This is hands down one of the best no-drill shower/bathtub grab bars available! After three years of ownership, it still have me the confidence that I needed for my grandmother. Over the past several years of taking care of my grandmother, I've owned several grab bars. As she passed 100, she was starting to lose mobility, and the suction cup units just weren't cutting it. They're essentially useless when they need to bear any weight. After regrouting/recaulking my whole bathroom, I was looking for something that would do the job without any drilling. This unit can essentially hold my entire bodyweight, and solid steel construction means it's lasted. It's even distributed local in long island! I've been quite happy with it, and the clamp holds it in place VERY securely if you tighten it adequately. I even bought a second unit as the dementia set in and we moved her closer to take full time care of her. The solid steel construction also means it will start to rust on the inside, around the edges where it was formed and welded, and steel pins, after a few years in a high moisture environment, even with a good powder coat. When I bought the second unit, I gooped up the inside and around the pins with the cheap Blaster Corrosion Stop that you can get at home depot, and that seems to do a good job so far. My grandmother died a few months ago at the age of 104, and I felt like taking it apart to get a good look at the rust. The pins had seized in place and I needed to tap them out with a 4LB hammer (familiar, if you work on cars up here in the north), and they looked kinda nasty. The height adjustable top part had also seized in place, and needed a few light taps too. Inside, it looked like an old frame rail, and I'm going to have to flush it all out before reassembling it. The screw mechanism and the pivot point for the clamp had zero rust on them whatsoever. So I'm not sure this thing would last ten years instead of three, but while you have it, it will stillbe the best unit you can get, hands down. It's definitely worth the money. Now if you're listening, Drive medical, you might want to either see if you can get them to do this at manufacturing, or do it yourself before sale: Give the inside a little spritz of cavity wax. I'm sure you can find some stuff that has no odor (unlike cosmoline), and lots of retail cavity wax cans come with an applicator straw. Then maybe goop up the pins and some of the edges too. They really don't need much to slow the rust. If you're worried about making a mess in shipping, you could also include a little packet of some type of waterproof grease, like they ship ignition wires and coils with. You can do this for like a buck or two total per unit, and they'll last a decade I bet. You COULD paint/powder coat the inside from the factory, but nobody really bothers with that when it comes to mass market consumer products (or, ya know, expensive stuff like cars and even buildings), and so I bet they won't do it for you cheaply. I'm guessing it's an annoying and expensive extra manufacturing step, I bet, but I could be wrong. Consumers: you can do the same pretty easy. After mounting it on your tub and getting it really tight (but not before! You don't want grease/wax on the mounting surface where it needs friction!), Spray some Blaster Corrosion Stop (or any anti-corrosion spray) on the inside of the rails and on the pins. Get a little bit on the bolts and edges. Don't get any on the handle or the mating surface either! You don't want that goop on your hands, and you don't want to mess with the grip either. Wipe excess from the exterior. It will drip and dribble a little bit for a few days, but then you can forget about it. As long as you don't directly blast the thing with bleach, strong solvents, or power wash it, this will extend it's life by many years. Repeat every now and then if it starts to rust.
