Testing by Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) initiative Genuine is Best has found non-genuine utility tray bodies can cause significant damage to the original vehicle and compromise its safety.
Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) testing of two non-genuine utility tray bodies saw trays fail on several critical criteria. The aftermarket trays cracked chassis rails in durability testing, corroded rapidly in corrosion testing and were built with unacceptable weld quality. There was evidence of the trays separating from their mounting points on the vehicles.
The testing also revealed the non-genuine trays could damage the vehicle body and paint, and could cause suspension mounting failure, with the potential for the leaf springs to fall out. The chassis and suspension tune could become unstable, the tray could rip itself off and electronic aids like ABS and traction control may fail.