Well, again..I want to reiterate what others have said...THANKS JOE, for going out on a limb and trying to bring products to the market that people want and can use.

As far as building versus buying...talk to any fabricator and most(if not all) will tell you it is much cheaper to buy something that is aready on the market then by having one built.

Costs of the metal involved is usally only about 20%(at least that is what I was told by a fabricator) of the final price...most is racked up by what Joe explained, man hours doing the cutting/welding/grinding/painting, etc. Now, if you have the time like Joe said go for it...if you don't, or don't want to wait 12 months to finish it doing it in your sparetime, buy it. Both are attractive options.....DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU WANT.

I can tell you I should have gone to a fabricator to build my half-doors. I am sure it would have saved me money/time, but I wanted to do it myself...specifically for the pride factor. I ended up spending close to 100 hours to build them. Now, I am sure a compentent welder/fabricator could have done it in 8-10(if not less) with another 5 in finishing and painting,but it was a learning experience for me.

I guess what I am saying is everything we build/buy for our truck is expensive one way or the other....just depends on what you value more. I personally like Joe's designs, and would definately be interested in a bumper(with a new tire carrier please <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />) But at the sametime I would enjoy the experience of building my own. When and if he does decide to build a 1st gen Rodeo bumper(and I haven't already started building my own) I will truely weigh what I want more...to build it myself for the experience, or buy it, knowing the quality and strength are there. Joe does his homework, and I trust his products.

I appreciate the work and effort all our vendors put in to things.
Steve