Talked to Jared today. emailed my order. seems like a great guy. looking forward to it getting here. Never can have enough storage space.
J
JumptChaneAZ
Guest
I ordered my bed extender on the 01.24.2023, with a published lead time of 16 weeks. I was surprised when I got a delivery notfication on 04.11.2023. It showed up the next day.
I got home yesterday and was stoked to check it out. The packing of the pieces was pretty gold level and I scored a nice new moving blanket with it. 5 out of 5 on the packaging.
I went to work installing it. I thought I was going to try to mount it to the Honda aluminum rear bumper and not use the stuts that come with it, but after giving it a look, I canned that idea and removed the Honda bumper and used the provided struts. The install was very straight forward and everything fit perfectly. Took about an hour and a half at a very leisurely pace. 5 out of 5 on the build quality, the fit and finish, and ease of installation.
I had previously tried two types of spare tire carriers, the tube type that came with it, that I never liked:
The second attempt was the Tusk model. It was very well built and looked decent. At this point I still hadn't worked out the whole chassis geometry thing and was still learning what caused the "bucking" that I encountered in large whoops.
After working with Shock Therapy I got the suspension upgraded and that helped the bucking quite a bit, but it still wasn't at the point that I thought it should have been. That's when I really did the research and found out what was actually causing it to buck, it was the chassis geometry itself. I needed to take all of that weight from up high on the cage and move it as far back and as low as possible. So I bought the Dirt Road Fab extender to accomplish that. Ordered it with the expanded metal bottom and the low tire mount.
I had to buy a couple Axia Alloys 360 degree whip mounts for the cage, as I had the whip mounts mounted to the Tusk spare carrier and that was now gone. Kind of fiddly to get just right, but they are a clean way to do it and the result was worth the fiddling, IMHO.
I'm pretty content with the outcome. I did a quick test on a local section that always upset the car and made it really sketchy at 35 mph. With the new Dirt Road Fab extender and the lower tire mounting location, that is now gone. It will now handle that section at 50 mph and the car remains planted and stable. This product solved a couple, of what I considered, big issues for me and I highly recommend it. I also lucked out and it fits on my Big Tex 60PI trailer with 4 inches to spare to the tailgate ramp.
If anybody is interested, I have the Honda aluminum rear bumper and mounting hardware in perfect condition and I'm looking to sell it. The Tusk spare carrier with the whip mounts is also going up for sale, but the shipping won't be cheap, due to the weight and the shape. I need to off this stuff to help cover the next two mods I have planned, an STX music/communication system and a chopped custom roll cage.
I got home yesterday and was stoked to check it out. The packing of the pieces was pretty gold level and I scored a nice new moving blanket with it. 5 out of 5 on the packaging.
I went to work installing it. I thought I was going to try to mount it to the Honda aluminum rear bumper and not use the stuts that come with it, but after giving it a look, I canned that idea and removed the Honda bumper and used the provided struts. The install was very straight forward and everything fit perfectly. Took about an hour and a half at a very leisurely pace. 5 out of 5 on the build quality, the fit and finish, and ease of installation.
I had previously tried two types of spare tire carriers, the tube type that came with it, that I never liked:
The second attempt was the Tusk model. It was very well built and looked decent. At this point I still hadn't worked out the whole chassis geometry thing and was still learning what caused the "bucking" that I encountered in large whoops.
After working with Shock Therapy I got the suspension upgraded and that helped the bucking quite a bit, but it still wasn't at the point that I thought it should have been. That's when I really did the research and found out what was actually causing it to buck, it was the chassis geometry itself. I needed to take all of that weight from up high on the cage and move it as far back and as low as possible. So I bought the Dirt Road Fab extender to accomplish that. Ordered it with the expanded metal bottom and the low tire mount.
I had to buy a couple Axia Alloys 360 degree whip mounts for the cage, as I had the whip mounts mounted to the Tusk spare carrier and that was now gone. Kind of fiddly to get just right, but they are a clean way to do it and the result was worth the fiddling, IMHO.
I'm pretty content with the outcome. I did a quick test on a local section that always upset the car and made it really sketchy at 35 mph. With the new Dirt Road Fab extender and the lower tire mounting location, that is now gone. It will now handle that section at 50 mph and the car remains planted and stable. This product solved a couple, of what I considered, big issues for me and I highly recommend it. I also lucked out and it fits on my Big Tex 60PI trailer with 4 inches to spare to the tailgate ramp.
If anybody is interested, I have the Honda aluminum rear bumper and mounting hardware in perfect condition and I'm looking to sell it. The Tusk spare carrier with the whip mounts is also going up for sale, but the shipping won't be cheap, due to the weight and the shape. I need to off this stuff to help cover the next two mods I have planned, an STX music/communication system and a chopped custom roll cage.
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Looks great!
I opted for nearly the same setup, the only difference is I added a RotoPax mount. The expanded metal is a worthwhile addition. The DRF tailgate extender is one of my favorite add-ons.
I opted for nearly the same setup, the only difference is I added a RotoPax mount. The expanded metal is a worthwhile addition. The DRF tailgate extender is one of my favorite add-ons.
stellarpod
Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
Excellent job! Looks fantastic! Honestly, I think the DRF tailgate and spare carrier finish off the Talon perfectly - looks better with it than without.
Steve
D
Your Talon looks great. Thank you for your business.
J
JumptChaneAZ
Guest
It looks way better now with your handiwork bolted on. It made a huge difference, not only in the looks department, but more importantly, the performance department. Awesome craftsmanship, you produce a great product. Money well spent.
D
They didn't have the expanded metal option when I bought mine a couple of years ago. I've been thinking of welding some on mine, but on the bottom of the swing gate itself, so my cooler and gas can swing out when I open it. The extender has been aweome and has held up great.
TimG
OLD SKOOL
Lifetime Member
Supporting Member
I ordered the low mounted tire carrier to keep the weight lower but has anybody had any trouble with the spare hitting the ground in rough steep terrain ? I'm running 32's now seriously thinking of going to 35's. "Notice my profile pic"
CID
Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
Supporting Member
I don't think the 'low' position was an option when I bought mine, that came along later ... maybe. Since then, I've done some trails rated 7 & 8 at Sand Hollow - some of the drop offs are so radical that I leave my spares (yes - 2) in camp both for rear clearance and center of gravity. I'm glad I have the high mount even though I don't do trails that hard when I'm 'spared up' and solo.
TimG
OLD SKOOL
Lifetime Member
Supporting Member
I got nervous about the lower mount and changed my order to the high mount with the expanded metal bottom which they have in stock. They said it should ship this week 👍
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D
Shipped today, should have an email confirmation.
WillyBill
Wheeling Addict
Lifetime Member
Regardless of mount-Let most of the air out of the spare (I know you must carry an air compressor)-So if it does drag it will have some give/flex and might not bend something.
Tramguage1
Texan
Moderator
Lifetime Member
Supporting Member
Club Contributor
I just picked up one from a buddy, that had a coustom cage built.
I will have to repaint to the blue.
I will have to repaint to the blue.
I think it will be too much trouble to try and paint it. Just mail it to me and order yourself a blue one when they start taking orders again. I'll give it a nice home, scouts honor.
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