Anyone heard of Rocky Road Outfitters?

[MudSling'n]

Just purchased my second Jeep, but first cherokee. Lookin to jack it up!!! I came across Rocky Road Outfitters website, www.rocky-road.com. Are they a reputable company?

[tomstagz]

I ordered an adjustable trac bar, and their 2 inch budjet boost from them. Didnt really have any problems with the equipment, but took them forever to send the shipment. And ill tell ya, stacking the spacers on top of lift springs was a bitch with no spring compresser :)

[RCP Phx]

Yeah their reputation is for horrible customer service!

[89xj]

yes, ive heard of them and have read many many threads about them.

[B.RAIDER]

Just purchased my second Jeep, but first cherokee. Lookin to jack it up!!! I came across Rocky Road Outfitters website, www.rocky-road.com (http://www.rocky-road.com). Are they a reputable company?
Type in ROCKY ROAD OUTFITTERS in the titles line instead of the regular search and you can find a lot.

[amsXJ]

Products are fine (so far) . . . Customer service is horrible!!

[MudSling'n]

Thanks guys.. Just got done reading what everyone had to say and, Wow! I may try to find the same bargain somewhere else. Any ideas? I'm lookin for a 4 - 4.5" Kit.

[89xj]

Thanks guys.. Just got done reading what everyone had to say and, Wow! I may try to find the same bargain somewhere else. Any ideas? I'm lookin for a 4 - 4.5" Kit.

lots to choose from, keep reading(searching) as many old posts as possible.

just remember, you get what you pay for.

[Rod Knee]

Try DPG offroad especially if you need knowledgable technical input.

[ocean_jet]

I find their position on upgraded control arms a bit peculiar:

No hocus pocus parts that are unnecessary (such as control arms). Just the required components to make your Jeep ride better than stock, be stable on the interstate at 80mph, and offroad performance. Most suspension manufacturers don't like this information to be known... but Jeep engineered the Cherokee to be lifted. They knew we would be coming along craving more elevation and designed the front control arm mounting system with enough adjustability to accommodate up to 5" of lift with the stock control arms. You can pay more for some if you want to throw away money, but the bottom line is that they are not needed and the stock arms do excellent.

http://www.rocky-road.com/xjtrailblazer.html

[89xj]

I find their position on upgraded control arms a bit peculiar:

No hocus pocus parts that are unnecessary (such as control arms). Just the required components to make your Jeep ride better than stock, be stable on the interstate at 80mph, and offroad performance. Most suspension manufacturers don't like this information to be known... but Jeep engineered the Cherokee to be lifted. They knew we would be coming along craving more elevation and designed the front control arm mounting system with enough adjustability to accommodate up to 5" of lift with the stock control arms. You can pay more for some if you want to throw away money, but the bottom line is that they are not needed and the stock arms do excellent.

http://www.rocky-road.com/xjtrailblazer.html



wow, now thats unbelieveable.

[NW-ZJ-SCOTT]

I find their position on upgraded control arms a bit peculiar:
No hocus pocus parts that are unnecessary (such as control arms). Just the required components to make your Jeep ride better than stock, be stable on the interstate at 80mph, and offroad performance. Most suspension manufacturers don't like this information to be known... but Jeep engineered the Cherokee to be lifted. They knew we would be coming along craving more elevation and designed the front control arm mounting system with enough adjustability to accommodate up to 5" of lift with the stock control arms. You can pay more for some if you want to throw away money, but the bottom line is that they are not needed and the stock arms do excellent.

http://www.rocky-road.com/xjtrailblazer.html
:eek::gee:

[89xj]

then why do they recommend these for 4" or more

http://www.rocky-road.com/xjcad.html

[hanaxj87]

Bought my lockers from them two years ago no problems and /or issues.....

Nick

[XbajajeepX]

I would check out

Fullsizexj
DPG
Jeepinoutfitters.

You can't go wrong with any of those.

[ktm racer 419]

their website is good for a laugh.

seems like they talk down every other suspension manufacturer saying their products are a waste of money and do nothing.

"longarms are dangerous if you drive on the street" for example

[XJsurf]

That's a hocus pocus load of CRAP!!

[yossarian19]

Yeah, their site attitude and (I've heard) customer service all suck.
But since I live 20 minutes from their shop, I might be able to avoid all that.
How are their products? Quality / strength / fit & function?

[CherokeeCrawler88]

they are a great company quick shipping and you can even chat with them and they will help you out.

