So we came up with the idea of doing a tour of Southern shops, actually we stole the idea from Nolen after he went to BTF! 
We are going to turn this into an ongoing series to give our local shops some recognition for the sweet work they turn out. Most of the shops on the tour and registered users on the site and are also good friends. Please support these shops in any way you can, most will be extra nice to their fellow Hardliners ;D
First up is Essentially Offroad (EOR) in Murfreesboro, TN. Jimmy Penner is the Owner/Fabricator and has owned the business for 5 years. Jimmy is the main sponsor for the Team Hardline Crawlers buggy, which is competing in the King of the Hammers LCQ race in February 2009. I approached Jimmy for some help with a set of coilovers and air bumps to help for driving at speed, but Jimmy asked to mount the new parts and dial in the suspension so he knew it would work well. After dealing with Jimmy I can say he is a stand up guy and he went over and beyond to help out our team. EOR is a full service parts dealer for companies like Yukon Gear & Axle, Bilstein, ARB, Allied Wheels, QA1 and Fox just to name a few. Outside of that, EOR also manufactures and sells custom roll cages for the DIY crowd and has a full service fab and repair shop. Check out the pics and interview below:
Matt O: How long have you been in business and why did you choose this industry?
Jimmy: 11 years, I bought the company from the previous owner about 5 years ago and have run it ever since. I don’t do this for the money; I do it because it is what I love. I have two college degrees and I could definitely do something that pays better for a living, but I really enjoy what I do. Not many people can say they love coming to work every day!
Matt O: What is your day to day role in the company?
Jimmy: I am the main fabricator and the owner, so I have a lot of different jobs to do. I try to spend as much time in the shop as I can because I enjoy the fabrication side. Joe is the counter guy and handles the parts ordering and keeps people happy!
Main Showroom, you can see that EOR actually stocks parts and has many items on the shelf waiting for you!
Matt O: What would you say is your core business?
Jimmy: Our core business is a 50-50 mix between street trucks and trail rig maintenance/fab work. For street trucks we do it all from big lifts and tires to diesel performance. On the maintenance side we do a lot of gear and axle work as well as suspension and general fabrication.
Matt O: What percentage of your business is non-local (phone sales, internet sales, etc.)?
Jimmy: We don't get a lot of non-local parts business because the market and pricing is so cut-throat. Our biggest selling shipable items would be our cage kits. We have stopped pushing the DIY cage kits as much recently because we have been so busy, but in the past it has made up almost 25% of our business.
Sweet Chandelier!
Big Joints are cool!
Bilstein Coilovers!
It is just cool to have Atlas TC’s sitting around!
Parts Room, as you can see there are lots of items in stock and ready to ship
Matt O: Being the owner and fabricator, is there any type of work you prefer to do? IE what do you enjoy most?
Jimmy: I love setting up suspension and making a vehicle WORK! Suspension work is my soft spot, which is why I took pity on you and helped you out for the KOH race! I also enjoy tubework and building cages/chassis, but I always build the chassis around the suspension. I prefer form over function and people come to me when they want a rig that really works. Detail work and making stuff look pretty are not really my strong points.
Matt O: When you are building a custom rig do you make all your brackets/plates in house or are they purchased or outsourced?
Jimmy: All of our tabs/brackets are made for us locally but if we want some generic pieces quick we use Dan at RuffStuff. All projects are custom in one way or another, so a lot of times we end up making trick pieces in the shop if we don’t have anything on the shelf.
Matt O: One of your trademarks seems to be roll (aka radius) bends. Where did the idea come from? How much different is that bend process than normal?
Jimmy: I have always liked the look of roll bends, so I just sort of ran with it. The process is much harder, after I make roll bends I don't have to go to the gym! It is all manual and takes twice the time as a regular bend. It can also get expensive because you waste a lot more tubing in the process. In the end it is worth it because the look is unique and is part of my style.
