METALCLOAK VIDEO: MetalCloak's Rigs & Wrenches EP.9 – Shea Sanders | American Offroad (Bakersfield, CA)

 

American Offroad in Bakersfield, California is a three-generation, family-run shop specializing in Jeeps, trucks, and off-road builds. Shea and Misty Sanders run the shop, focusing on quality suspension components like Duroflex joints and MetalCloak Game-Changer kits, community advocacy through CORVA, trail preservation, and building a loyal customer family that spans mild to wild builds, overlanding, and hardcore rock crawling.

Complete Transcript with Time Stamps:

[00:00] We're in Bakersfield, California. A shop that's more than just a place to build jeeps, it's a family tradition. This is American Offroad, a family-run shop going strong for three generations. Today we're talking with Shea Sanders, the man carrying that legacy forward. Shea's not just about building rigs, he's out there working with CORVA to keep trails open and supporting the Jeep community every step of the way. From family roots to hardcore wheeling, this shop lives and breathes off-road. Buckle up, this is Rigs and Wrenches.

[00:48] So today we are down here at American Offroad in Bakersfield, California to meet with Shea and Misty. They are the owners of this amazing shop. They are one of our gold plus level dealers for MetalCloak. We've got an amazing operation here. We're going to go and meet them, see what they're all about. Let's go inside.

[01:03] Shea, how are you? Hey, what's up, Mike? How you guys doing? Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, man. I've been down here before. I've been in the shop a few times. Tell me a little bit about American Offroad. How do you guys get started?

[01:13] So we're three generations. I grew up off-roading, building rigs out of my dad's shop. My dad worked for the water company for like 30 years. And then when he retired, we turned this into a business. He retired eight years ago. And now my sons, my wife, my nephew, it's a family business. It's our passion.

[01:36] Yeah, so do you work on a little bit of everything in here? We work on mild to wild. Jeeps and trucks. Jeeps, Broncos. Anything with the wheels. We work on. What's the total square footage you got here? It's about 4,000 square foot.

[01:49] One of the things that I know about you guys is you're very involved with the off-road community, CORVA, so forth, Slash X Bash. You are also all about MetalCloak. Yes. We've had a lot of discussions over the phone the past couple years. Why MetalCloak? I mean, you obviously carry other brands at times, but why us? What is it about MetalCloak?

[02:10] So, I mean the Duroflex bushing is what I believe in. It's quiet on the trail. I put it on a customer's rig. I got customers 10 plus years on a bushing. So they're not having them coming back. I mean, I retrofit other stuff, you know, weld bungs in, put the Duroflex Builder Joint inside other people's DOM metal. You know, the bushings what I believe in. The Dual Rate Spring, it just rides the best. We do all the local Jeep dealership from, you know, from mild to wild, you know people want to do heavy trails or light trails, overland. It's just a great product.

[02:47] So what are people coming in for and asking for? When they buy a brand new Jeep, they come in here and they say, Shea, I want to build it up. What do you tell them?

[02:53] So basically we kind of build up for what they're going to do with it. And like I said, when you do a Game-Changer, you can go from zero to six inches so we can go higher. So some people start out on 2.5", 35" tires, then they take them on some trails and they want to go a little taller. Well, that good thing about it is the arm is adjustable. They could just change the springs out. So there's, we can adapt to they're what they're using it for.

[03:17] So most people just say I just want to go see the mountains and then they turn into rock crawling or overlanding or they want to go on the trail clean ups that we do but the MetalCloak product like I said the armor is the best in the business. You know some people want to do the aluminum like I tell them get an aluminum can rub it against a rock and see what happens. We're on a lot of slick rocks out here on the West Coast and your armor takes abuse and it just keeps going.

[03:41] Yeah, it does hold up pretty well. We hammer ours up and we're at the proving ground, so we're at the base of the Rubicon. And when we slap a product on a Jeep, that's where we go to test it out. And if it holds up a few days out on the Rubicon, typically it's going to hold up anywhere else in the world.

[03:54] What's your personal rig? So we have a Gladiator, we have a 2023 Gladiator that I built for my wife. We have a diesel 2022 diesel JL. It's all outfitted with long arms that you guys developed. One thing about your guys' stuff is the geometry. I haven't had any bushings come apart, rip apart. The geometry has all been there. It's all right. So when we install it, put it on the alignment rack, the numbers are all right there. We're not having to change a bunch of different stuff and they wheel good. They're quiet.

