Hopefully not! Plan is to cut the brackets off the rear, weld some perches and shock mounts on, and bolt them in. They are TJ Rubicon axles in good condition from a running driving Jeep. I do need to figure out the locker pumps, but I assume a couple hundred bucks on eBay will get that done.should be good to go after dumping about $2k in parts and labor
That’s like 5 posts of info in one post. Well done!
@Shreddinlettuce is one efficient dooder
Thank goodness we’re not all like that, or this board would be completely dead.
That is a deal indeedWell, ended up going a little bit of a different direction. Got a killer deal on a set of Falken Rubitreks. Just under $600 for FIVE of them mounted and balanced, tax, everything. Couldn’t say no to that.
View attachment 442365View attachment 442366View attachment 442367
I’ll get em mounted on the jeep in the next 4-6 months.
Funny you mention that...
What Happens Now?
About Refunds
What’s Next
Funny you mention that...
I ordered sliders back in December after the G2G from Dirtbound Offroad. Had a lead time of 6-8 weeks or something like that. No worries, I'm not in a hurry. Most of yall have been around the offroad fab parts world long enough to know where this is going...
Get this email in early March:
View attachment 442633
Cool Story. Follow up email, WTF is the status of MY order:
View attachment 442634
Of course life be lifin', and I only think of this topic when I'm driving down the road or otherwise not in a position to shoot an email or make a call. So I finally looked into it, and Reddit says they are out business and bankrupt, facility shut down as of a couple months ago, etc.
Then the owner of the business updated the website with this in the past week or three:
"DirtBound Inc. – A Personal Update from Max
After 15 years of building DirtBound Inc. from the ground up, I need to share the difficult truth: the company has officially closed.
This is not the ending I had hoped for. I gave everything to keep it going — working without a paycheck for over a year, cutting every possible expense, and personally investing thousands each month. But in the end, it wasn’t enough.
The breaking point came from the SBA EIDL Covid19 loan we received in 2020 to help retain our employees and meet pandemic demand. What wasn’t fully clear at the time was that the loan came with a UCC-1 lien, giving the SBA priority over all company assets. By late 2024, we realized that this lien made it impossible to continue operating — any sale of equipment required immediate payment to the SBA, making reinvestment impossible.
As a result, we had to shut down the shop. Since then, I’ve been working a full-time job during the day and moving out of the building at night — often until midnight — mostly by myself. It’s been a difficult and exhausting process.
I also want to apologize for the lack of communication during this time. I held off making a public statement because I truly believed I could resolve the situation and quietly keep things moving forward. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible — and now I want to be fully transparent.
I still have most of the parts ready to weld for open orders. As I finish relocating and re-establishing a work area, I’m preparing to resume production after hours at my new full-time job, where I now have access to fabrication equipment. My goal is to complete as many open orders as possible within the limits of what’s feasible.
I understand many customers have experienced long delays. I know how frustrating that is. But under the current circumstances, completing orders — even slowly — is the best path I can offer.
While I had planned to issue refunds after closing the shop, my attorney has advised that I cannot legally do so under the terms of the SBA loan. No funds may be disbursed to customers, vendors, or suppliers until that loan is fully repaid — and unfortunately, that has not been achieved.
Please understand: DirtBound Inc. was a corporation. Its liabilities remain with that business entity — they are not personal.
The good news is that the DirtBound brand, designs, and intellectual property were held in a separate company. So while the manufacturing company has shut down, the brand may return in some form in the future.
To everyone who supported DirtBound over the years — thank you. I’ll continue working in good faith to fulfill open orders, and I hope to return with something sustainable when the time is right.
Thank you for your support, patience, and understanding.
– Max Wilson
Founder, DirtBound Inc."
Sounds like more crock-o-shit and kicking the can down the road. I'm gonna try and dispute it on my CC, but since its been 7.5 months, I imagine I'm out $420.
Funny you mention that...
I ordered sliders back in December after the G2G from Dirtbound Offroad. Had a lead time of 6-8 weeks or something like that. No worries, I'm not in a hurry. Most of yall have been around the offroad fab parts world long enough to know where this is going...