[AMERCANZERO]

The stuff they dont manufacture in-house would definitely be alright. In that case they are just third party. I own their Bar Pin Eliminators, which they make, and they are pretty heavy duty, 3/8 steel with good looking welds. I, personally havent had many negative experiences with their customer service. Me and one of the salesman (the one that drives an XJ) talked about 6in lifts for an hour one day. He was cool. The guy I talked to last about my quick disconnects was kind of lazy but still gave me what I needed. They are pretty informed and test a bunch of things, they may be opinionated, but most of the people here are too. I would check out some small stuff first, like BPEs and see what your experience is and then go from there. You dont have to beleive everything they say, just buy what you know will work. Hope that helps - good luck.

[veedubshafer]

I have their lift shackles and the are really nice. I've dropped off many a rock and slammed off the shackle and they just aren't phased.

[Wearingthin]

their website is good for a laugh.

seems like they talk down every other suspension manufacturer saying their products are a waste of money and do nothing.

"longarms are dangerous if you drive on the street" for example


Because aftermarket suspension is based less on research and design and more on Voodoo Magic. duh

[BobDog]

Thanks guys.. Just got done reading what everyone had to say and, Wow! I may try to find the same bargain somewhere else. Any ideas? I'm lookin for a 4 - 4.5" Kit.

I tell ya 5/8's of my XJ is Rustysoffroad and I have had alot of luck w/ them and their customer service. Everything I have had has been great except their adjustable trac bar, which after 2yrs. started eating bushings. After so long i didn't ask them to replace, but i got one of their nonadjustable trac bars for a 6.5 lift and no problems since.:cool:

[Darky]

I bought my BB through Rocky Road. I ordered the "deluxe" 1.5". It was a 1.5" shackle, spacer, and BPEs. When I got it, the shackles and spacers installed fine. The shackles are pretty beefy. Heavy metal, good welds, nice gusset in between the two "forks". The BPEs wouldn't fit right. We couldn't get them installed. I called and asked them about it, the response was, they work, they're universal, quit being stupid. Their response prompted me to decide to just send them back. They were very generous by offering to let me pay the shipping and a 15% restocking fee before they would refund the $20 price difference. Needless to say I kept them, he had mistakenly sent me an extra set of spacers for the front, so I figure I came out ahead:D. Fast forward 4 yrs. I bught a lift from DPG. It was his DPG/RE hybrid. Spoke to Dirk on the phone for a while, good guy to deal with. I also ordered the RE Hack and Tap and a CV driveshaft as well. We installed the lift, keeping the shackles and one set of spacers installed. I had a broken shock bolt, so after a bit, I found the old BPEs, and we welded one in place, and my brother in law found that the other one bolted right in. Why didn't they fit before? No idea.



Cliff notes:
Rocky Road products are decent, service sucks, ideology is weird. DPG is cool all around. Buy from DPG not Rocky Road.

[roke40]

I've had their rock sliders for about 7 years now and they've held up great. They take a beating and do their job. Just a little sanding and touchup paint to get rid of the rock rash and they're good to go. It did take a while to get but it's a good product.

[greenmachine74]

Took forever to get my parts and the like to make excusses. Bought from them twice and both times the same thing. Products are good quality though.

[ktm racer 419]

they are a great company quick shipping and you can even chat with them and they will help you out.

i woudn't call 2 months to get a pair of shackles "quick shipping"

[veedubshafer]

they are a great company quick shipping and you can even chat with them and they will help you out.


LOL, must be an employee or someone being paid to say this ...or smoking something:smoker:

[Muddy Beast]

I bought BPEs from them...they fit in the rear ok, but in the front I had to chop quite a bit off, and eventually, because the holes didn't line up with the bolt holes on the axle, they broke off and I had a nice shock to replace about a week after I realized they broke.

Shipping took two weeks for a one week shipment...I won't order from them again. I now buy from FullsizeXJ and Grimus.

~Scott

[crazymoose1990]

Dont buy any lift from them for Godsakes i bough one in Oct 08 and still didnt have the springs yet in December. And yes some of there guys have horrible attitudes not all of them. If you buy make sure all of your parts are in stock. I ended up getting my springs from 4 wheel hardware I got them the next week. Just be careful not to get ripped off. there prices dont always match

[ktm racer 419]

just because i have a few minutes to kill:

While longer control arms can help with the castor alignment setting, they do nothing to help with the ride quality and tracking of the Jeep.

If safety isn't much of an issue, if highway control and stability are not important, then the long-arm kits may be for you. While they do look impressive parked on a flex ramp or posing in a magazine ad, these kits do not allow your suspension to cycle up and down in the manner in which it was designed. So they can ride a bit spooky at highway speeds.

