My experience with buying a cheap snorkel

I think from the title you can already figure out that this one didn't go too well...
The following is my experience and opinion. Nothing more, nothing less.

I bought a cheap snorkel of eBay because, well, it's just a plastic tube and even though I had read some bad comments I also read a lot of good ones. It was similar to this item. The dealer was "rateme5". I payed 155$ (which wasn't the cheapest on eBay at the time).
The Missus didn't let me drill and cut coles into the car we had just bought so I gave it to my mechanic. When I came back in the evening he didn't manage to install everything because it was "a bloody nightmare" according to him. The part missing was the air intake head because it simply didn't fit. That part of the adventure set me back 200$ because the template was all wrong and nothing lined up. Luckily it didn't rain and drove home where I put a plastic bad and rubber band over the open snorkel. Next day I got a piece of exhaust rubbery pipe which set me back another 70$. We had a long weekend in the Grampians ahead of us which we didn't want to miss so I bit the bullet.
Afterwards I contacted "rateme5". And that's where things went really downhill. Yes I could get a refund if I returned the item. Funny. After what I paid for the snorkel and what I paid for getting it all installed I wouldn't go down that way. Every time I contacted them I got a reply from a different person who had no idea what I had written in the last email. They asked for photos only to go back to square one in the next email. Same with bills. I can't recommend them due to this experience.

I know that many people will say that you get what you pay for. While this is certainly true it can be hard to draw the line between cheap crap, good price and overpriced from the same factory in china but with "brand" sticker.

Bugger sorry mate, I would have said "go for it" " it's just a plastics
Tube! How bad can it be?"

Agreed the Template is where the fail can and would be damn it, did your mechanic check if it was right? Regardless did he cut the hole in the right spot?

So did it not come with the head or was it the wrong size and did. It fit the unit or was it left out of the box in error and they offered to send you the head cap the following week?

Sorry you had a bad run mate, did it end up costing more than a safari snorkel in the end?

Heard the same reports across many forums about cheap snorkels on eBay. Templates missing, holes not lining up, plastic becoming brittle after year or two due to UV burn.

Mate just fitted Rateme5 snorkel at a 4x4 shop, everything went great no problems at all.
Might be the case of someone thinking they can fit a snorkel compared to blokes who do it every day.
If I dont fit my satin stainless one I'll be buying a Rateme 5 job, I have no problems with them.

Some Snorkels on Ebay have templates that are not to scale, others no template at all.
You said it buyer beware,

That's exactly the point: you can be lucky but you can also be unlucky.

I'm not happy that my mechanic apparently didn't check the fit before he started drilling. Saying that the intake head simply didn't fit. Nor did the template.

Regarding rateme5: I'm of the opinion that one can see how good a company is once things went pear shape... And in combination with taking the gamble of buying an el cheapo part of eBay that "crisis management" is pretty important.

Yeah I hear you, not too keen on drilling a 4" hole in my guard, thats why I've been putting the snorkel thing off.
Over doing bog holes but love the high country river crossing, and if hopefully going to the Cape again next year
it'll be handy in the dusty convoy conditions as well. A lot of shops wont fit the El Cheapo snorkels for all the points mentioned.
Some will but fitting costs rise heaps. Might have to stick to my stainless idea.

Further more you may find the cheapies dont fit the contours of the body, would like to know who they copied.
Ironman got a smack on the hand for copying Safari

Looks like a copy of my safari snorkel i paid $80 for it second hand and was too much of a tighwad to pay $55 for a stencil.
So i waited until someone came around with one fitted and took meausrements.
Being it was a 2.8 with a standard airbox at the time i didn't even bother trying to hook it up to the airbox i removed it and fitted an alloy sealed box with a pod inside.
Since i have fitted a zd30 airbox and it attached quite easily.
I must say because the snorkel goes through where their is an angle on the gaurd made it a bit of a mission but it is now on and can't complain it does the job.

I made my stainless one for less than $80. I reckon it looks heaps better than a black plastic one, but looks are a personal thing. Another good thing is that it can be disassembled anytime anywhere with a 10mm and a screw driver. Go the customs me thinks!

Tap, crackle, pop

My stainless wont have rubber elbows or 45s it's all TIG welded satin stainless.
Costs heaps but like you said its a personel thing'
Against the colour of my GU I reckon it should look great.
Besides I like to be different.
Hate seeing 4 Trucks with exactely the same accessories,, not thinking outside the square IMO

I have an ebay cheppie and had no issues, the template was off a bit, basically 5mm or so, but you drill holes bigger then required so you have plenty of adjustment. My head originally was too loose, went on fine, but hard to do up nice and tight. Simple fix, get the dremel out, and then cut the slots up a little bit more, to allow the plastic to come together closer.

Over all, i paid $180 for mine and pretty happy with it, never doing it again, but i said that the other 4 times too. LOL. The quality of the plastic so far seams spot on, no funny marks or anything. tested it for air tightness and all good there too. best part, its a copy of a Safari snorkle so if need be, i replace it with one down the track.

hers a pic of it installed

There is a gap which is not present on a safari but over all i can live with it as is.

I should post a photo of mine as well actually:

I just had a gander at the link for the ebay 1, they are 2 different units - admittedly 1 is a copy.

The 1 being sold has no description markings on it at all where as the 1 on the GQ clearly shows it's "brand-name" along the length of the snorkel - false advertising straight away as the seller states "photo of actual product"

Hey Taslucas
I have a mate who likes to make stainless stuff, any chance of a couple of photos and some basic measurements , i am sure he would luv to throw 1 together for me.

cheers Bubba
a no way,work it yourself reply will not offend.