Recommended Shops (Denver, Boulder, Ft. Collins, Summit County)

[Boort]

I'd like to ask my Colorado Peeps if they have any recommendations for shops in the Denver, Boulder, Ft. Collins, Summit County area. I know that many here wrench their own rigs but am hoping that some folks might have input that can help.

I'm about to pull the trigger on a suspension upgrade for my 1997 Tacoma, and would like to know who is reliable and what your experiences were with the shops you've worked with.

If you've had a bad experience I'd like to know what happened and how it could have been avoided as well.

I'm asking this because my brother had his Tacoma done last year and has basically told me not to use the shop he used due issues that resulted in a lot of finger pointing and shoulder shrugging.

Thanks in advance for any and all help.
Boort

 

[Chaoswest]

Hello Boort! The good news is that you have some of the best in the Toyota world here in the Denver region. You can go to SleeOffroad which is in Golden. Robbie Antonson aka PowerPig on Mud , Adventure Offroad is in Boulder. Jesse Myers in Arvada and he is good as well. They all are usually quite busy. Robbie is one of the best mechanics I know. He rebuilt my 97 80 series engine. Hope that helps!

 

[Fortis Overland]

Boort, I've heard good things about Slee also. You should also look at Toytec. Everyone I've known that has gone there had come back happy

Sent from my Nexus 5X using OB Talk mobile app

 

[Boort]

@Chaoswest @Fortis44

I've been looking at Slee and was lucky enough to get to talk to one of their R+D guys a couple of weeks ago (just general overlanding nothing truck specific). I loved driving a friends '99 LC that they did all of the upgrades on it handled well on the highway and offroad. They were my first choice but don't offer much for the Tacoma and even less for the Gen1's. Looking at their site all I they offer is the 2.5" OME Suspension Kit, which while still under consideration was lower on my list of upgrades.

I was looking to Toytech, they offer the kits that I was considering (Toytech BOSS and ICON) but they were the ones that my brother had the bad experience with.

Robbie Antonson/PowerPig/Adventure Offroad, I was impressed by the build thread @BerettaMato posted showing off his engine work. I'm not a Rising Sun or Mud member (I'm just now a full member here.) So I don't have any way to contact him I can't ask about if he does suspension upgrades or if he prefers to stick with motor work.

I've not heard of Jesse Myers is he a member here? Searching around I found a Yelp listing with great reviews that pointed here http://atlr.net/ Is this the same shop?

Boort

 

[Chaoswest]

Here is Robbie's phone number - 303-884-7813. That's his cell. His email is powderpig@q.com . He can do anything (my opinion!) and is one great guy. He shares space with Onur (Beno on MUD ) . He did my engine and does lots of my maintenance when he has time. He catches stuff that other people would miss. Otherwise, I use Jesse Meyers - that's the right website you have. They are amazing guys. I don't know the Slee people but haven't heard anything bad about their work or their products.

 

[Boort]

@Chaoswest

Here is Robbie's phone number - 303-884-7813. That's his cell. His email is powderpig@q.com . He can do anything (my opinion!) and is one great guy. He shares space with Onur (Beno on MUD ) . He did my engine and does lots of my maintenance when he has time. He catches stuff that other people would miss. Otherwise, I use Jesse Meyers - that's the right website you have. They are amazing guys. I don't know the Slee people but haven't heard anything bad about their work or their products.

Thank you. I've dropped Robbie an email so he can respond when he has time.

Boort

 

[BerettaMato]

If your doing a Tacoma I would look at King Suspension if your ok with the price. All my Tacoma wold buds have ditched there Boss for kings. @Boort we can fix the Rising Sun member just come on track with us or trail clean up and I will sponsor you. Thanks for the complement on the build she is going in for phase three (Storage and coms) now.

 

[Boort]

@BerettaMato

If your doing a Tacoma I would look at King Suspension if your ok with the price. All my Tacoma wold buds have ditched there Boss for kings. @Boort we can fix the Rising Sun member just come on track with us or trail clean up and I will sponsor you. Thanks for the complement on the build she is going in for phase three (Storage and coms) now.

Thanks for the pointer to the Kings, I keep hearing about them as being a high end desert race setup, usually along side long travel kits or SAS. I discounted them in my research figuring they may be further than I wanted to go mod wise since I was not able to find details about or anyone local who delt with them. Only place I found (other than 4 wheel parts) was a place in Boulder called Filthy's. I've never heard any one mention them but that is where I found most of the limited info I could on the King options for the Gen 1 Tacoma's. Do you know if any of your buddies with the Kings got them installed or were they all DIY jobs?

