Malachi
07-11-08, 01:09 AM
I'm sure that many of you know that I had a new lift put in in May. I wanted the brand new (as in: no one has put one in before) Pro Comp Dual Sport 4" Long Arm Lift. This is the same one that Desert Jewel has on her 'pimped out' ride. It is a quad-link lift in the rear, which is very similar the the tri-link lifts that are currently out on the market. The jury is still out on the new lift, but so far I am happy. But what I wanted to share in this space was my experience with Apple Valley Town & Country Tire (21068 Bear Valley Road, Apple Valley, CA 92308, 760-240-5555).
I went on line to shop for a Pro Comp dealer. Their website gave me a long list of choices. I called several from the list to get pricing and time requirements. Several told me that this lift was so new that it would take at least a week to get parts and several days to install. The best price dealer told me that they could get the lift in two days and install by the next day.... This one made me nervous.
The next best price was AV T&C Tire. Moreover, the guy that does their lift installations, Jason, told me upfront that he hadn't put one in before , but that he had seen the information on it and thought that it was very similar to the Full Traction lift that he had installed before. He was very friendly and open to discussion. He shared his experiences with similar tri-link lifts from Full Traction and Rockcrawler, and we also discussed other lifts from a variety of manufacturers including Rubicon Express and Nth Degree (now AEV). Jason feels that the Full Traction lift was the best of the ones that he had installed. He was willing to install the new lift from Pro Comp, but he did some homework before he got back to me with a quote.
Jason was very clear on the order time and the installation time. He told me that he might finish sooner but he didn't want to tell me a time frame that he couldn't meet. His quote was for a completely installed and functional lift. It included a SYE and CV drive-shaft as well as a new muffler and all the work to re-route the exhaust for the new lift...and was still cheaper than all the others (except for the one that made me nervous).
When I arrived to drop off the Jeep, he had one of the Jeeps that he had installed the Full Traction lift on in the yard. Whether this was pre-arranged or not, I don't know. Regardless, Jason took me over and showed me the lift on this Jeep and explained the mechanics that I asked about.
The end result, is that he was accurate on the time to order the parts, but it took him longer than he thought to install the lift. Never-the-less, his conservative estimate of time that he shared with me was not missed by much. I spoke with him regularly and he gave me fairly detailed progress reports. His focus seemed to be on correct installation and safety.
He found that one of the rear control arm brackets was only hanging on by about an inch of weld and he fixed it. Even though it took him longer than he thought, and he had to do extra work to the Jeep to make it work, I still only payed the quoted price.
He asked for me to bring it back after 1000 miles so that he could inspect the lift. But on the way home, I noticed that there was significantly more play in turning to one side than it had in the other. I called Jason when I got home and told him the problem. We arranged for a time that I could get the Jeep back to him and he was able to identify the issue in less than an hour. He found that one of the connections required a bushing sleeve. He apologized for missing it and seemed genuinely concerned.
I had no problems afterwards with the lift. During the 1000 miles, I drove Cleghorn, Bronco Peak (in the rain = IT ROCKED!), and 2N17X. Several highway miles were driven as well.
When I took the Jeep in for the 1000 mile check up, Jason was quick about the inspection. Even so, he found two places that were rubbing and ground the surfaces to provide proper clearance. He also found that the steering damper was rubbing in a spot and added a bushing to keep the proper distance. He was amused by all of the scratches on the lift and asked where I had taken it.
I had lost a quick disconnect clip on one of the trails and he replaced it for free. He also spent time with me explaining what he had found during the inspection.
Afterwards, I asked if the tire techs could try to take a bend in one of my steel wheels out. The gentleman at the counter arranged for this to happen and checked on the progress as they were working on it. The wheel was not able to be completely straightened, but it was very close. I wasn't charged for this service. I'm sure that it was just a whim, but I was truly surprised.
Long story to get to this point: I am VERY happy with the service, knowledge, and price from AV T&C Tire. It is obvious that several of the crew that works there goes wheeling and understands the needs of the off-road enthusiast.
Even though they are far from me (about 50 minutes one way), I will use them again. I recommend this company for Lift and Tire service.
I went on line to shop for a Pro Comp dealer. Their website gave me a long list of choices. I called several from the list to get pricing and time requirements. Several told me that this lift was so new that it would take at least a week to get parts and several days to install. The best price dealer told me that they could get the lift in two days and install by the next day.... This one made me nervous.
The next best price was AV T&C Tire. Moreover, the guy that does their lift installations, Jason, told me upfront that he hadn't put one in before , but that he had seen the information on it and thought that it was very similar to the Full Traction lift that he had installed before. He was very friendly and open to discussion. He shared his experiences with similar tri-link lifts from Full Traction and Rockcrawler, and we also discussed other lifts from a variety of manufacturers including Rubicon Express and Nth Degree (now AEV). Jason feels that the Full Traction lift was the best of the ones that he had installed. He was willing to install the new lift from Pro Comp, but he did some homework before he got back to me with a quote.
Jason was very clear on the order time and the installation time. He told me that he might finish sooner but he didn't want to tell me a time frame that he couldn't meet. His quote was for a completely installed and functional lift. It included a SYE and CV drive-shaft as well as a new muffler and all the work to re-route the exhaust for the new lift...and was still cheaper than all the others (except for the one that made me nervous).
When I arrived to drop off the Jeep, he had one of the Jeeps that he had installed the Full Traction lift on in the yard. Whether this was pre-arranged or not, I don't know. Regardless, Jason took me over and showed me the lift on this Jeep and explained the mechanics that I asked about.
The end result, is that he was accurate on the time to order the parts, but it took him longer than he thought to install the lift. Never-the-less, his conservative estimate of time that he shared with me was not missed by much. I spoke with him regularly and he gave me fairly detailed progress reports. His focus seemed to be on correct installation and safety.
He found that one of the rear control arm brackets was only hanging on by about an inch of weld and he fixed it. Even though it took him longer than he thought, and he had to do extra work to the Jeep to make it work, I still only payed the quoted price.
He asked for me to bring it back after 1000 miles so that he could inspect the lift. But on the way home, I noticed that there was significantly more play in turning to one side than it had in the other. I called Jason when I got home and told him the problem. We arranged for a time that I could get the Jeep back to him and he was able to identify the issue in less than an hour. He found that one of the connections required a bushing sleeve. He apologized for missing it and seemed genuinely concerned.
I had no problems afterwards with the lift. During the 1000 miles, I drove Cleghorn, Bronco Peak (in the rain = IT ROCKED!), and 2N17X. Several highway miles were driven as well.
When I took the Jeep in for the 1000 mile check up, Jason was quick about the inspection. Even so, he found two places that were rubbing and ground the surfaces to provide proper clearance. He also found that the steering damper was rubbing in a spot and added a bushing to keep the proper distance. He was amused by all of the scratches on the lift and asked where I had taken it.
I had lost a quick disconnect clip on one of the trails and he replaced it for free. He also spent time with me explaining what he had found during the inspection.
Afterwards, I asked if the tire techs could try to take a bend in one of my steel wheels out. The gentleman at the counter arranged for this to happen and checked on the progress as they were working on it. The wheel was not able to be completely straightened, but it was very close. I wasn't charged for this service. I'm sure that it was just a whim, but I was truly surprised.
Long story to get to this point: I am VERY happy with the service, knowledge, and price from AV T&C Tire. It is obvious that several of the crew that works there goes wheeling and understands the needs of the off-road enthusiast.
Even though they are far from me (about 50 minutes one way), I will use them again. I recommend this company for Lift and Tire service.