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BuiltRightIndustries@reddit

Feel like i can jump in here and offer the perspective youre wondering about (albeit, a bit late, sorry) probably going to go way deeper into this than you care to read but TOO BAD

theres a lot of partial truth and a lot of incorrect assumptions in this post, going to do my best to hit most of them.

Background
First and foremost, some background on us since i feel like i can offer the SME POV. We have been making whats known as bedside rack molle systems since we patented them in 2017. Prior to that, there were not molle panels in the automotive space, as you see them today.

Our founder, Matt Beenen was initially just going to make a grid system to tie down boxes and such in his truck when he first started the company making rear seat releases out of his garage. After coming up with a few iterations, he (having a background in aerospace and defense engineering) he realized that, basically, it would be stupid to make his own proprietary grid when the PALS system already exists, and could be tweaked but offer a whole BUNCH more compatibility with soft goods already on the market (being that MOLLE/PALS is standardized) We tweaked the standard layout a bit by adding slots in between our MOLLE features to give a 2" OC mounting slot spacing for bolting things on.
Also, for the record on naming, we have been calling these Bedside Rack Panel Systems up until only recently when we changed to Bedside Rack MOLLE Panels, because we found thats the term people were searching for (so the molle thing its not our fault i swear)
SO, lets keep diving in.

The Belly of the Beast

The big gripe is pricing, and I can really only speak to how we price at BR, so other MFG likely have different reasons.
Being that this is our patented baby, and we dont deal with and half assed products here, there is a lot of time that goes into engineering these to fit all trims, packages, etc, and fit them extremely well with almost all of our installs being completely bolt in (thanks, ram....) Now, engineering and development costs diminish (economies of scale and whatnot) but there are costs that are always present through the life of a product.

Material Costs
So, we only use USA steel, and almost all of our panels are steel. All of our products are made in the USA, in New Milford Connecticut. We do this for a number of reasons. One of the biggest being that we try to support local industry. We use steel because its the best material/cost for a panel that can hold 40lbs in a bouncing vehicle. In addition to supporting local, we also get higher quality steel, with recourse if something aint right (have you ever tried to reach out to the amazon seller you bought that chinese flashlight from? good luck) because at the end of the day, we (BuiltRight) are customers too, so its nice to have local companies that will provide even a basic level of service should we need it.

Now, have you ever looked at a molle panel? Like really looked and thought about it. Its swiss cheese. every piece of that panel, every slot, every opening that gets lasered or stamped out is trash. We cant use those pieces for anything else. On the aluminum panels (rivian, ford underseat) i suppose we could pop a hole in the center and sell them as....washers? We do recycle them, but obviously its not a 1:1 return

so far: engineering, expensive material, and a lot of waste.

Processes
Then, they are sent off for secondary process, things we cant do in house, or cant do yet. That includes pressing in threaded PEM nuts, E-Coat, Powdercoat, etc. It gets cheaper the more we do *in most cases* but that is always an additional cost, and we cant just send 1 million panels out to get coated to get the best cost, because shelf space costs money too, but ill dig into that later.
After that, then they come back, are inspected, and carefully packaged with hardware by our team. that costs is pretty self explanatory. Then they go on the shelf. We have a finite amount of space at the shop, so (like i said earlier) we have to do batches that fill the shelves,but we need to turn inventory too. So that limits our price breaks for services like powdercoat.
And yes, equipment investments (not routers, but lasers, press brakes, hand tools to make it easier on the guys to build these out, etc) because the more we can bring in house, and the faster we can build stuff, the more we get to control quality, and the cheaper we can make things. And yes, we actually have reduced prices before. If we come in hot, we adjust. New process saves 2 hours per product? We pass those savings on. because thats in everybody's best interest. You get cheaper products, and we get customers that come back.. its a win win

Support
So now these are ready to go out the door. Before you even buy a product, Im sitting here answering calls and emails about "will this fit, what can I put on this panel" yada yada. Basic customer service with a real, live person (at least last I checked I am)..... which in the age of AI chat and people just generally not offering CS anymore (???? I dont get it) thats another cost.
We are also unrivaled in the warranty department. Ill say it flat out, were the best in the industry, and Im really proud of that. Our motto in house is "if you dont love it, we dont want you to have it". Ive had guys change their mind after a summer of landscaping say "this didnt work for my business like I expected" and set them up with a return. Oh, your panels are 5 years old and you gouged the shit out of them with a shovel and theyre rusting?

