A lot of peopel sell- and use the Dahon frontracks. If they were junk I am sure they would be gone long time ago. Maybe you dd something wrong or used stuff the wrong way since it failed?

I find that often it is possible to fit rear racks on the bikes front wheel, maybe with small adjustments or modification.Maybe look for a 20" steel rack, second hand or new in your area? Just remember that a tube is stronger than a massive rod same size.

We toured last summer with two bikes with the Dahon alu frontracks. I use full size panniers. I suggest if you want to bring a lot of stuff (or if you yourself is on the heavy side) you look into a trailer, maybe something like the City trailer from Carry Freedom. Also you can look into putting an extra (clickfix or similar) bag in the front like the Brompton bike in adition to the front panniers.