Matt O: It seems like a lot of what you do is art using metal and a welder. Where do you get your ideas and did you enjoy art/creative work when you were growing up?
Jimmy: My mind just works in a weird way; I am always looking at the front end of cars and putting together a mental picture of how I would make it look. I feel like I have a strong sense of what does and does not look good. I definitely excelled in arts and drawing when I was younger and that carries over into my work here.
EOR has a pretty basic 3 bay shop. The blue homebuilt buggy is in getting a set of custom headers made.
Whose rig is this?
EOR has more rigs around than they know what to do with. Many stay in the fenced in yard out back. I think this is their junkyard also!
Jimmy’s Monster Buggy that he bought back from a customer
Joe’s Sweet Bronco based buggy that looks and works great
Matt O: Do you see yourself changing the focus/core of your business in the future to just focus on custom rigs?
Jimmy: I cannot pay the bills by just turning out custom rigs; there is just not enough money in it for me. I have built 4-5 buggies from scratch and the process generally takes anywhere from 3-6 months depending on what else is going on in the shop. I would really like to get to a point where I am doing more manufacturing, especially with our line of DIY roll cages. That is where I would like to steer the business.
Matt O: Based on what I have seen, you excel at giving customers the most for their dollar but still providing a unique product? How do you do this?
Jimmy: I generally try to work within a customer’s budget, sometimes at my own peril! I really believe in giving the customer a truly custom product, whether it is a 4 link or a roll cage. We take a lot of pride in our 4 link setups and spend hours tuning and tweaking the suspension to ensure it works in the best possible way. Lots of times I will use less expensive parts to stay in budget, but I never use stuff that I don’t think will hold up to abuse. I also try to source junkyard parts whenever possible because it cuts down on cost for me and for the customer.
Matt O: I noticed you have a trail rides signup list in the store to get folks out in the woods. How does it work and has it been successful?
Jimmy: It has been great, not only for business but for meeting new people and getting them involved in the sport. The rides are for everybody from stock vehicles to turn key buggies, and they are usually within an hour radius. We have had a lot of people say they were intimidated at first seeing all the built rigs, but they were happy they came and had fun in the end!
Matt O: That is cool that you and the guys in the shop love to wheel, there are too many shops out there that don't do even wheel! What kind of riding do you like?
Jimmy: I really enjoy just going out and wheelin’ with my friends. I am not a very flashy person, so I prefer small rides with people I know. Lots of shop owners will only go to big events with tons of spectators to show off for; I am pretty much the opposite. We build our rigs to work in the woods and we enjoy testing them out!
Matt O: I noticed two really sweet buggies in the shop can you tell us a little about them?
Jimmy: The Magnum buggy is a shop project for all the guys that work here. I donated the parts and we sourced most of the major drivetrain components from various yards. It has front and rear D60’s, 351, C4 and Bilstein Coilovers. Still on the fence for the transfer case, but it will probably get an Atlas. It is a cool way for the guys to learn and get some OJT, and they get a sweet rig to wheel in the process!
Matt O: Are there any other builders, regardless of sport, that inspire your or give you ideas?
Jimmy: I get inspiration from lots of strange places, lots of times it happens when I am driving down the road looking at cars. In terms of builders I really like Bryan Cole's work, he is one of the most original 4x4 builders out there in my opinion. I highly respect his talent and he is a also a friend.
Jimmy: The 321 Beta Chassis is the first one we built off our 321 Production Chassis model, it is going to be my personal buggy and will be pretty fast! HP D60 Front, Ford 10.25 Rear setup for steer with Spidertrax knuckles and brakes. It has a 6.0 Chevy with LS Intake/Heads with Twin Turbos! It will have Coilovers and Triple Bypass Shocks and hopefully a set of 42†SX’s.
This rig will also get at set of these bad boys
Please think of EOR for all your parts and custom fab projects, they do quality work and always have fair prices. Hope you enjoyed this segment; we are trying to branch out and mix up the coverage we provide on the site. In the next installment we will cover another shop in the Murfreesboro area, Wide Open Design.
