Rock Lizard wrote:
Jeep4me99 wrote:
tjkj2002 wrote:
Jeep4me99 wrote:
03kjsport wrote:
yeah they arent for sale yet. well kinda. after troy posted the thread i was jonesin for it. i gave tim a ring and he said they had made 8 for the first run. i just asked, could i get one. and he was more than happy to hook me up. he also threw in a shirt and sticker aswell. it was 141 shipped. i just finished installing it. looks great with all the jba red matching. he has a few more still. he seems like a really nice guy. if you want one im sure he still has a few more. i think he said they will be out sometime in aug.
man thats such BS. I called them like 2 weeks before troy's posting and they told me they had no plans on getting it done anytime soon and that they weren't even planning on it.
Didn't want to let the cat out of the bag,needed to make sure they fit first before any where sold and as not to get anyones hopes up then saying they didn't fit right and it would be a few more months,you'll all get kinda pissed when a date comes and goes without the products.
yeah but ya also get pissed when someone says they aren't gonna make a product, then release it a couple weeks later. Since they said it was not coming out, i already started shopping at other companies. Unfotunately this time they lost business, though the product looks good.
If he had told you, "yeah, I have 8 prototype covers sitting here, I'm just waiting for Marty to test fit the prototype before selling these and putting them into production", then I would have test fit it, and found out it didn't work, and he had to completely redesign it, make new castings, and do another test fit, and throw those eight covers in the trash because they were wrong, then take another four to six months for all that to occur and then another test fit, you would be mad because he told you he had those covers but it would be atleast another 4-6 months before another test could be done and maybe they would be ready for production. He had already done this once before with the 8.25 cover and that batch of eight he is talking about is after his first attempt and not being right nearly a year ago. After talking with Tim and seeing how the casting process works, I can almost gaurantee those 8 prototype covers cost him well over $8000, not to mention what he spent the first time when they didn't work. Ironworks isn't cheap to design product. Once it is finalized, that's when running production evens out, but he is going to need to sell a few covers before breaking even. I had researched what it would take to take a stock KJ knuckle and recasting it with a longer upper ball joint mount post, and just one prototype pair was going to cost me around $10000.
Sorry if it seems he wronged you with what would seem false info. If paying that much money into a product and it cost that much per prototype run, after two runs and they didn't work, it probably wouldn't have been cost effective to spend another $8-10K for another prototype run without a gaurantee that would even be right, so maybe he was not wanting to get hopes up that there would ever be an 8.25 cover put into production. The 8.25 has been used in XJ, KJ, and now KK, you want it to work with as many as possible in the design to be most cost effective, so that takes more research, design, and test fitting.
You probably would have felt screwed if he told you they were going into production then he decided not to because of the aforementioned reasons. Don't take it so personal. I have done a lot of harassing Tim to reassure him that the Liberty guys would be real interested in these covers, and the other applications would want them too. Tim is a great guy and very supportive of our Liberty community, even before having anything to offer us. He is one of the sponsoring vendors for the LOST Safari '09, and I think his support should deserve ours.
I know it may seem that i'm moaning and groaning about it a bit, but I'm really not. I'm glad the guys there made another product applicable to the KJ. And I completely understand the reasoning behind not saying it was in production. But why did he say they have "No" plans on making it?
I'm not the kind of guy that is going to get all riled up that something keeps getting put off. RL, you put out ideas, it gets peoples interest there. Other companies do the same, some run into manufacturing delays, stuff don't work, or can't deliver on orders. Bottom line....stuff happens. As consumers, we have to realize.....a production delay is not going to be life or death for our rigs. There are other companies out there.
For me...and I only speak for me, if they would have said, "we may have some prototypes soon...but we can't give an anticipated date on production or sales." I would have been fine with that. Their covers being my number 1 choice would have led me to hold off on purchasing a unit from a competitor. If they fit, they get an order, if they don't I can go on my merry way, not crawl into a dark corner for 7 days crying and laying in my own fecal matter because santa didn't deliver on the dif cover i really wanted. guess what, the KJ will run tomorrow.
Now on another note, I'm not sure if you have ran into this RL as a small business owner. But I had some items made because several KJ owners on the board told me they would want to purchase the items when they are made. Now as I sit with here with $800 (+prototype run of only 2 plates) of custom cut aluminum plates beside me and not one sale to a KJer.....it makes ya wonder....whats the right thing to do as a small business owner. Have items made, and potentially not sold.....say items are going to come out, and them possibly upset people when you can't meet deadlines.....or just keep your mouth shut and release the product when it is ready.............how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop.........The world may never know my scaley little friend....the world may never know.
PS....ya'll may see a brand new diff cover in the for sale section soon....so I can get my hand on one of them kick butt Riddlers
_________________
L.O.S.T. #225019
2003 Sport 4x4
Patriot Blue w/ trail rash
Flex-Zilla 4" Lift
TrailRash hi-lift mounts
Other stuff you wish you had
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