TRS needs direction. Suggestions?

[Jim Oaks]

When I say vendors, I mean people who represent products manufactured by companies for Rangers. They more than likely wont compete with TRS Fab & Offroad because they don't sell the same items that TRS F&O does.

I agree that if you are a vendor, you should pay a small fee to be a vendor.

The vendors I am thinking of represent the newer Rangers & Explorers quite well.

I would be down with that. Actually, it would be nice to see a company donate an item in exchange for a years worth of advertising and then give the item to a premium member to install and review.

 

[mjonesjr]

mjones=tech editor

Thanks for the vote of confidence

I want new things, not regurgitating the same stuff we've been doing for ten years.

Anything that isn't in there presently, is something new

1. The guy who wants to put a FWD motor/transaxle in the rear of a Ranger. That would be a kick ass build. Lift the tonneau and there a gleaming, detailed high tech V6 or better V8--twin cams, VVT etc. and the suspension struts and stuff.

I didn't see that post, that is kick ass

2. I also want to build a Ranger RV--to replace the bed with an RV body that you can swap on and off. Something that could go on an old or new Ranger, 2wd or 4x4. Possible a trailer version as well.

Kind like a slide in camper for a Ranger except it would replace the bed. That would be a bad ass unit; something I would be willing to find an old Ranger to do that too!

3. We need to get a sustainable annual meet going again. It doesn't have to be spectacular but this place really took a dive in its core member loyalty when we stopped having annual get togethers.

This is an excellent idea. Maybe if we have vendors, we can do give-a-ways at some of the regional meets; depending on size of the meet of course. I have been thinking about a regional meet & greet here lately. Something for our area. We don't have to wheel, but at least meet up and put user names to faces. I really would like to get together with some of the guys local to me who wheel and go wheeling with them sometime. I want to take my BII and use it for what it can do.

 

[mjonesjr]

I would be down with that. Actually, it would be nice to see a company donate an item in exchange for a years worth of advertising and then give the item to a premium member to install and review.

If you want to PM me, I know of 2 that would probably be interested. I have dealt with one of the 2 numerous times. They are heavily involved in the Ranger community.

 

[odie1969]

what about moderaters for each area or state with multiple members. (Maybe to help set up and org. diff trips and events) It will also Help pimp the site trust me I pimp this site when ever I get a chance.

Also what about talking to sponsors for free products to be givein to paid members for review, that way it is a extra bonus for paid members and you get a semi-unbiast review. (I know duh that is what you are trying to do)

I also like the Idea of having a TRS sponsored truck for diff. events like desert racing, rock crawling and show trucks. even if it is large stickers TRS stickers and a discount at TRS fab and offroad.

 

[97BlackBetty]

I am leaving this post to try and get some of our newer members to comment. I have been here for at least 4 years now, lurking and posting. I think there are some features to the site that I take for granted, I would like to here some ideas from you new guys who are just starting to learn what the Ranger has to offer and what would make the site easier for your use. Maybe it is easy and everything is sitting out in the open, but as I look at the currently active members in this thread they are all paid members or mods.

New guys tell us what you think.

 

[Jim Oaks]

I also like the Idea of having a TRS sponsored truck for diff. events like desert racing, rock crawling and show trucks. even if it is large stickers TRS stickers and a discount at TRS fab and offroad.

I'd love to see some TRS sponsored trucks. The problem is that I don't have any money to give them. All I can offer is to get them parts at whatever price my distributors charge me.

Ideally teams want a sponsor who will give them the part, not just a discount.

 

[JohnnyU]

what about moderaters for each area or state with multiple members. (Maybe to help set up and org. diff trips and events) It will also Help pimp the site trust me I pimp this site when ever I get a chance.

We used to have an Events Coordinator (Merlin), but i'm not sure what happened to him. Must have made like a magician and vanished...


Jim, what kind of Vendors would you be interested in? We have spoken about some things before, but I made quite a few contacts with other suppliers when researching and purchasing for my last build...

 

[Jim Oaks]

I'm a vendor. Prefer to deal directly with manufacturers.

 

[JohnnyU]

I was talking about folks like Shawn and Tonya at GreatLake Offroad: www.greatlakeoffroad.com

Or Dan Fredrickson at RuffStuff Specialties: www.RuffStuffSpecialties.com

Zach Vaughn seems like a standup guy too (cheap clevis mounts: www.atozfabrication.com


I like supporting the little guys that help make fabricating or building easier. Perhaps they'd sell to you as a distributor? You just don't see the custom one-off products for RBV's that you do for Toyota and Jeeps. Dan at RuffStuff is starting to develop some RBV-specific parts, he;s offering rolled windsheild bars for both internal and external cages now. That's huge, IMO. Working with him and his staff may prove to be beneficial for our aftermarket support....

 

[mjonesjr]

I was talking about folks like Shawn and Tonya at GreatLake Offroad: www.greatlakeoffroad.com

Or Dan Fredrickson at RuffStuff Specialties: www.RuffStuffSpecialties.com

Zach Vaughn seems like a standup guy too (cheap clevis mounts: www.atozfabrication.com


I like supporting the little guys that help make fabricating or building easier. Perhaps they'd sell to you as a distributor? You just don't see the custom one-off products for RBV's that you do for Toyota and Jeeps. Dan at RuffStuff is starting to develop some RBV-specific parts, he;s offering rolled windsheild bars for both internal and external cages now. That's huge, IMO. Working with him and his staff may prove to be beneficial for our aftermarket support....

Not to mention that Ruff Stuff offers a discount to other Ranger sites if they enter "Ranger" as a coupon code; or he used to at least.