I likely will not be able to hit any trails till I get the suspension resolved but would not mind getting together for a cleanup. DM me when you hear about a cleanup and I'll try to make it out.

I can't wait to see how the storage goes in on your rig.

Boort

 

[BerettaMato]

I am sorry I did not notice you had a 97. What kind of ride are you looking for, is this a Daily Driver? What size tire are you wanting to use. I have built three 1st gen tacos. Bilstin gave the best ride for DD and long overlanding trips. It is still in use in my wifes truck . I had OME in the other two it feels much harder and planted but a harsher ride for long trips. I personally like the OME. I did find that 32" is the best fit unless you want to cut and hammer your inner fender wells in. Skinny 33' would also work. These are light trucks so they don't need a huge tire. I call me some time and we can talk or you can come over to the garage. I will PM you my info.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/beretta-and-dixiegirl-builds.347579/page-2#post-13782525

 

[Nomad00XJ]

@Boort I've had some work done at High Country 4x4 in Englewood. I've been happy with everything they've done themselves, the only less than good experience I had was with transmission install they outsourced. I just had my XJ re-geared there along with ARB lockers in the front and rear. All of the work, the wiring, and the airlines were done really nicely and the tech definitely took his time routing everything. They stock all of the top suspension brands I can think of to include King and Icon.

 

[Wheelman]

Charlie's in Boulder is an all Toyota 4x4 shop. They are very passionate about what they do and great to work with.

 

[Nomad00XJ]

I can second @BerettaMato about the OME. I have an OME lift on my Cherokee and it is a little harsh, but the truck is also at stock weight. It'll settle and ride better once I put the tire carrier and front bumper on. I've had them for 2 years and have been happy with them so far. My understanding is that OME is geared towards heavier vehicles or vehicles carrying some weight. I don't have any experience with Tacos.

 

[ysr21]

Hey Boort, did you end up finding a mechanic?

 

[Boort]

Hey Boort, did you end up finding a mechanic?

@ysr21

Not really.

Chatted with Robbie he politely declined So he can continue to focus his time on the Cruisers that he enjoys working on.

Took a vacation day from work to head down to Golden and talked to Slee. They were very knowledgeable about the limitations of my 97 Std. Cab Tacoma. Made some recommendations but really seamed to be more recommending leaving it be suspension wise. Not long after that I found and bought my '06 v8 4 runner. I reached out to the guy I talked to at Slee, via the email he gave, me to ask about the upgrading the 4Runner and it's been radio silence. Looking back it's been nearly a month, just sent an update in case it got lost in his inbox.

Was not been able to talk to ATLR In Wheat Ridge as by the time I'd finished up with Slee and my other errands in the Denver area they were already closed.

After seeing some of the rigs at the Feb Front Range meet up @Gary Bzzz has been setting up I learned of Juniper Overland in Arvada from a guy that I met who had a nicely built Lexus (Pictured on their website I think). I was down their way a couple of weeks ago and got to talk to Matt (also of Offgrid4x4). He was very helpful and may be the way I go, But they seem to be new (less than a year as Juniper), the website has nearly 0 info other than pointers to some Social media profiles, Manufacturer's logos and contact info. New enough to make me uneasy.

I'm likely paranoid, but lots of fly by night folks out to make a buck off of the newbs like me so when it comes to stuff like this I need to trust the folks I'm working with.

Getting frustrated. Oh well... Lots of other things I can do instead of overlanding will I find the right shop, or just forget about upgrading either truck it and move on...

Boort

 

[ysr21]

Sorry to hear about your frustrations. If you are on facebook, maybe you can check out the group Colorado FJ Cruisers. You should be able to find some useful information on there. You don't necessarily have to have an FJ Cruiser to be part of the group. They also have a website that may be worth checking out. coloradofjcruisers.com Hope you can get everything squared away in time for summer!

 

[Boort]

@ysr21

Thank you. I don't participate in Facebook, but I'll check out the website to see what they have to offer.

Boort

 

[Boort]

@ysr21
...
Took a vacation day from work to head down to Golden and talked to Slee. They were very knowledgeable about the limitations of my 97 Std. Cab Tacoma. Made some recommendations but really seamed to be more recommending leaving it be suspension wise. Not long after that I found and bought my '06 v8 4 runner. I reached out to the guy I talked to at Slee, via the email he gave, me to ask about the upgrading the 4Runner and it's been radio silence. Looking back it's been nearly a month, just sent an update in case it got lost in his inbox.
...

I wanted to post an update:
Today I heard back from the folks at Slee, after my update yesterday. Original email was lost in his inbox. He replied with detailed answers to my questions and pointed me to other outlets where Slee did not have an offering.