Boom,Heres a new one.

Lifetime warranty, and we stand by it. So here, youre maybe paying a bit more for the peace of mind that we will have your back down the line. Buy Once Cry Once.

Greed
I am well aware that a lot of companies do just mark things up because "someone will buy it". Ive worked in the automotive aftermarket manufacturing space for 12 years. My last gig got bought by private equity, and the story is all too familiar. Prices went up, quality went down. We are NOT that, and man am I happy to be back iat a company that really cares about its products and customers. We dont have shareholders, and no one here is getting blind stinkin rich, we all just have a mutual interesting in being able to live and also keep doing this cool truck stuff we get to do. We try and hire the best of the best, because we want people invested in the success of the company, and who are interested in maintaining our extremely high standard of service. Im going to say somethin that I'm sure will surprise a lot of people. BuiltRight only has 12 employees. We have one location. Were not some huge conglomerate bleeding money because we have 16 locations and 100 people.
We stay as lean as we can while giving you the experience we want you to have.

All of this stuff adds up, which is why we price our panels where we do. There are obviously a lot of baked in benefits that you get when you buy our panels, but at the end of the day, we want to keep existing in the space and to do that we need to keep the lights on. We're a premium product, no doubt about it, but if you want gear thats built to be used hard, and last, as well as having someone on the other end of the line or computer screen if something goes wrong or you just want to shoot the shit, you get what you pay for.

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joey12342323@reddit

MOLLE panels are a highly practical feature. I believe it's best to choose a roof canopy equipped with MOLLE panels, as this option works perfectly.

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MauiDarts@reddit

There are plastic ones all over Amazon. They are made for the interior though you’d never use them on the outside of your vehicle. Anything on the outside made of plastic will eventually have UV damage and fade/crack.

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Substantial-Ant-4010@reddit

I'm a small manufacturer, in a different industry. We use different pricing models above "Cost of goods + labor + Profit". They are likely using the "what the marker will bear" pricing strategy. They sell for a high price because people will buy them at a high price.

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USCAVsuperduperhooah@reddit

I put the Cali raised molle panels in my Tacoma bed (under a tonneau) to secure heavy items like fridge, battery box, Jerry can, and water can for offroading. I wouldn’t want to be without them.

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brainhack3r@reddit (OP)

That's fair... in a bed I think that makes a ton of sense.

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Angelworks42@reddit

You can 3d print molle panels out if plastic.

https://www.printables.com/model/833779-rigid-molle-panel

Cool thing about some of those blueprints is if you have access to a 3d printer it's pennies to manufacturer.

Those designs can be sent to a place like send cut send as well to be made out of metal.

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Aguavida1@reddit

The problem I always had was how difficult bags are to lace onto Molle panels. I did see XG Cargo has magnetic pods that don’t require lacing straps….so I bought a pair for our Raptor. I’ll report back after I mount em…

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CarpetFun5579@reddit

Opportunity to 3D print your own molle panels?

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Shmokesshweed@reddit

They're expensive because people buy them at that price.

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Forward_Sea7969@reddit

I’m fairly new to the overlanding arena and I’m surprised at all the greedy companies in the space. I suppose all the “American made” pride also comes with the pride in ripping people off. Historically, outdoor companies have been some of the most honest companies with high integrity. Now, it’s another industry where I feel like it’s a fight to get quality and honest work/products.

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NubDestroyer@reddit

Overlanding is for the wealthy, they pay the prices for stuff

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Forward_Sea7969@reddit

It’s not that simple. IMO, those with the means want to pay for higher quality and to support locally made. Most in this class are too busy to vet companies very closely. What’s happening is that moral-less small companies are exploiting this and deceiving buyers which poorly made goods that aren’t usually locally made either. A person with the means is putting money into things with good faith, not to get exploited.

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Ok-Boysenberry3948@reddit

Moral less small companies. You should learn math, since you've mastered the English language to be able to pontificate so well. CNC machine - $10k How many panels does it take to make the $10k up? Don't forget the aluminum/steel and the labor cost. Then the cost of making patterns. Then to compare it to Chinese costs. Besides math, maybe get some business lessons too!

