Unexpected adventures in auto parts testing

Losing a wheel is a great way to test out a stainless steel shock skid prototype.

How much testing does it take to prove a product is ready to sell? That can be a loaded question, as there are so many variables and different outcomes for every situation. You can’t possibly test for every possible scenario involving safety, reliability, and abuse. It literally could go on forever.

The Circle of Trust

At Mountains2Metal, while testing our products for the new Ford Bronco, we like to keep the circle pretty small. I don’t want too many people knowing about what we’re working on. In the past, it’s blown up in our faces: I see pictures of my Bronco on Alibaba all the time. I can’t stand how good the Chinese are at recreating our and anyone else’s American-made products! (I just had to throw that out there, as anyone who knows me knows that’s one of my hot points).

When testing new products, we usually start by putting them on my Bronco—the guinea pig for nearly everything we make. It has more battle scars than most, inside and outside, but that is why I have it. My dad’s Bronco also gets its fair share of product testing abuse. His is typically “stock” and we refer to his Bronco as the “Mall Crawler.” We’re realizing that the sixth-generation Bronco owners are relatively new to the offroad and customizing worlds, and they aren’t going to use these vehicles to their full capabilities. (There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and they should have fun in their own way.)

But between me and my dad, we aren’t going to put these products through all the wringers that are needed. And to be honest, these products may never get pushed to their full potential. That is the nature of the beast. We need to test them to deem them safe, reliable, and reflective of our quality.

So, we’ve had to spread our wings a bit and work with a handful of ambassadors who do some testing a well. These fellow Bronco owners have an open line of communication straight to me and give me any positive or negative feedback that we need. I take it all with open arms. It is better to hear it in the beginning before the product gets put out in the market.

Testing Skid Plates the Hard Way

We’ve had a lot of requests for rear shock skids and recently started making skid plates. We went through a couple design revisions, one of which we made right before my dad and I were about to leave for the Overland Expo East in Arrington, Va. We knew we didn’t have time for paint, not even a rattle can, so we made the part out of stainless steel. It was a little overkill, but we had no idea we were going to put this product to a test like no other.

As a disclaimer, what I am about to tell you was completely our fault and is one of the many reasons you should check behind yourself when safety matters most.

We had removed the rear tires while we were making a suspension modification on my Bronco. The tires were put back on with a new impact gun set at the lowest torque possible—not the recommended 100 ft.-lbs. that should have been used on the lugnuts. The wheels were on there, but not safely.

We hit the road with our stainless steel shock skid prototypes and were ready to get to the show within a few hours. Along the highway, we got behind a large truck hauling an oversized load, and I felt a really big draft. What I didn’t realize was that the rear tire was coming loose. Next thing I knew, I was using the new shock skid as a ski while driving with three tires. The driver’s rear tire came loose and passed us as I was trying to get off the highway safely. I said about every cuss word in the book as I prayed for the tire not to hurt anyone. Luckily, it rolled straight down the median and launched into a creek between the highways.

Dad and I gathered our thoughts and walked up the road to retrieve the tire. It was down in a ravine full of briars. Putting the tire back on was not an option, as we had sheared all six wheel studs completely off. We were stuck.

Here are the Bronco and the tire, reunited. This would be my seat for the next hour.

Realizing it was almost 4:00 p.m. on a Thursday, I called for a tow truck right away. While I was on the phone, my dad started putting on his coat. Little did I know, he was venturing into the briars to retrieve the tire. This was days before his 70th birthday and he didn’t need to be doing that.

Next thing I knew, still on the phone, I looked up and saw him walking out of the thick pushing the 120-lb., 37-in. tire. He was exhausted, so I waved for him to stop and told him I would get it back up the road. We finally got a tow truck on the way and the tire back to the side of the Bronco.

As we were sitting there catching our breath, we looked down and realized how well the shock skid did and how much abuse it had taken. There was quite a skid mark leading up to the stopped Bronco. The prototype prevented a ton of damage, and we were pretty thankful.

Back on Track

We got the Bronco loaded on the tow truck and headed to the closest Ford dealership, crossing our fingers that they could help us get back on the road. Seeing that the dealership was called Owen Ford, I felt a sense of relief. My youngest child is named Owen, and I took it as a sign that things were going to work out.

As we got the Bronco backed off the tow truck, the mechanics placed a dolly under the back where the wheel was missing. They then looked right at me and said, “You’re driving.” If anyone was going to break anything else, I guess it had to be me. I hopped in and put it slowly into gear. I immediately heard a loud noise, and one of the guys told me to stop. I needed to put it in four-wheel drive so the assembly where the tire was missing would not try to spin on the dolly.

I was able to crawl the Bronco on the three tires into a spot where they could use a lift to work on the vehicle. While I was doing that, the guys in the office were sourcing parts so we could try to get back on the road. As luck would have it, they said they could get some parts overnighted and install them first thing the following morning.

Russel, the service adviser, gave us a ride to a hotel and told us of a good restaurant to eat at within walking distance. He also told us that he could come pick us up the next day at lunch and hopefully everything would be ready for us to drive away.

Like clockwork, Russel came the next day around noon and picked us up at the hotel. My dad told him he would buy all the guys at the shop lunch for their help. We picked up some food and headed back to Owen Ford, where the Bronco was sitting out front ready for us to settle up and head out.

The guys there reminded us how lucky we were and that we had just put that shock skid on the Bronco. I was extremely thankful that no one was hurt. The stars aligned for us that day, and we ended up making it to the Overland Expo East just 24 hours later than we had planned.

As we were pulling up to our campsite, I yelled at my friend Jamie Castleberry and asked him if we had all of our tires. He acted like he was checking and said we were good to go. I’m glad we could at least get a couple laughs out of that whole fiasco.

Now, whenever I test out some of our products, I always have this adventure ingrained in my head. It’s not the testing I had planned on, but it definitely covered a situation I never could have anticipated. I think it’s safe to say that part passed with flying colors.

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