We are going to turn this into an ongoing series to give our local shops some recognition for the sweet work they turn out. Most of the shops on the tour and registered users on the site and are also good friends. Please support these shops in any way you can, most will be extra nice to their fellow Hardliners ;DFirst up is Essentially Offroad (EOR) in Murfreesboro, TN. Jimmy Penner is the Owner/Fabricator and has owned the business for 5 years. Jimmy is the main sponsor for the Team Hardline Crawlers buggy, which is competing in the King of the Hammers LCQ race in February 2009. I approached Jimmy for some help with a set of coilovers and air bumps to help for driving at speed, but Jimmy asked to mount the new parts and dial in the suspension so he knew it would work well. After dealing with Jimmy I can say he is a stand up guy and he went over and beyond to help out our team. EOR is a full service parts dealer for companies like Yukon Gear & Axle, Bilstein, ARB, Allied Wheels, QA1 and Fox just to name a few. Outside of that, EOR also manufactures and sells custom roll cages for the DIY crowd and has a full service fab and repair shop. Check out the pics and interview below:
Matt O: How long have you been in business and why did you choose this industry?
Jimmy: 11 years, I bought the company from the previous owner about 5 years ago and have run it ever since. I don’t do this for the money; I do it because it is what I love. I have two college degrees and I could definitely do something that pays better for a living, but I really enjoy what I do. Not many people can say they love coming to work every day!
Matt O: What is your day to day role in the company?
Jimmy: I am the main fabricator and the owner, so I have a lot of different jobs to do. I try to spend as much time in the shop as I can because I enjoy the fabrication side. Joe is the counter guy and handles the parts ordering and keeps people happy!
Main Showroom, you can see that EOR actually stocks parts and has many items on the shelf waiting for you!
Matt O: What would you say is your core business?
Jimmy: Our core business is a 50-50 mix between street trucks and trail rig maintenance/fab work. For street trucks we do it all from big lifts and tires to diesel performance. On the maintenance side we do a lot of gear and axle work as well as suspension and general fabrication.
Matt O: What percentage of your business is non-local (phone sales, internet sales, etc.)?
Jimmy: We don't get a lot of non-local parts business because the market and pricing is so cut-throat. Our biggest selling shipable items would be our cage kits. We have stopped pushing the DIY cage kits as much recently because we have been so busy, but in the past it has made up almost 25% of our business.
Sweet Chandelier!
Big Joints are cool!
Bilstein Coilovers!
It is just cool to have Atlas TC’s sitting around!
Parts Room, as you can see there are lots of items in stock and ready to ship
Matt O: Being the owner and fabricator, is there any type of work you prefer to do? IE what do you enjoy most?
Jimmy: I love setting up suspension and making a vehicle WORK! Suspension work is my soft spot, which is why I took pity on you and helped you out for the KOH race! I also enjoy tubework and building cages/chassis, but I always build the chassis around the suspension. I prefer form over function and people come to me when they want a rig that really works. Detail work and making stuff look pretty are not really my strong points.
Matt O: When you are building a custom rig do you make all your brackets/plates in house or are they purchased or outsourced?
Jimmy: All of our tabs/brackets are made for us locally but if we want some generic pieces quick we use Dan at RuffStuff. All projects are custom in one way or another, so a lot of times we end up making trick pieces in the shop if we don’t have anything on the shelf.
Matt O: One of your trademarks seems to be roll (aka radius) bends. Where did the idea come from? How much different is that bend process than normal?
Jimmy: I have always liked the look of roll bends, so I just sort of ran with it. The process is much harder, after I make roll bends I don't have to go to the gym! It is all manual and takes twice the time as a regular bend. It can also get expensive because you waste a lot more tubing in the process. In the end it is worth it because the look is unique and is part of my style.
Matt O: It seems like a lot of what you do is art using metal and a welder. Where do you get your ideas and did you enjoy art/creative work when you were growing up?
