Competition Ladder Bar's

[1badplr]

When I was down at TIM, I saw the guys with the ladder bars for our trucks. Did anyone remember who he was or have his number? I need to get a set on quick for my 03. Thanks.

 

[Got Smoke?]

Originally posted by kwikspool

When I was down at TIM, I saw the guys with the ladder bars for our trucks. Did anyone remember who he was or have his number? I need to get a set on quick for my 03. Thanks.

The setup your talking about @ TiM this year was Greg (LsFarms) of Great Lakes Diesel works.

 

[Rob Thomas]

Ahem,



Those are my bars... . my design... . my build, in fact, those pictures are right out of MY "Readers Rigs" section. Beware of copy cats.



Way to stay on top of things Mark.





Rob

 

[smittybuilt]

rob, good to see your name around again, hadn't seen you or heard from you in a while. are you going to scheid?

 

[Got Smoke?]

Originally posted by Rob Thomas

Ahem,



Those are my bars... . my design... . my build, in fact, those pictures are right out of MY "Readers Rigs" section. Beware of copy cats.



Way to stay on top of things Mark.





Rob

Sorry Rob I thought you worked with/for Great Lakes, that's why I "borrowed" your pictures. No offense intended my honest mistake.

 

[Rob Thomas]

Originally posted by smittybuilt

rob, good to see your name around again, hadn't seen you or heard from you in a while. are you going to scheid?

Thanks! Not sure on Scheids yet,we'll see how the heap holds up after this week, 4 pulls lined up to attend from this saturday to next saturday.



Oh yea, it also depends on if I get heat stroke by then or not. BRING ON WINTER!



Rob

 

[mrsmith]

Originally posted by Rob Thomas

Thanks! Not sure on Scheids yet,we'll see how the heap holds up after this week, 4 pulls lined up to attend from this saturday to next saturday.



Oh yea, it also depends on if I get heat stroke by then or not. BRING ON WINTER!



Rob

Rob,where ya pulling at?

 

[Rob Thomas]

Originally posted by mrsmith

Rob,where ya pulling at?

At a couple of local gasser hang-outs this weekend, and then off to a couple places in north eastern Ohio for the end of next week, not sure of the town names, so I'll be following 'ol Sledpuller, and hope he doens't lead me to a lynching.



You can PM Gene and ask him where they are going to be held, I think they are street classes only.





Rob

 

[JoshPeters]

Originally posted by Rob Thomas

I'll be following 'ol Sledpuller, and hope he doens't lead me to a lynching.

That's asking for trouble!



Josh

 

[jtisdale]

Glad to see you posting again RT.

 

[Turbo Thom]

Rob... ..... I'm building my own also and have not seen yours. So don't say I'm copying what you did. There are just so many ways to build those things.



Just a thought.



. . Preston. .

 

[Rob Thomas]

Originally posted by Turbo Thom

So don't say I'm copying what you did.







. . Preston. .

 

[jwilliams3]

Preston,

Rob Thomas invented traction bars.

So watch out... ... . :-laf :-laf

 

[Proram]

T-bars

I also saw those bars at TIM, i also thought Rob was there selling um, found out he wasnt, realized they were copys, Turned around and walked away, when i'm ready for bars i will buy um from the ORIGINAL designer/builder Rob T.





Scott

 

[Lsfarm]

Nobody owns a patent on traction bars or stacks. Take a look under every sled pulling truck, they have traction bars! All the designs are similar and are designed to do the same thing: to control or prevent wheel hop. Just because someone made kits to sell on the TDR classifieds doesn't give them any rights to the item or idea. Is there anything unique about these bars? No they are ideas taken from looking under a lot of trucks and looking at a lot of photos and combining the best ideas.



Traction bars and ladder bars have been around since the sixties at least. I helped fabricate a set for my older brother's hot rod in the mid sixties. How can anyone claim to be the originator of something that was around before they were born??



At TIM this year a guy from Pa. looked over my Quick-Stack kits I had for sale, and commented that he had been making the same design for around eight years. He showed me his business card, he has a custom exhaust shop. He had a photo of his stack setup and it was the same as I had for sale: self draining and a square tube design. He was as surprised to see 'my' design as I was to see 'his'. There is another guy in Alaska making square tube stacks. It's not magic or genius, just a logical way to make things work.

There is nobody with a right to 'own' a design to something so universal and wide spread.



The photos in the photo gallery of the member claiming 'ownership' of these items shows photos taken by him in MY shop. The stacks and traction bars were made with my lathe, my bandsaw and cutoff saw, my steel, my electricity in my shop. That roll up door behind the stack setup is my south shop door, the floor under the traction bars is my concrete shop floor. The use of my shop, electricity, steel and heat has never been reimbursed. So I have time and money invested in the design and production of these items.



I sell ride-control bars to my transmission and performance customers at their request. I enjoy doing some occasional metal fabrication in my shop. That is why 'Custom made products/Installations' is in my Signature



Are my ride-control bars and stacks 'imitations'? No they were designed in my shop where I was 'hands-on' and monetarily involved in their development and production. They are still being made in my shop for my customers. Are they cheap? No they are inexpensive, that's because I don't think I'm worth $150 per hour to cut and weld, drill and tap some steel. Have these items been copied by others who know how to cut and weld steel? Of course. I know of several guys who made their own sets. Do I care? No I've had several referals from these guys.



Is there anyone who can claim to be the originator of traction bars or square tube stacks? No that person is probably dead and gone.



Is there anyone who claims to be the originator of big injectors, fuel boxes, lift kits, P-pillar gauge mounts or any of the other wide-spread items for our trucks?? And does everyone flock to their door to get the 'original'??? I don't think so. This is free enterprise and what our country and economy is built on.



Clearing the air, debunking the claims Greg L

 

[Cooker]

This is somewhat amusing to read. I think something to keep in mind is the TDR is not the only place for aftermarket "custom" dodge accessories. I have seen several sets of traction bars very, very similar to this setup on a couple of other Dodge related internet forums. At this point I think it would probably be impossible to figure out who took who's design.

 

[Turbo Thom]

OK..... Now on to something else... ... ... ... I don't want anyone to copy my set of twins. I did it my self... . How bout that?



. . Preston. .