read, I expected this to be the case. It is not concerning enough for me to return the product or warrant a different retailer. The price savings is more than worth it and I figured that even if the rack rusted through in ten years, then it was still a worthy buy. I honestly don’t think that even that will ever happen.

Titan Fitness Fold Back Wall Mount T-3 Power Rack Accessories:



T-3 Power Rack Dip attachment

I have a lifting injury to my AC joint and the only thing that aggravates my AC joint is dips. Therefore, I shy away from them, so I cannot comment on this item directly. You can get the T-3 Power Rack Dip Bars for $49. This is another advantage to the Titan Fitness power racks in general. All their attachment pieces are value priced.

T-3 Power Rack Spotter Arms

Do yourself a favor and buy the spotter arms when you purchase this rack. They are needed for lifting when you are alone and truly provide a benefit from a safety standpoint. If purchased with the rack, the spotter arms are only $50. If you purchase individually they cost $69. Like I have already said, this is another great reason to go with Titan Fitness on a power rack. The attachment pieces for competitor models are $135 plus.

The spotter arms for the T-3 are very well made. They are very sturdy and latch on like a boss. The pins remove with ease and there have been no questions with stability or the attached UMHW plastic. This plastic is designed to prevent the barbell from getting scratched. All spotter arms contain this fancy plastic. UMHW plastic is meant to scratch from the barbell knurling, but it prevents the barbell from scratching. I do love the westside hole spacing in conjunction with these spotter arms for finding that perfect spot for the bench press.



All in all it is serving me very well and again spending twice as much for the Rogue didnt make sense to me and still doesnt but would love to hear if others have the Rogue rack and disagree. Some tips...If you dont have to be in the rack get the shorter version to save space and cost. Definitely buy the spotter arms as they are cheaper when purchased same time as rack. Seriously consider your mounting location before installation. I had a bit of difficult installation process. This was fine for me as I like projects but could really frustrate some. Any questions on installation please feel free to ask. Also I can include additional pics or answer any other questions if need be.

[arkaa]

Excellent review, and thanks for the pics too. I didn't realize the two sides folded over each other, that really reduces the wall space needed to install them. IMO, Titan doesn't provide enough information about their products or even promote them actively. For example, you said it came with four J-hooks - that bit of info is not mentioned on the product page. Nor is the information about how it folds, how much space it needs etc.

I got the T-3 HD rack a few weeks back, and I agree that the build quality is pretty solid and the finish (paints, welds etc) are nothing to complain about either. Looks like they really took the feedback from the early reviews and worked to improve the product. I contacted customer service once and I too had a very good experience, they are prompt and resolved the issue immediately.

Anyhoo, congrats on your new rack. Have fun!!

[Cleveland33]

I am surprised they don't make these where an upright bolts to the wall and the pivot attaches to that - it would increase the profile, but then you should be able to use spotters.

[cwcmac]

I'm curious, why did you go with this instead of a full rack? Was it for space saving? The reason i ask is because the stall mats/flooring under it lead me to believe that you don't plan on parking a car there.

Great review regardless.

[Beyondhomegym]

Good question on the stall mats. I live in a snowy mountain town. In summer I leave the car in the street. In winter we are regulated to park our cars in driveway. It will be during that few month period I will have to remove mats and fold down. Bit of a pain, but the mats are needed for quietness and floor protection.

I also wanted to add... that during installation I realized that the garage floors are sloped away from the house. The left side sits about 1/4 of an inch lower. The mats proved a useful benefit as once removed the rack folds in on itself with ease. If straight to the floor that small slope would have prevented folding in on self and would have left me with one option of folding both pillars to the left which is with the decline of the slope.

[Beyondhomegym]

Yah, there were definitely tell some things that were a nice surprise like this rack folding in on itself, Westside spacing and 4 J hooks! These are things that matter, and is a great surprise.

[Mech6]

I am surprised they don't make these where an upright bolts to the wall and the pivot attaches to that - it would increase the profile, but then you should be able to use spotters.

The uprights would have to be spaced out from the wall a good inch to be able to use j-hooks or attachments on them. Or, if flush against wall, you could use flip-downs (they don't go all the way through upright) but titan/rogue seems incapable of making those for their 5/8" racks. None of their other safeties would work (strap, rod/pipe, spotters) on that side without a space behind upright.

[cwcmac]

Good question on the stall mats. I live in a snowy mountain town. In summer I leave the car in the street. In winter we are regulated to park our cars in driveway. It will be during that few month period I will have to remove mats and fold down. Bit of a pain, but the mats are needed for quietness and floor protection.

I also wanted to add... that during installation I realized that the garage floors are sloped away from the house. The left side sits about 1/4 of an inch lower. The mats proved a useful benefit as once removed the rack folds in on itself with ease. If straight to the floor that small slope would have prevented folding in on self and would have left me with one option of folding both pillars to the left which is with the decline of the slope.

Perhaps you should go with a couple rolls of rubber flooring. 3/8" thick is super easy to roll up nicely against the wall. It'd be a hell of a lot easier than moving around stall mats each time.

[Beyondhomegym]

Exactly! Those stall mats are 100lbs each. Thanks for the tip.

[arkaa]

I am surprised they don't make these where an upright bolts to the wall and the pivot attaches to that - it would increase the profile, but then you should be able to use spotters.

The uprights would have to be spaced out from the wall a good inch to be able to use j-hooks or attachments on them. Or, if flush against wall, you could use flip-downs (they don't go all the way through upright) but titan/rogue seems incapable of making those for their 5/8" racks. None of their other safeties would work (strap, rod/pipe, spotters) on that side without a space behind upright.

Or, they could just add another smaller vertical post between front upright and rear wall brackets. The rack is 41" deep, so place the short post at about 30" behind the upright which means, accounting for the 3" thickness of the bar, it will be 8" from the wall. So it would't effect/interfere with the folding in any way and allows the use of pin-in-pipe safety spotters. Of course it wouldn't be a full upright (as it will be between the top & bottom side braces) but it will still provide enough vertical range for squats, bench etc.

My only concern would be how such a design effect the rack's weight capacity. The J-Hooks & Spotter Arms are mounted on the uprights that go down all the way to the floor, so the load is transferred down straight. With 2nd vertical post and pin-pipe safety, the weight would distributed between the front uprights and the rear wall brackets. The physics I remember tells me it wouldn't make a difference as the same load is shared across the same anchor points (two ground contacts and four wall contacts), but I could be wrong.

[Mech6]

Or, they could just add another smaller vertical post between front upright and rear wall brackets. The rack is 41" deep, so place the short post at about 30" behind the upright which means, accounting for the 3" thickness of the bar, it will be 8" from the wall. So it would't effect/interfere with the folding in any way and allows the use of pin-in-pipe safety spotters. Of course it wouldn't be a full upright (as it will be between the top & bottom side braces) but it will still provide enough vertical range for squats, bench etc.

Good point.

[Beyondhomegym]

Just thought I would mentioned that I noticed Titan Fitness is doing 10% off right now. Making these and even better price. www.titan.fitness

[CanadaBuilder]

The Titan T-3 series short power rack will help you work out safely and efficiently while performing squats, military press, bench press, curls, shrugs, dips and more.

They really are into the marketing of this. Buy a rack and do your curls in them.

[Mrvictor80]

I’m looking at seeing if there is room to cut the pull up bar and still close up the rack inward. Is there any room between the brackets and the post?