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Forward_Sea7969@reddit

Are you a classic case of a man who gets stepped all over in real life and in order to feel better tries to belittle people online? Lmao. Criticizing grammar these days is so lazy but if that’s what makes you feel better. Grammar gotchas are childish since we have phones autocorrecting everything and everyone’s distracted. Clearly you have too much time on your hands that just goes to waste prioritizing dumb stuff. Business these days is far more complicated than your example and I don’t think you have the brain power to understand more nuance.

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ttn333@reddit

Its rediculous price gouching. Just sold my alucab contour canopy/rtt setup on my gladiator and ordered a Chinese direct camper. Added exterior molle and L tracks on both gullwing doors for $200. Insane. Dual kitchen cupboards on both sides can be had for $200. I think I paid half size cupboards for about $400 each on the alucab. I was not very impressed with it. Paint over spray that has to be scraped off to use the tracks. Their locks sucks and keys have a hard time fitting in the hole. Window seals coming off and I rarely use them. Over all, it worked and held up. I doubt a decent chinese made one will fare any worse. I shall see, I suppose.

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JeanPicLucard@reddit

This might qualify as a thought-terminating cliche- a different form of "it's supply and demand"

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Foe117@reddit

Send-Cut Send, you can make molle panels for cheap from laser cut. You just gotta design one yourself.

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BuilderOfDragons@reddit

I've spent my entire designing primary structures for spacecraft and aircraft, and have done a lot of CAD in that time.

I've made lots of custom mounting brackets, panels, etc for various vehicles and send cut send, OSH cut, etc are always going to be more expensive for a one off than a commercial part in my experience. You can get exactly what you want and that's often worth the money, but it's usually not a good way to reduce cost

I've spent thousands of dollars on laser cut/bent/anodize brackets for my current build out. It's exactly what I want and designing the parts is half the fun, but it's certainly not cheaper than buying production parts from someone making them in bulk 🤷‍♂️

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Foe117@reddit

In this context, the one offs are often more cheaper by a large factor than what some of these overlanding gear companies are selling them for. Yes, one offs are often more expensive in a commercial setting, but unless you have buddies that can process your one offs on personal time for pennies or just buying them the cost of lunch, third party services are your only option.

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BabyWrinkles@reddit

Depends on the thickness and size of the metal. One that fits across the front of a truck bed is not going to be $30, I guarantee it.

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Foe117@reddit

I regularly use Send Cut Send, I never expect a large size like that to be $30, they have a $35 minimum order anyways. If I do 1.5mm 5050 aluminum with powder coat, it's going to cost significantly less than what smart cap is charging. plus, you have more control in what you are mounting.

As for the front of the truck bed, if you just have a bed cap, that molle panel is good as useless unless you have a carpeted bed or iron knees.

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Forward_Sea7969@reddit

I really want to try them out, thanks!

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Weekly_Welder_7327@reddit

Never heard of them before but that sounds like a really interesting solution! Thanks!

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fpssledge@reddit

100% overrated. They would be great if anyone made gear that actually quick connected to molle panels in some way. I had some on a jeep and there are some molle bottle holders and pouches. That's seriously all there is.

People might use some velcro or ties or mount shovels or even guns or whatever but then you don't need molle. You could use any kind of cage/grid like material. Molle just happens to look cool or exist as a design instead of blank metal.

Seriously even shovel mounts you have to drill into the solid space on a molle panel. Mostly nonsensical gear

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brainhack3r@reddit (OP)

I think you have to buy additional quick connect mounts but those cost like $10 each so it adds up quickly.

I'm thinking of using some to add some quick gear mounts so I don't have to did through my truck bed all the time.

But other than that storage bins are what I'm using now.

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VisualEyez33@reddit

You're paying the monthly payment on their new CNC router on top of material and labor.

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UniqueLoginID@reddit

Wouldn’t they laser cut them?

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VisualEyez33@reddit

Maybe, maybe not. It depends on what else they're in the business of producing. Cnc router can hold tighter tolerances than laser or waterjet. So, creating "tab a/slot b" knock-together 3d structures becomes doable, like a set of truck bed drawers that can be shipped flat packed and assembled fairly easily.