Almost as bad as poor quality springs nowadays are some of the "long arm" kits. Most of these kits do not allow your front axle to cycle up and down in the manner it was designed, which is why they ride so spooky at highway speeds. Long arm kits are fine for vehicles trailered to the trails. If you want to keep your vehicle and passenger's safe though, stay away from this latest fad as the rotating castor on these systems makes for screwy handling and you will curse the day you wasted money on it. If all you want is to build a trailer queen though... by all means, a long-arm kit may be for you.

No hocus pocus parts that are unnecessary (such as control arms)

Jeep engineered the Cherokee to be lifted.

We tried all the big 'name' shocks, Edelbrocks, Bilsteins, ProComp, Skyjacker, etc. All the same, all too stiff for the Jeep.

Control arms serve the purpose of helping to achieve proper alignment specifications and axle position when a Jeep is lifted. Not really mandatory until you get over 6" of lift

One thing you will NOT find at the Rocky Road manufacturing facility... long arm kits. We've been saying it for years, long arms kits make for great 'trailer-queens', but not for Jeeps driven at highway speeds. They cause your Jeep to turn like a skateboard which is not only spooky and unsettling, but also potentially dangerous. Even tech editors at the popular Jeep magazines have stated the same in head-to-head control-arm comparisons over the years.

If all it took for more suspension flex with no trade-off to safety and stability was longer arms, Jeep engineers would have done this from the factory. Jeep doesn't want millions of lawsuits from dead or maimed Jeepers though and engineered the best, safest system possible. Our control arms kits take their proven design and enhance it so you can feel 100% safe and comfortable in a well handling Jeep... whether its crawling thru huge rocks, blasting thru mud, bouncing up an off-camber hill, or driving on the road to get to work or vacation.

Some shops will sell anything to make a buck, but we at Rocky Road feel your life is worth more than 1-2" of additional suspension flex...
Avoid the long-arm kits.


and thats just the suspension section

[Root Moose]

Yeah, because everyone knows that there has never been a factory offered long arm suspension on a vehicle...

Oh wait...

Ford F-series and Bronco from the 1970s-80s
Toyota Land Cruiser FZJ80, UZJ105, etc...
Mercedes-Benz Gaelendewagen
Land Rover Discovery, Series III/D90, Range Rover
Plus others...

Yeah, all those trucks are squirrelly at speed and ride like sh!t.

:rolleyes:

[Darky]

I bought BPEs from them...they fit in the rear ok, but in the front I had to chop quite a bit off, and eventually, because the holes didn't line up with the bolt holes on the axle, they broke off and I had a nice shock to replace about a week after I realized they broke.

Shipping took two weeks for a one week shipment...I won't order from them again. I now buy from FullsizeXJ and Grimus.

~Scott
Maybe that was the issue. We tried installing the front ones 4 yrs ago, no dice. We were prepared to drill them out, do whatever it took, but there was no way to get the holes to line up. Which sucked, because we had just cut the bar pin out of the shock and had to make a last minute dash to the store to pick up a Metro shock so we could steal the bar pin so I could make the drive back home with all four shocks.

[Root Moose]

RRO has had dubious customer service ever since Glen started the company back in the 1990s.

If they have good prices on something they are reselling and you don't mind waiting then go for it.

I personally wouldn't roll the dice on anything they make in house. There are SOOO many options for vendors when building a Jeep why take the chance?

[squidd]

You know, I think I may have had the only good experince of anyone with them on here. Year ago i ordered a safari snorkel through them and the customer rep on the phone informed me they did not carry them in stock and it would take 3 weeks to get it. Then he noted that I lived in the same general area as ARB's ( the distributor) west coast hub and that he could write me a P.O and I could pick it up inperson saving me shipping. I was really very happy with this arrangment. Was this just a lucky fluke???

[Darky]

RRO has had dubious customer service ever since Glen started the company back in the 1990s.

If they have good prices on something they are reselling and you don't mind waiting then go for it.

I personally wouldn't roll the dice on anything they make in house. There are SOOO many options for vendors when building a Jeep why take the chance?
I talked to them a few times over e-mail while deployed and he seemed like a nice guy (back when I was looking at stuff for my Tracker) so when I got the XJ, that's why I ordered from them. I had a problem with the order and suddenly he wasn't so nice.

I got my tow hooks from Rusty and when I didn't receive the hooks (brackets without hooks) I called and he was very friendly and apologetic. He had them expressed to me and I got them within 3 days.

[BobDog]

Yep Rusty...he been very good to me......:D