THE BULL (intro - part 2)

Can you have your cake and eat it too???  What does that really mean anyway?…of course if I have a cake I’m going to eat it!…but hey, using the phrase in its traditional sense, we had to ask ourselves if it was really possible to have a world class competition crawler that would be at home on the trail, keep Becca safe with the huge hits and impacts these rigs take, be high tech yet simple in design, have good looks, and have the size, weight, and balance to do whatever Bec asks it to do.  That’s one heck of a shopping list isn’t it???

 Putting that list on paper, our entire team sat down and focused on how to accomplish it.  Dallas Nunn (our Crew Chief), Frank Johnson (our “Chief” Spotter), Becca and I heavily discussed her team’s strengths and weaknesses and started looking at all of the ideas, designs, parts, techniques, and companies that could work together to create an “edge” for Becca and her spotter.  Talking through all of the available parts, especially with so many new companies and new products out there was definitely the hardest job.  Have you really taken a look at what’s out there parts-wise for rockcrawlers nowadays???  WOW, is it ever overwhelming.

After a couple of months of mulling things over, an incomplete list was put together and we got the ball rolling.  We began contacting companies to discuss the advantages their products offered Becca and worked with them to complete the list with their ideas of what best accentuated the performance of their products.  I must say, with almost ALL of the companies we spoke with, whether we ended up using their products or not, we found skill, knowledge, and amazing customer service was prevalent…a very nice thing to find when you need accurate and honest advice.

 Now that we had all of the parts in mind and a vision of what the vehicle should be, we began contacting a number of shops and fabricators to see if they were the ones to “create” (not just build) the RockHer II.  As we discussed the timeframe, requirements, budgets, and long term partnerships we were looking to develop, we paid careful attention to be up front and honest about just how big this whole project would become.  One shop stood out above the crowd…FAR above the crowd really.

I had a feeling from the beginning that I knew who would be building Bec’s crawler, but as I’d only seen his image on web pages and in print, I couldn’t be sure if Dan DuBose of Blue Torch Fabworks was really a legend…or a legend in his own mind.  I was glad to find the answer I was hoping for. 

I had the chance to find out from “the inside” as a close personal friend of mine, Rob “BENDER” Park, went to work for Dan.

I consider Bender to be one of the best fabricators in the world, and at the same time smart enough to realize just how important this decision was.  If Bender did not think Dan and BTF were the correct match, he’d say so, even if it meant he missed out on being a part of the project. 

Soon, I was hearing the inside scoop of Blue Torch’s dedication to quality, innovation, and customer service, as well as a HAUL ASS work ethic that keeps the company in the spotlight…well, that’s one point for BTF. Bender told me that these guys work non-stop and Red Bull is part of their daily diet…hey, another point for BTF! After meeting Dan in person, I found we had similar goals and attitudes and that the partnership could be an advantage to both of us. And yet another point for BTF and their score just kept on growing until it was clear there was no better choice. We agreed that it was time for a project like this and with five integral people, we began putting all of those parts into order and creating a chassis that would become something far better than a one-off competition machine. Those people are: Dan DuBose, owner of BTF; Bender, lead fabricator at BTF (and an innovator of goat farming);  Matt Walton, BTF’s designer and Solid Works guru;

Dallas Nunn, our Crew Chief and owner of StinkyFab (a So Cal fab shop);

The ideas flew about with big dreams, visions, and plans and it was agreed that this new chassis would be something special.  The RockHer II would become a full production design, available to everyone from the newbie trailrunner, to the hardcore trailmaker, to the beginning competitor, to the world class champion…all in an affordable package that can be easily adapted to fit just about any drive train / suspension / axle combination. 

One final thing about this BTF partnership…you know they must be good in order for us to work with them…we live in San Diego, California…they are a couple thousand miles away in Dothan, Alabama.  Not exactly a “CLOSE RELATIONSHIP” in terms of miles.  Even with that huge obstacle and expense, we felt the return would be huge.  That is one testimonial to Blue Torch Fabworks that should really mean something.

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