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Loud-Possibility5634@reddit

If you’re buying one that’s routed I can promise that’s why it’s as expensive as it is.

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211logos@reddit

I recall expeditionportal discussed alternatives once, like Smittybuilt GEAR, steel mesh grates, etc. The cost of the panels is often more related to the fact they custom fit to tailgates, racks, etc. As others have suggested just getting something cut for say a 1x2' square or something might be the budget solution.

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bob_lala@reddit

people pay a lot to cosplay military

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Sirosim_Celojuma@reddit

Organizing is not military cosplay. Being organized is just generally useful.

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shortbrownguy@reddit

Or, some of us spent 20 years in the military and find it extremely useful to keep things organized in our vehicles 🤷🏾‍♂️

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TheGuyUrRespondingTo@reddit

r/iamverybadass

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AnemoneOfMyEnemy@reddit

I don’t think that qualifies at all.

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AnonCryptoDawg@reddit

80% of Molle panels could/should be plastic. This is a business opportunity for someone

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Unicorn187@reddit

I get being metal for rigidity. Just to keep it from bouncing around. On a mount that's on the inside or outside of a window this would be more important. The straps working loose, noise and possibility of breaking the window. On a rack it would mostly be noise and the vibration causing the straps to work loose.

There are normal fabric ones on the back of seat covers.

You could get some one inch grid fencing and mount it to a rigid frame. The increased flex would make it easier to add and remove pouches. I have a feeling that if you were to look at a lot of people and how they mount their MOLLE pouches, they won't have the strap woven through so it's more secure and stable.

MOLLE/PALS webbing is based on 1 inch (25.4mm) webbing set in rows one inch apart, with one inch sections. A lot of commercial panels will have the loops be wider than an inch though.

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fishEH-847@reddit

I never understood the draw of molle panels. The examples where I’ve seen them used always look like crap. Who wants 800 little pouches, bags, tools hanging independently off some board? Surely you don’t need everything to be instantly accessible all the time?

The overland community is enamored with RTT, bolt-together roof racks, Rotopax, and molle.

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Guilty_Spray_1112@reddit

The obsession with having all your gear dangling of both the inside and outside of your vehicle at all times is insane.

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RecentAd2168@reddit

I’m fortunate enough to have a Cnc for personal use. This lower door molle panel for an early 80’s Toyota cost about $4 in materials and 20 minutes on the computer. I tried selling different panels for these trucks a few years ago but no interest.

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StopItWithThis@reddit

The problem becomes $4 in material ends up being $25 in time just procuring the material. Then spend time cutting, painting, shipping, in small batches, I would imagine you would be selling these for closer to $150 per panel?

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RecentAd2168@reddit

Not necessarily, my table is 5x10. My metal shop is 40 minutes round trip so extrapolating that time isn’t more than maybe a 1-1/2 minutes per piece. Cutting is simple, nest it, push a button and go do something else. You are right on on the prep and paint though. I was offering them up for $40/pair unfinished. Basically straight off the table. Shipping was on the purchaser, cost there really varied. Finished cost varied as well, some colour matched, some powder coated, some just painted black.

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MDPeasant@reddit

I recently purchased a used truck and camper, the previous owner went to town and put molle panels on just about every flat surface! Since it's already there and paid for, I have been trying to use it but honestly it's a pain in the ass.

It seems that in overlanding speak, molle just means any sheet of metal with slots of any size cut into it. The molle panels that I have are from several different manufacturers, and they all have different sized slots. Isn't molle a universal pattern from the military/tactical world?

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Just-Smart-Enough@reddit

Before MOLLE panels were a thing, I made one for my sailboat by sewing webbing to PE sheet. Works the same, looks cooler (to me at least)

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HighwayHeathens@reddit

On the interior of our camper, we used pegboard.

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Fuzzy3075@reddit

How do you have that wooden shelf fastened down?

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HighwayHeathens@reddit

It’s bolted along with the camper clamps.

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Kerensky97@reddit

The MOLLE markup is similar to the "overlanding" "MilSpec" and "Survival" markup. You just put it on something, even if it's not needed and you can overprice things and people will still buy it.

