If you've never been to SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association), dedicated to the automotive aftermarket, let us just tell you that it is probably the greatest show on earth, but one that most of us can only handle once a year (physically and perhaps mentally). It isn't open to the public, but it takes up the entire Las Vegas Convention Center, seems to get bigger every year, and has more entertainment available within its boundaries than three California Adventure parks put together. In fact, there's more of, well, everything! More suspensions, cams, and digital controllers, more girls with more cleavage, more schmoozing, more big dinners, tire kickers, more friends, media, more junk, and more pseudo celebrities than anything we've ever attended. And if you stay the entire week, your feet will hate you for a month, you'll have to lose the 15 pounds you gain, and your liver will be that much worse off. Sounds like fun, huh?
Does this mean we love going? Not necessarily, but we'd never miss it because we'd never give up the chance to make the contacts we do or see the stuff we see. It's just part of life for us...sort of like going to the dentist. And though there is a ton of cool stuff, there's also a ton of, well, other stuff. We figured we'd show you a little of each, and you can make the call.
 Did you ever think that 49s...  Did you ever think that 49s would look too small? And we're sure this thing is going straight to the trail after the show.... |  We don't really have to say...  We don't really have to say anything about this one. We're just glad that these two individuals were kind enough to hide the 2WD XJ axle grafted up front. |  Cool or not? You decide. But...  Cool or not? You decide. But just in case you're blind, this creation from Wildfire Manufacturing is the most badass fire truck we've ever seen. |
 Fabtech had a one-off Super...  Fabtech had a one-off Super Duty they built to display in Ford's booth this year. It features a very impressive rear hydraulic steering setup utilizing a specially machined differential cover to hold a center-mounted ram. Designs like this are mainly made to show what a company is capable of, and you should probably not expect to see a version of this in your local four-by shop anytime soon. |  We love the irony. Meranda...  We love the irony. Meranda from California Car Cover was kind enough to come over and dust off our Ultimate Adventure truck-you know we take special care of the paint on that one. But even though our trucks aren't pretty enough to dust off, we still really wanted to go buy a California Car Duster for some reason.... |  Superior has a new full-floater...  Superior has a new full-floater rear Dana 44 kit on the market. It comes with everything you need including the axleshafts, and will allow you to still drive back to camp without a wheel falling off if you break an axle. |
 Just peering into friends'...  Just peering into friends' garages from time to time, we've seen more and more sprint-car chassis being used to build off-road toys. This particular one is Sam Patton's new rockracing rig. And it's probably just about the cleanest sprint-car-chassis-based buggy we've seen. Sam's Offroad took the time to add little touches like hinged doors on the side to access the engine, and of course, the newest Ramsey rockcrawling-specific winch to the front. |  Lift kits for IFS 4WD trucks...  Lift kits for IFS 4WD trucks are starting to get very impressive, and have become a competitive market segment with more than just spacers and drop brackets for your independent-suspension ride. Rough Country is now offering options like zero torsion-bar drop, billet-aluminum upper A-arms, and heavy-duty replacement CV shafts. Rock Krawler has new front and rear coilover systems that replace the steering links and upper A-arms. |  If this suspension looks familiar,...  If this suspension looks familiar, then we'll call you an astute reader, because this is the kit that JD Fabrication dreamed up when teamed with former Technical Editor David Kennedy on our '04 F-150 project (Apr. '04). Tuff Country saw how innovative the JD Fabrication team was and has made an alliance to produce some of the best high-end IFS kits available. |