Post
by djgaston » Thu Feb 25, 2016 2:00 pm
I certainly appreciate being mentioned, but I don't want to take anything away from Don or Carli. They make great stuff and I'm sure they will get things figured out for the Hemi and Power Wagon crowd when the time is right for them. What I will say, and I think those guys would agree with this (they have in the past anyway), is that I have a lot more experience with low-speed, rock crawling, technical type of wheeling, where they have more experience with go-fast desert type of wheeling. I live in Arkansas, they live out West, it's just what is available to each of us. So nothing against them at all, I sell Carli parts and have run a lot of Thuren parts over the years. But Power Wagons are a different breed, one which those guys have no first-hand experience with as far as I know, and are more in line with the types of parts we build here, in my opinion. A lot of desert trucks don't even use 4 wheel drive, let alone have any use for lockers or a winch. The reason I have three Dodge trucks is not to show off, but because I think it's very difficult to build a quality setup if you don't actually have the truck and use it. Otherwise you are taking an educated guess, and as smart as those guys are, they would be very close even without testing. You could put a Carli or Thuren setup on and be very happy with it. My thought process with a Power Wagon is beefed up components, mindful of ground clearance, excellent on-highway qualities (better than stock), excellent off-road capability, with parts that can take a beating and not slow you down. That's why I don't use drop brackets and I don't like to retain any stock suspension parts when possible. There is so much room for improvement. We now have a truck that comes from the factory with front and rear coils, front and rear lockers, a winch, a sway bar that disconnects from the cab, and plenty of power, so the foundation is all there. It's just a matter of beefing up some components to build a very versatile, comfortable wheeling rig that can still tow and get you to and from work. That's pretty awesome!
And no, we used to use Pure Performance for a lot of parts, and occasionally we will use some parts from other manufacturers (look at our 2nd gen Extreme suspensions, with Carli leaf springs, for example), but we're doing our own thing now. When we were smaller, I had to buy major components from other companies and then just build track bars and arms here, but we've grown a lot in the last year and are excited about developing lots of new, Power Wagon-specific parts, and a whole lot more. I believe we are the only suspension company who is actively building and developing products for the new Power Wagons, which should be a testament that these trucks are a priority for us, not an afterthought. You'll see me use that phrase from time to time, because it's important to know we look at Power Wagons as a separate truck with a totally different purpose. We don't act like they are just a Hemi 2500 with some extra switches, which is how most companies treat them.
Preach-it Danny. 