[04:27] And we do a lot of trail cleanups on the Sierra National Forest and a lot of the rangers ride with us. And they ride with different guys, different builds, different product. And they always say one thing, your Jeeps are so quiet on the road. And I tell them that's the Duroflex Bushing. It's just a super quiet deal and they never have to rebuild them. They're rebuildable. They never tear apart. If you put a kit on from another manufacturer and have to replace their joints within a year, usually it's kind of a warranty issue at that point. And you lose money on the labor.

[04:56] I was down at TDS two years ago. The customer put his rig up on our CTI trailer. And he said, we flexed it out and we were checking it out and everything tested good. It scored well. And he goes, should I replace my joints? And I said, well maybe let's take a look. I go, how many miles do you have on it? He goes, 80,000 miles. So we get a look, I'm like, we should probably check these joints out. I mean, 80,000 miles is a lot. You know, they're probably fine. How's it riding? He goes, it rides great. So I said, preventatively, sure, you could probably replace the joints, but if it's riding great, leave it for a while. He ended up preventatively going in and replacing them all because he wanted to, but it was still riding perfect after 80,000 miles and I thought that's a great testimonial.

[05:32] Well, a lot of guys, we get, you know, the TJ's that have the... the Rubicon Express kit on the TJ. So I like that you guys have a retrofit so we don't have to rip the whole belly panel off. We just rolled out the upper rear arms. So it's really nice that I could tell people because they're like, hey they're no longer in business and I'm gonna have to buy a new kit and then I tell them, hey we have something for you. We can retrofit your kit and make it good, you know better than it was before and a lot of people are happy about that.

[06:00] I love the little showroom here. I love all the little accoutrement in the off-road industry but why don't you take us on a little tour around the shop and see what else is going on here? You got a lot of cool rigs out front on display. We're gonna talk about those in a minute because they're pretty awesome. But what do you got going on back here? What's on the rack?

[06:14] We got a 4xE today, it's a 2022. Customer came in, he was wanting a 2.5" and then I kind of talked him into the 3.5" and we're gonna do 35" tires, eventually go to 37's possibly. But right now I want to get him on the Game-Changer. He was on the fence with the Rock Krawler suspension. And I basically talked to him into, my rigs, and gave him a ride in our rigs and see how good it rides and how smooth it goes. And we've got a MetalCloak customer going here.

[06:49] So for those of you who aren't really privy to our technology, you happen to come across this video, what we were talking about before is the joints in here, our Duroflex Joints, and this is the core of our suspension. This is what makes our suspension work so well. It has the most misalignment and the most self-centering and the most longevity of any joint on the market. Combined with a good strong arm, DOM, this is what makes it all happen.

[07:13] Now, these joints, because they have so much misalignment and so much self-centering, we need shocks and springs to match that amount of articulation. So that's why we tell people, like, if you're going to build a rig, do it all in the same family so that the shocks, the coils, and the joints all match up to the most amount of articulation you can get on it.

[07:30] As far as a Game-Changer install, you were saying earlier that you like it because it's, you get a rhythm down. You know, your guys can just bust them out. I mean, how long does it take for your shop to do a full Game-Changer lift? It usually takes us about six hours to get everything. We could do it probably faster than that, but I tell the guys about six hours. But I mean, he's already pretty much pre-measured the arms already. He already knows what stock fenders with the bump stops. So it just, it's just repetitive. It's muscle memory.

[08:00] When they get these kits, they already, is it a Game-Changer, True Dual Rate? Same things. But yeah, it's this awesome kit. The springs, they stay in the buckets. They're dual rate. I have never had a problem with the return or a problem with the spring.

[08:18] Yeah, the True Dual Rate Coils, and again, I'm not the product expert, but what I do know about these springs is because they're a dual rate, you're riding around on these upper wraps that are compressed down. So it essentially lowers the bucket down. And so you're lowering your center of gravity to some degree on how it feels and when you ride. And you go off-road and those expand out, you're getting all that extra travel. And they just work amazingly well.

[08:42] So it's proprietary. And a lot of companies have tried to copy us doing "triple rate" or whatever. We have a spring comparison video coming out soon. Take a look at that on our channel that really outlines and shows you why our spring is the spring to have under your vehicle.

[08:57] Well, another thing is if you don't see the springs touching on the top, you have the wrong spring. Yeah, they should be compressed. That's what keeps the, from axle wraps on, you know, people say axle wraps or hoppin, you know, drive lines, you know, braking drive lines, it just transfers the power really, really smooth when you're off-roading on the trail. Keeps that stock handling feel on the road a little better. So it's a good thing.

[09:21] Cool. Let's take a look around and see what else you got going on. And how many lifts do you say you have? We have four. So you do a little bit of scouts, the internationals, truck work. We do everything. We do fleet trucks too for an oil-fill company. So we just sell a lot of off-road tires. So you have some storage upstairs, that inventory? Yeah, we got some inventory up there. We have a C-train. We stock as much as stuff.

