I recently purchased a Powerline Power Rack PPR-200. If you’re not familiar with what a power rack is, it’s basically a metal rack that holds a weight bar, and provides safety catches that allow someone to lift heavy weights without a spotter. Should you not be able to lift the weight for that last rep, you can set the weight down on the safety bars, and be able to safely crawl out from under the weight. The PowerLine PPR-200 is reasonably priced, easy to adjust, and has a ‘lat’ option. It is very similar to the RockSolid PKR-127, as well as a number of other racks. It appears that the main difference between racks is the size of the tubing used, and if it is bolted or welded together. The PPR-200 uses 2″ tubing, and is bolted together. More expensive racks use 2.5″ or 3″ tubing, and are welded. For my needs, being a beginner, the PPR-200 is more than strong enough for my needs. If I should get to the point where I’m moving close to 1000lbs around, I’ll be happy to buy a stronger setup!

The main rack (without the optional lat attachment) comes in three boxes (note that the weights and barbell are not included, nor is a bench):

1. 21kg (46lbs)
2. 22kg (48.5lbs)
3. 19kg (42lbs)

The instructions, which I’ve included here, are almost non-existent. Their’s a page showing all the pieces, and an exploded diagram of the rack, but that’s it. I’ll describe here how I put mine together, and the few gotchas I ran into. The nuts and bolts are 3/4″, I used a 3/4″ socket, and a 3/4″ open end wrench (you’ll need a wrench to hold the bolt as you tighten the nut). Open the bag of hardware and separate them according to size. Though the bolts all look the same, their are three different lengths that need to be used in three different places. Despite what the parts list shows, their are 8 of the longest bolts, not 4.

Note that some pictures are included within the text below, but all pictures are available at the bottom, click a picture to get a bigger view.

I started by putting together the two sides of the rack. The main vertical pieces appear at first glance to not have a specific top or bottom, but they do. Notice in the pictures that the bolt holes on one end are parallel with the larger 1″ holes, while on the other end, they are perpendicular. The perpendicular holes are the bottom side, this will align the large holes on the two vertical supports so the support bar can pass through them. I had the first two vertical pieces upside down the first time, but luckily I noticed before I got much further. Bolt the two vertical pieces to the bottom piece using the 70mm long bolts (middle size). Don’t tighten the bolts right away, just get them enough that the structure won’t fall apart, this makes it easier to align all the holes as you assemble with other pieces.

Next, I attached the two top side pieces to the top back with the two shortest bolts. I then attached the two sides to the top with 70mm bolts. Be sure that you arrange the sides properly so the longer legs of the side are towards the back of the rack, which is also where the top back piece is. Then, with the longer 75mm bolts, attach the bottom back piece and the top front ‘chin-up’ bar, and you’re ready to stand the rack up.

It’s a little awkward to stand up, but I was able to slowly lift and slide the rack until it was vertical. Go around and tighten all of the bolts, be sure not to miss any, remember, this rack is going to be holding hundreds of pounds over your head! Attach the black end-caps at the top back corners, and slide the plastic feet onto the four corners of the base. My kit included four extra plastic pieces that look like they were intended to be some kind of feet. They aren’t listed on the parts list, and aren’t as tall as the regular feet, so they don’t touch the ground if you attach them on the bottom. They do snap on to the 2″ frame at any location, I just don’t know what they would be used for, so they are waiting in the box. Let me know if you know what they are for!

Once the rack is together, slide the long poles through the holes in the frame, and use the small pins to hold them securely in place. One of my poles had a little extra metal in the hole the pin goes through, so I had to use a small round file to clean it up, allowing the pin to slide through easily. Slide the shorter support pieces into place and use pins to hold them in place as well. I used a label maker to mark the holes that I want to use for bench presses and squats so I’m not having to count holes all the time. You could also use a label maker or a marker to number the holes.

I ended up getting the lat attachment as well a few days later. The instructions are just as bad (I’ve attached them here). It comes in two boxes:

1. 21kg (46lbs)
2. 4.5kg (10lbs)

The kit does include a long pull down bar, perfect for lat pull-downs, and also includes a shorter straight bar to attach on the bottom, which could be used for bicep curls, rows, etc. The carriage that slides up and down, and holds the weights, is designed to hold weights with a 1″ hole. It can still hold Olympic style weights (as the product picture above shows), but since I already had some weights with 1″ holes from an old beginners weight set, I use them instead.

Besides adding labels for the frequently used positions of the support pins, I’ve already made some small modifications to my rack to add functionality. I added some stick on hooks to hold the weight bar clamps. Since I don’t have a machine for calf raises, I tried leaning against the back of the rack with the barbell on my shoulders, which works fine, but quickly started scratching the paint off of the rack. I used some aluminum sheet that I had laying around, and bent it around the rack pieces, affixing it with double-face tape. Now at least the rack isn’t taking the abuse. I also made some spacers to attach to the barbell so I wouldn’t lean to much to the left or right when doing calf raises. They are simply a piece of PVC cut in half with pipe insulating sleeve taped to the inside, and duct-tape and Velcro used to hold the two halves together, and allow quick attachment/detachment to the barbell. Not fancy, but works great!

I’ve used the rack a number of times now, and so far I am very happy with it. It’s very sturdy and durable, looks great, and functions well. The only change to the design that I’d make is to have the safety bars chrome or stainless steel instead of painted. When you push them through the holes in the rack, unless you are perfectly straight when guiding it through, it scrapes on the sides of the holes, and some of the black paint scrapes off. Not a big deal, but chrome or stainless would be more durable, though it would probably raise the price, which is probably why they didn’t do it. All in all, I can definitely recommend this product to anyone looking for a power rack.