soocom1

Twice today during various discussions on what I intend to do to our XJ, the point of two primary brands came up. Both with positive and negative comments.


Smittybuilt and Thornbird.


Now I would like to know the reputation of those brands as well as any others people may have an opinion on.
This also includes various 4x4 supply companies.


Thank you.

jay_sco

Huh?
Smittybuilt has their name on a LOT of products! You want an overview review on their name alone? Thornbird...as in the tire model by Interco? Well then Interco is the brand, do you want the reputation on the company or the tire? Supply company...as on the middle man? Because now it sounds like you want to know the reputation of the supplier, and not so much the manufacturer.
So in a nutshell, you want our opinion on any product, from any company, from any 4x4 supplier?


Am I missing something here or is the OP really that vague?!?!?

andrewmp6

I have read good and bad reviews on some Smittybuilt stuff before.Thornbird tires are the worse off road tires made.They look like a off road tire but really are just a street tire posing as a off road tire.

soocom1

Fair enough.


In regards to various brands, I have heard many good reviews for street/OR tires being the Mid-range Goodyear, BF Goodrich and General.


Not really rock crawling material, but for everyday driving and snow with a bit o' mud thrown in, they work.


Thornbird was something someone brought up in another discussion. Something about Pirate Thornbird rule....




I have had previous experience with good and bad suppliers for any manner of items in life and am wondering if there is any particular good guy or bad guy place to look at or avoid.

SteveMongr

Smittybilt - Shi*tybilt. made in China.

Here is a review of rear bumper. https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f59/sm...review-191099/

SeriousOffroad

Dropped S/B from my site.

sycoglitch

Google and a six pack is your friend poster. Sit down, get comfortable and do so research. As a forum were here to help but for us to do the work you can easily do via googling is beyond lazy. You want our insight. Fine, do research and then come back and ask is, "hey guys, I just read Serious Offroad is a great supplier. It this true?" Then we can say no ;P. Honestly he is but you get the point

soocom1

Im simply asking because this is mostly new to me. So a bit of direction as to where and how to look is what I am after.


Not trying to get anyone to "do hard work".


Some understanding as to who to look for is what I am after.
Ill get the groove as I go along.
My specialty is performance cars (Camaros, Mustangs, BMW's) and basic truck level 4x4.


The jeep is a serious necessity for us now, and I figure that you folks are the true experts. That's why I am here.
To get some education as to how to go about this.


That's all.

SeriousOffroad

I think the price is fair.

Call around and get a few more quotes.

soocom1

Like the Smittybuilt.
If I was doing strictly Google research, the number of reviews both positive and negative along with price prob. would have sold me on that.
But the input from the rock crawlers and the others who use them from day to day outside of just one product, along with a retailer who states explicitly that "I dropped them from my site" tells me volumes that I could not find else where.


YOUR the experts!

sycoglitch

As with any jeep, it matters what YOU are looking to do with it. Start there. See what parts you need. Most places we use are summit, serious, quadratec and some people order though Amazon. If you're looking to lift, there plenty threads here about lifting and what brands are good. But it all starts with what YOU need/want

Fred/N0AZZ

For lift kits I use a made in NA supplier Rustys his coils/leafs are some of the best out there even the entry level kits have the same springs. They make a lot of what sell not all but a lot of products.


So many of the company's products are made in China, just call me old but buy what is made here in NA while we still have a little left and quality. Make a few jobs here in this country not borrow money from China to pay for people here not to work.

thebyus

I don't have a single piece of SmittyBuilt hardware largely due to the cost. I have always been able to find very high quality products from different vendors for a lower cost than what I can get SmittyBuilt for from the larger vendors.

andrewmp6

If your looking for a daily driver tire that can go off road also,Its a long list toyo mt,Goodyear you got the mtr or duratrac you got bfg km2 or the AT and even copper discovery stt pro.Just depends your budget what size you want and the style you like.But being up north and seeing a lot of snow only a few of those tires are snow rated so kept that in mind.If your looking for armor like bumpers rock sliders the works most of us love http://www.jcroffroad.com/ and i like some stuff from http://dirtboundoffroad.com/ If there is one part you want i can give you list of whats out there if you want.

Rogue4x4

I have a smittybuilt winchplate. Neede it as the front bumper I have didn't have the right mount locations for a winch, it was one of the first purchases I made for my ride, on ebay, advertised as a front winch mount bumper...needed the plate to make it work, as the mount points were wrong, and even after ordering, I had to drill my own holes in it. SB=no. Now I can make my own. Do yourself a favor, OP...buy a welder and fab tools, make your own.

Learn to fab/weld kiddos. Then you'll get what ya want.