Jimmy: My mind just works in a weird way; I am always looking at the front end of cars and putting together a mental picture of how I would make it look. I feel like I have a strong sense of what does and does not look good. I definitely excelled in arts and drawing when I was younger and that carries over into my work here.
EOR has a pretty basic 3 bay shop. The blue homebuilt buggy is in getting a set of custom headers made.
Whose rig is this?
EOR has more rigs around than they know what to do with. Many stay in the fenced in yard out back. I think this is their junkyard also!
Jimmy’s Monster Buggy that he bought back from a customer
Joe’s Sweet Bronco based buggy that looks and works great
Matt O: Do you see yourself changing the focus/core of your business in the future to just focus on custom rigs?
Jimmy: I cannot pay the bills by just turning out custom rigs; there is just not enough money in it for me. I have built 4-5 buggies from scratch and the process generally takes anywhere from 3-6 months depending on what else is going on in the shop. I would really like to get to a point where I am doing more manufacturing, especially with our line of DIY roll cages. That is where I would like to steer the business.
Matt O: Based on what I have seen, you excel at giving customers the most for their dollar but still providing a unique product? How do you do this?
Jimmy: I generally try to work within a customer’s budget, sometimes at my own peril! I really believe in giving the customer a truly custom product, whether it is a 4 link or a roll cage. We take a lot of pride in our 4 link setups and spend hours tuning and tweaking the suspension to ensure it works in the best possible way. Lots of times I will use less expensive parts to stay in budget, but I never use stuff that I don’t think will hold up to abuse. I also try to source junkyard parts whenever possible because it cuts down on cost for me and for the customer.
Matt O: I noticed you have a trail rides signup list in the store to get folks out in the woods. How does it work and has it been successful?
Jimmy: It has been great, not only for business but for meeting new people and getting them involved in the sport. The rides are for everybody from stock vehicles to turn key buggies, and they are usually within an hour radius. We have had a lot of people say they were intimidated at first seeing all the built rigs, but they were happy they came and had fun in the end!
Matt O: That is cool that you and the guys in the shop love to wheel, there are too many shops out there that don't do even wheel! What kind of riding do you like?
Jimmy: I really enjoy just going out and wheelin’ with my friends. I am not a very flashy person, so I prefer small rides with people I know. Lots of shop owners will only go to big events with tons of spectators to show off for; I am pretty much the opposite. We build our rigs to work in the woods and we enjoy testing them out!
Matt O: I noticed two really sweet buggies in the shop can you tell us a little about them?
Jimmy: The Magnum buggy is a shop project for all the guys that work here. I donated the parts and we sourced most of the major drivetrain components from various yards. It has front and rear D60’s, 351, C4 and Bilstein Coilovers. Still on the fence for the transfer case, but it will probably get an Atlas. It is a cool way for the guys to learn and get some OJT, and they get a sweet rig to wheel in the process!
Matt O: Are there any other builders, regardless of sport, that inspire your or give you ideas?
Jimmy: I get inspiration from lots of strange places, lots of times it happens when I am driving down the road looking at cars. In terms of builders I really like Bryan Cole's work, he is one of the most original 4x4 builders out there in my opinion. I highly respect his talent and he is a also a friend.
Jimmy: The 321 Beta Chassis is the first one we built off our 321 Production Chassis model, it is going to be my personal buggy and will be pretty fast! HP D60 Front, Ford 10.25 Rear setup for steer with Spidertrax knuckles and brakes. It has a 6.0 Chevy with LS Intake/Heads with Twin Turbos! It will have Coilovers and Triple Bypass Shocks and hopefully a set of 42†SX’s.
This rig will also get at set of these bad boys
Please think of EOR for all your parts and custom fab projects, they do quality work and always have fair prices. Hope you enjoyed this segment; we are trying to branch out and mix up the coverage we provide on the site. In the next installment we will cover another shop in the Murfreesboro area, Wide Open Design.
