Just sold my old Powertec Rack as my wife and I are finishing our basement in anticipation of our 2nd child. While the Powertec served its purpose for about 10 years, I hated the hole spacing, j-hooks and how wobbly it was. Now that we are designing a garage, I want to build my dream gym. Space is a bit of a consideration.
thinking strictly Rogue stuff here. My short list includes the R-ML3 and R-ML4. I’m leaning towards the Monster Lite stuff for the 3x3 sizes uprights. The ability to add plate storage to the R-ML4 is intriguing but does the group feel that’s a big enough benefit over the added size vs the R-ML3?
The extra room in the rack makes the 4 worth it over the 3 regardless of the extra room for accessories. With space being a consideration, you either have a bigger rack or a smaller one with some unattached plate storage still taking up space. The width of both is the same, but the 4 is 19 inches longer. If that can fit in your space I would definitely recommend that setup.
I too had space considerations when I built mine out. In the end, I bought the HR-2 with the spotter arms and the plate holders. I prefer lifting outside of the rack, so the spotter arms are perfect and super sturdy. I also anticipated having to move my rack from spot to spot occasionally until I found where it fits best for me as I have a 2-car garage and then a 3rd shop garage. I like that the HR-2 is super sturdy without requiring I secure it to the floor. Super happy with my decision.
You may want to take a peek at Titan.Fitness racks if you are looking for a whole set-up. I did the same thing, finished basement and then looked for a rack to fit there. I ended up getting a T3 short/deep rack. I did not want to bolt it into the floor and honestly, I didn’t need to. With the rack and a bunch of add-on stuff, I was able to get the whole set-up for ~$850. The same set-up from Rogue was ~$1250 with the add-ons. I’ll use the saved money on a new set of bumpers pretty soon. The Rogue racks are powder coated and the paint is a bit better but the welds on Titan’s are solid and I don’t care too much about the paint. If money was no issue (seeing that we have a new baby as well), I would have gone with Rogue but I am happy with the Titan rack. They also have an X3 set-up that is 3x3 posts instead of the 2x3 for a couple hundred more dollars.
I can’t imagine you’d be disappointed. I like having the plate storage on the half-rack. It makes the entire setup very compact. Adjusting the spotter arms is easier/quicker than adjusting pin’s with sleeves also. I’ve been able to do everything BBM programs thus far with this setup, such as pin squats/presses, etc. The 1-inch adjustment options in the bench area (a la Westside programming) makes it super easy to get the pins right were you want them for benching heavy without a spotter. I set the pins just below my chest (when arched for competition bench), but they are above my neck. If I fail a bench press I can lower much chest a little, or just roll the bar toward my neck where it rests on the pins, and then I can turn my head and slide out from under it. You just have to be very disciplined to test this with the empty bar at warmup every time. Of course, I still have to be careful about dropping a loaded barbell on my face, but other than that it’s 100% safe.