[09:44] One thing I like about MetalCloak now is, you know, you know, I'm a smaller shop to stock a bunch of stuff. So like your inventory levels help me out a lot. I stock your ball joints, your steering. We do like springs. We have shocks in stock. We stock as much as we can, but with you guys, your inventory levels have helped me out tremendously getting my product on time.

[10:05] Obviously, some shops are smaller. They don't have the infrastructure or the ability to stock much, but there are some items that, like you mentioned, do make sense. I always keep the steering in stock because the death wobble, the ball joints. I mean, that stuff is, they need it now. They need to be able to go to work. A lot of these guys are JL's, JT's. They drive them every day. They need them ready to go right then and there.

[10:26] Talking about your customers, so you've built... a community here. And you mentioned this family vibe and a lot of referrals. And I know just from attending Slash X Bash that when Misty and Shea bring out their customers, they're bringing out their family. These people are diehard MetalCloak folks. And we appreciate that. But how do you go about building that community? I mean, you're involved with a lot of stuff. Talk about that.

[10:49] So with CORVA, I'm the vice president of sales and marketing. So we advocate for all trails with the BLM, with Forestry, with the state parks. My wife's the VP administration. So we go to the OH Commissioner meetings. We speak on half of all the state parks and help out. So, you know, Friends Oceana, like Jim Suddy, those guys are dream team. They do an awesome job. So we attend their barbecues and help raise money. You know, we raise money for Slash X to give money to CORVA so CORVA can help out with all the friends groups. So we're trying to get CORVA back to supporting the friends groups. You know, Friends of Jawbone. Friends of Hungry Valley, Friends of Oceana, all the friends groups that we can help support. That's what I want to get back to.

[11:30] And for those who aren't aware, explain what CORVA does. So CORVA is basically like we advocate for all off-roaders up and down California. What it stands for? California Off-Road Vehicle Association. I'm a member, by the way. So Slash X Bash is powered by MetalCloak. Like they help us out tremendously, bring the CTI ramp out, they run the trails with this. We have a barbecue, we have a raffle, all that money gets raised to support trails.

[11:56] And as far as your customer base, I mean I saw it. I mean, your customers are your friends. Yes. So many people who endorse your shop. And what is it about your shop? It's so unique and different that draws them in? So we're three generations. Like I said, my dad, he retired eight years ago. I run the company now with my wife and then my son's running the counter now. Then I have my other son in the back. He's our gear guy. It's just a family attitude. You know, when we have a once a month our Jeep meeting, you know, we get to see all the MetalCloak rigs out there and everybody's just happy with their product. So, I mean, from guys going on like basic green trails to doing hard stuff.

[12:34] Well, we mentioned something earlier, and earlier in the video, you probably saw some of these cool rigs out front. Let's go outside and talk about some of those. Yeah, let's take a look. What's going on here?

[12:41] So this is our Ultra 4. Basically retired race car we just kind of, we go out and rock crawl and do all the the crazy stuff. I'm more of the camping guy I'm getting older now so my sons are more into this. We hear that a lot. So when you get older you start wanting to camp and cook and more of the overland stuff but this is fun too. But it beats you up and when you got 56 year old bones like I do you can't do that anymore. Oh yeah. It's a lot of fun my son does. We take it out. It's a lot of fun. It's looks like a lot of fun. A lot of rig. It has an LS60 in it. It's fast.

[13:17] Lots of long arms up here. This is our shop rig that we built. That long arm was like one of the first ones you guys ever built. And from what I understand, these are one of the first sets of Rocksport Blacks. Yes, these are one of the first ones. How many miles do you think you got on those? I probably have about 20,000 miles on them right now.

[13:36] So Shea, I want to thank you for all your hospitality showing us around today. I'm really looking forward to Slash X Bash in November. It's coming up really quick. We're going to see you down there. We're going to do some wheeling. Do some new trails, hopefully. Give out some raffles, do some CTI stuff. Is there ways people can find out more information about Slash X Bash?

[13:54] They can go on corva.org or they can call American Offroad. And we encourage all MetalCloak dealers, all MetalCloak customers, to come out. This is powered by MetalCloak. So the CTI ramp is going to be out there for two days. Register on corva.org. There's going to be a raffle, a barbecue, and all the money goes back towards California Off-Road Vehicle Association, which MetalCloak always is a business sponsor for CORVA, California Off-Road Association. So we appreciate it, man. Thank you.

[14:24] All right. Well, that's it for this episode. Special thanks to Shea and Misty of American Offroad. We'll see you next time on Rigs and Wrenches.

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