By Michael Troy
As impressive as the semi-trailers, huge booth displays and huge budgets of the major players in the 4x4 industry are, a great deal of the key innovations and cutting edge products come from small companies that have their hearts and hands into the hobby they love and, in turn, make cool stuff that they would love to have on their rigs. Then they figure, “if I like it, maybe someone else will” and a business is born.
Meet Gen-Right, a relatively new company making cool stuff that meets the needs of serious wheelers everywhere.
From their Bio:
"Gen-Right Off Road, LLC is an American manufacturing & distribution company which is headquartered in Simi Valley, California. Gen-Right is short for Genuine Ideas Engineered Right and is dedicated to producing top quality “trail ready” products that are easy to install for all types of Off-Road vehicles.
We have spent years manufacturing and fabricating off road products for our own off-road vehicles and we know what works and what does not. In February of 2006, Tony Pellegrino, the founder of Gen-Right Off Road, decided to start a privately funded company to produce original, cutting edge off-road products (like the Crawler gas tanks) that have been developed over the past several years.
Every one of our product designs takes into careful consideration the many factors that assure our customers are buying the most technically advanced off-road products. These products improve your vehicle’s off-road ability and better protect your investment!"
We go back years earlier with Tony as we knew each other from mountain biking days when he had a company that made cool CNC'd bike stuff like brakes, hubs, cranks, etc. When the bubble burst in the mountain bike aftermarket biz, I lost track of Tony until we met during a 4WD event. He is very involved in a local 4WD club, On The Rocks, headquartered in the Conejo Valley of Southern California. Then, another surprise happened when we ran into him at Moab Easter Jeep Week where he was in the Gen-Right booth. Small world, but it is no surprise to me that Tony took his talents and applied them to his new hobby. We stopped by the company offices researching a possible tank for project Blue Oval YJ and spent some time seeing what they are all about. Here is what we saw and heard. NOTE: Some pics are from the expo at the 2006 Moab Jeep Safari.
Gen-Right takes great care in the manufacturing of each Crawler tank. For instance, each tank is pressure tested prior to being released for sale.
As you can see from the pics they have all kinds of neat stuff in play and more planned. The louver kits, rear corner protection (with the rear fenderwell opening shifted back 4"!), XO stuff….and of course, the Crawler Tanks. See their website for more info.
C4x4.com - What is in the works for future products that you can share with us?
Tony Pellegrino - Lots of stuff. We are interested in producing cutting edge products that take no short cuts. Products that will really give our customers piece of mind with; more strength, more protection or a technological advantage. We will also offer products by the piece or by the package for the “builder” type guy and the “I want it put on for me” type guy.
C4x4.com - Do you see expanding into products for anything other than Jeeps?
Tony Pellegrino - Yes, Toyota and Suzuki are on the short list.
C4x4.com - Tell us a little bit about your 'test mule' personal wheelin' rig (shown in the pics above).
Tony Pellegrino - I am really happy with my latest changes! Although I started with a YJ, I am now on a control arm type suspension for optimal rock crawling performance. Pro Rock 60s, 37” tires, low gears, 14” travel Fox shocks, etc. You can see more: here or here
C4x4.com - What do you see as the future of off roading and where does Gen-Right fit into that vision?
Tony Pellegrino - I think we all need to stay active to keep off road recreation areas open AND support those organizations who’s interests are on our side. If additional areas close I think enthusiasts will move to private property or man made courses to test their need for “man against machine”. If Gen-Right Off Road does really good, we will start buying blocks of land ourselves.
Stay tuned to the Gen-Right website and look for them at 4WD events and shows in the coming year.