 

[Dzrtcj7]

Jim,

I think the site has a TON of potential for growth. I am astounded by the number of Ranger enthusiast that you have gathered here! A couple of sites that come to mind that might be good suggestions for a model are Pirate4x4 and Prerunner Maniac:

http://Pirate4x4.com -- no matter whether people like or dislike it, it has huge viewership and is a resource, aside from what the forums have to offer. They have several technical writers that do both in depth DIY articles as well as product reviews. The site is big enough that they get product donated for the DIY and review articles, simply for the advertising value to the vendors. TRS definately has the volumes of viewers that would attract manufacturers to donate products. The key for TRS is to have deticated, well spoken techical writers. As you have said, you cannot do it all yourself! Jim, you should PM Jim Moss on our site regarding writing and contacting manufacturers -- RGRMarketing. His has a lot of experience in this realm, and would be happy to help.

http://www.prerunnermaniac.com/c/Prerunner-Maniac-Blog.php-- is a grass roots online pulication. It is in a blog format and is very new. I've watched this from the start, and this guy does a hell of a job of writing and photoing events and feature vehicles. His site is quickly becoming very popular, but he does work his butt off to make it happen. I think an TRS blog with a lot of solid information would be very valuable!

As I mentioned before, the key for enthusiast sites are to be a RESOURCE for veiwers to continually come back to. I think you have done a great job of that. Now, use your viewership to grow! I wouldn't reccomend the route of producing a paper magazine ... if the New York Times is struggling to stay in the black, I think it is a sign that paper publications will be dinosaurs soon ....

If you would like help with anything, please feel free to use me. I'll talk to Jim M. and see what his thoughts are as well. Who knows, maybe we can team up to do product testing on our race truck

 

[Jim Oaks]

I was talking about folks like Shawn and Tonya at GreatLake Offroad: www.greatlakeoffroad.com

Or Dan Fredrickson at RuffStuff Specialties: www.RuffStuffSpecialties.com

Zach Vaughn seems like a standup guy too (cheap clevis mounts: www.atozfabrication.com


I like supporting the little guys that help make fabricating or building easier. Perhaps they'd sell to you as a distributor? You just don't see the custom one-off products for RBV's that you do for Toyota and Jeeps. Dan at RuffStuff is starting to develop some RBV-specific parts, he;s offering rolled windsheild bars for both internal and external cages now. That's huge, IMO. Working with him and his staff may prove to be beneficial for our aftermarket support....

Oh, ok.

Ya, I wouldn't mind supporting those companies. They offer some suspension brackets, etc that I don't have any desire to make and rod ends that I can't get decent prices for from my distributors.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Jim,

I think the site has a TON of potential for growth. I am astounded by the number of Ranger enthusiast that you have gathered here! A couple of sites that come to mind that might be good suggestions for a model are Pirate4x4 and Prerunner Maniac:

http://Pirate4x4.com -- no matter whether people like or dislike it, it has huge viewership and is a resource, aside from what the forums have to offer. They have several technical writers that do both in depth DIY articles as well as product reviews. The site is big enough that they get product donated for the DIY and review articles, simply for the advertising value to the vendors. TRS definately has the volumes of viewers that would attract manufacturers to donate products. The key for TRS is to have deticated, well spoken techical writers. As you have said, you cannot do it all yourself! Jim, you should PM Jim Moss on our site regarding writing and contacting manufacturers -- RGRMarketing. His has a lot of experience in this realm, and would be happy to help.

http://www.prerunnermaniac.com/c/Prerunner-Maniac-Blog.php-- is a grass roots online pulication. It is in a blog format and is very new. I've watched this from the start, and this guy does a hell of a job of writing and photoing events and feature vehicles. His site is quickly becoming very popular, but he does work his butt off to make it happen. I think an TRS blog with a lot of solid information would be very valuable!

If you would like help with anything, please feel free to use me. I'll talk to Jim M. and see what his thoughts are as well. Who knows, maybe we can team up to do product testing on our race truck

Actually, I told my wife last night that I'd love to be able to sit down with Jim (RGR Marketing guy) and get some input from him. After having the access I have to your site and seeing his posts, I have come to the opinion that your team is blessed to have him.

At some point I'd like to see TRS be one of Rumble Goats sponsors.

 

[Nipplechops]

The best thing about TRS is the endless amount of information in the Tech Library. I don't think that there is a site out there that even approaches half of what is in there. I think the forums are great too, but 99% of the answers to the questions I had were found in the library. I think that is the main stay of this site and why it has grown so much since I first discovered it back in late 2000.

A close second would be the Magazine. Now I am not too sure if putting it into print is such a great idea (Crawl magazine is a good example of what can happen when things don't go as planned), but I think expanding its online prescence would be great. I for one would jump at the chance to contribute to it if there is something I am doing that hasn't been published in it before. I'm not rich and don't spend tons of cash on aftermarket parts, but I do fabricate a fair bit of stuff.

The more exposure the mag gets, the more people will want to advertise in it. Having actual TRS users write articles about what they have done or are doing would be a great way to share ideas amungst the whole user base. There would have to be some sort of management system used to keep things in order, but maybe a sub-forum that lists topics that are being covered in upcoming issues where users could see if their projects fit into them would help.

Who knows? Maybe I am talking out of my ass, but I think that the easiest way to market this place is through the magazine.

 

[CopyKat]

Jim you know I have tonnes of info on my build and lots of stuff I have changed over the years. Articles are not a problem for some, but the lack of incentive may prevent some users from submitting articles.

I know it would be hard and I realize you like running a tight ship on the site. But maybe getting some people to help make decisions may get things rolling better. Could open up more doors for you to concentrate on other things.