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Dubbinchris@reddit

Don’t forget “tactical”

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Rippofunk@reddit

Tacti-cool

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fourfa@reddit

Want a cheaper alternative? Rolled 1"-grid welded-wire fencing works perfectly with PALS/MOLLE gear. I use this in places on my camper build, where no one makes the panel size I want, and I don't want to go to the trouble and cost to laser-cut or CNC something. Caveat is, it looks pretty DIY and I'm willing to admit that aesthetics matter a little to me

Here's an example (see top half of rear door) made with this: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-15-ft-x-2-ft-Galvanized-Steel-Welded-Wire-Garden-Welded-Wire-Rolled-Fencing/5002702161

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Cooperette@reddit

Doesn't look too bad. A few coats of black plastidip might class it up a bit while adding some durability.

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fourfa@reddit

Good thinking, I might do that next time I have it off

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Coledaddy16@reddit

Qho cares about look when it's the utilitarian way. Molle panels can look pretty boring themselves.

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Shmokesshweed@reddit

Looks great. Cheap. Light. Homemade.

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johnconnor83@reddit

This is genius! This needs more attention!!!

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Dubbinchris@reddit

If there aren’t any plastic ones, how do you know how much they cost?

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dbrmn73@reddit

No, and because "Overlanding".

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SLOW240SX@reddit

You're taking one large chunk of aluminum, using a very expensive machine to cut a bunch of holes in it the make something for one specific purpose.

Yes, they seem overpriced and I wish they were less money but in hindsight it's expensive to do.

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DingleberrySurprises@reddit

My buddy made a "molle" panel from a cage of some sort. Practically free in comparison to what's for sale.

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Sinfluencer666@reddit

I just buy milsurp molle panels. They're usually $20-30.

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2beatenup@reddit

I did exactly this. Introduced angle grinder to Stretched aluminum sheet and boom a Custom mollle panel was born.

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Capable-Abalone-124@reddit

I got a pair for my 4Runner on amazon for under $100 and they’re very sturdy. The panels are a huge help with creating floor space for me plus a large Labrador on camping trips. I’ve used some molle bags that I already had, or voile straps. If the floor space is valuable to you they’re definitely worth a hundred bucks.

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crashbumper@reddit

I also thought they were way too expensive, and I modeled some custom ones for my Rav4. Even using a place like sendcutsend, the quotes I got were pricey because it's a lot of time to cut all the holes, even with a laser. Most places are charging for machine cutting time, and the longer it is cutting, the more it costs.

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BoredOfReposts@reddit

Totally overrated. Buy some steel sheet, paint it, and drill some mounting holes. But not everyone wants to do that, so they pay the markup.

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davidg4781@reddit

I have them on the backs of my front seats in my car. I threw some stuff on there just to use them but they could’ve easily gone in the tote I have in the back. They’re a hassle to thread the items through and difficult to take off if you want to take the pack.

I guess I can see their use on a vest or something. You can attach what you want and where you want. I don’t see the point of panels behind the rear seats or overhead. It just makes it difficult to get to.

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johnconnor83@reddit

Not overrated, but definitely overpriced.

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leonme21@reddit

Plastic (aka injection molded) parts in small quantities are just expensive to make.

Laser cut sheet metal is dirt cheap to make though

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saazbaru@reddit

Tbf you could laser cut or waterjet plastic too

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Silverwolf_7@reddit

They have high material input and shipping costs. They essentially take the entirety of a sheet of metal for themselves as opposed to parts that can be nested more efficiently. Plastic sheet large enough might actually be more expensive and wouldn't be as stiff. Plastic is also difficult to add bends to for mounting tabs and wouldn't be nearly as strong.

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Cprhd@reddit

Metal is, in my opinion, stronger for all the bouncing that off-road rigs do. You could make plastic ones but you’d have to deal with the force of bouncing, not just the product weight.

Do I think they’re worth $500? No. My smartcap came with the door molle panels.

If you think there is a market for plastic panels, make them. Capitalism is “find a problem, create a solution”. If you can do that, you could make some good money.

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ADVmedic@reddit

I got these for the corners of my drifter. Fit great with the cutouts matching my clamps. Work just fine, but a bit too flexible with the way I have them mounted (which is just using the natural features of the camper and some zip ties, lol. When I finally get to mounting them correctly, they'll be perfect.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0D5HS42N2?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

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ADVmedic@reddit

Here's a bad Pic...