Get this email in early March:
View attachment 442633
Cool Story. Follow up email, WTF is the status of MY order:
View attachment 442634
Of course life be lifin', and I only think of this topic when I'm driving down the road or otherwise not in a position to shoot an email or make a call. So I finally looked into it, and Reddit says they are out business and bankrupt, facility shut down as of a couple months ago, etc.
Then the owner of the business updated the website with this in the past week or three:
"DirtBound Inc. – A Personal Update from Max
After 15 years of building DirtBound Inc. from the ground up, I need to share the difficult truth: the company has officially closed.
This is not the ending I had hoped for. I gave everything to keep it going — working without a paycheck for over a year, cutting every possible expense, and personally investing thousands each month. But in the end, it wasn’t enough.
The breaking point came from the SBA EIDL Covid19 loan we received in 2020 to help retain our employees and meet pandemic demand. What wasn’t fully clear at the time was that the loan came with a UCC-1 lien, giving the SBA priority over all company assets. By late 2024, we realized that this lien made it impossible to continue operating — any sale of equipment required immediate payment to the SBA, making reinvestment impossible.
As a result, we had to shut down the shop. Since then, I’ve been working a full-time job during the day and moving out of the building at night — often until midnight — mostly by myself. It’s been a difficult and exhausting process.
I also want to apologize for the lack of communication during this time. I held off making a public statement because I truly believed I could resolve the situation and quietly keep things moving forward. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible — and now I want to be fully transparent.
I still have most of the parts ready to weld for open orders. As I finish relocating and re-establishing a work area, I’m preparing to resume production after hours at my new full-time job, where I now have access to fabrication equipment. My goal is to complete as many open orders as possible within the limits of what’s feasible.
I understand many customers have experienced long delays. I know how frustrating that is. But under the current circumstances, completing orders — even slowly — is the best path I can offer.
While I had planned to issue refunds after closing the shop, my attorney has advised that I cannot legally do so under the terms of the SBA loan. No funds may be disbursed to customers, vendors, or suppliers until that loan is fully repaid — and unfortunately, that has not been achieved.
Please understand: DirtBound Inc. was a corporation. Its liabilities remain with that business entity — they are not personal.
The good news is that the DirtBound brand, designs, and intellectual property were held in a separate company. So while the manufacturing company has shut down, the brand may return in some form in the future.
To everyone who supported DirtBound over the years — thank you. I’ll continue working in good faith to fulfill open orders, and I hope to return with something sustainable when the time is right.
Thank you for your support, patience, and understanding.
– Max Wilson
Founder, DirtBound Inc."
Sounds like more crock-o-shit and kicking the can down the road. I'm gonna try and dispute it on my CC, but since its been 7.5 months, I imagine I'm out $420.
Youpeople! Yall probably see each other family reunions or whatever.Yeesh. Can’t go trusting those Cherokee owners
It might be a possibility, shoot an email to marketing@barnes4wd.com.G2G is getting close. Need to find some time to finish up a few things on this puppy. I picked up some sliders a couple months ago, so I need to get those cleaned up and painted and mounted. I also have a left front caliper that is dragging, so I should probably go ahead and swap in the Rubicon axles in the next 2 weeks and make it completely unfinished and out of commission before the event!
With that in mind, whats needed for converting a TJ axle to XJ? Cut the TJ bracketry off, then weld on spring perches and shock mounts? What about brake lines, e-brake cables, and driveshaft? Anybody done an XJ swap in the past couple years and have suggestions on parts? @Scott86MJ @Jody Treadway And since I'm cheap... @Pless does Barnes wanna sponsor a writeup by sending me some parts?
Are you converting tj or jk axles?G2G is getting close. Need to find some time to finish up a few things on this puppy. I picked up some sliders a couple months ago, so I need to get those cleaned up and painted and mounted. I also have a left front caliper that is dragging, so I should probably go ahead and swap in the Rubicon axles in the next 2 weeks and make it completely unfinished and out of commission before the event!
With that in mind, whats needed for converting a TJ axle to XJ? Cut the TJ bracketry off, then weld on spring perches and shock mounts? What about brake lines, e-brake cables, and driveshaft? Anybody done an XJ swap in the past couple years and have suggestions on parts? @Scott86MJ @Jody Treadway And since I'm cheap... @Pless does Barnes wanna sponsor a writeup by sending me some parts?
Probably because he has a set of axles already.
He had a set of TJ Rubi axles already. Perfect choice for his build
