by The Roadie » Thu Aug 01, 2013 9:16 am
Yah, we engaged him in a very short discussion and it was clear he didn't think it would stand up to a real beating. He was a professional steelworker and fabbed the drop spindles / steering knuckles that you need to drop the diff below the oil pan. Lift companies do this for many other platforms, and I spent a huge amount of time in the early days lobbying and meeting lift company engineers at shows. They always claimed there would be a limited market for us and they were right. They would have never recovered their R&D investment.
For the average home mechanic who didn't have access to a steel shop that could do everything including heat treating, this mod would be tougher and cost more than a SAS. It was a wonderful proof of concept to show it COULD be done,. To the owner, it was a way to show off his skillz, not as a way to tackle tougher trails. He wasn't doing this for offroading, so that tainted the whole project.
To sell this as a "professional modification" borders on illegality in many states. He was a professional steelworker, to be sure. But it was NOT designed with professional engineering (finite element) analysis, or using the resources of a company who has been in the business of making and supporting lift kits. There are no spare parts. You could never buy a replacement spindle. If it breaks on the trail or at the mall you have ZERO recourse because the individual involved has no professional liability insurance. He's betting his net worth that the truck never breaks.
See the problem? He should be selling it for LESS than blue book for a non-lifted truck. Not at a premium. If anybody buys it, they need to carry both steering knuckles for spares in case one breaks, and the diff is going to drag on the ground if they do that repair on the trail.
That he's not marketing the truck here or on GMTN is yet more proof he's not serious.