BDS Suspension Blog

Wow…What a week out in Vegas for the 2012 SEMA Show. This annual assembly of the automotive aftermarket brings together hundreds of thousands with a love for the automobile and the infinite ways available to customize them. SEMA, which stands for the “Specialty Equipment Market Association” is a trade association of manufacturers, shops, builders, and clubs devoted to the automotive aftermarket. BDS Suspension has been a member for a number of years now and once again made the trip to Las Vegas, NV for the trade show celebrating its 46th year of this convention. The show has something for everyone, with a mix of cars, trucks and motorcycles; lifted, lowered, go fast and all show-all go rigs. This 4-day gathering is a sight to see as over 2000 national and international companies come to Sin City to show their latest and greatest parts, talk to retail shops, dwell up new business and see other industry professionals. While the show is not open to the general public, it acts as a testbed for new parts and benchmark for new trends in the market. It brings together manufacturers with industry professionals and media members. Well over 100,000 walk the show floor of SEMA each year.

Now in our 4th year exhibiting at the show, BDS Suspension has teamed up with our sister company Zone Offroad Products to put on a party in the desert. Each year BDS has a themed booth for a big impact and to create a buzz around the show. Following some successful shows in years past we felt it was time for a party, and what better party this time of year than a tailgate party. After securing a 100×25′ booth space in the south hall, upper level of the Las Vegas Convention Center we sought out to create the tailgate party atmosphere. For the backdrop a 100′ long 15′ tall stadium panoramic backdrop was hung along with two (2) overhead blimps that doubled as overhead signage. Flooring came in the form of green astroturf and numerous tailgating props, grills, chairs, and signage. No tailgate party is complete without a tailgate, and BDS brought 4 vehicles to display in the booth along with the Zone sponsored 4-Wheel & Off-Road 2-Faced JK from this year’s Ultimate Adventure. We’ll cover the vehicles more in-depth with an upcoming post, but this year’s booth vehicles included a 2012 F350 Super Duty running the BDS 8″ lift kit and 40s, a 2012 Silverado 2500HD running the BDS 6.5″ lift kit and 38s, a 2010 Ram 2500 running the BDS 8″ lift kit and 37s, and a 2012 JK-8 conversion running the BDS 6.5″ lift kit and 40s.

Without a doubt one of the highlights of our booth was the food and drink. No tailgate party is complete without delicious grub and ice cold beer. BDS delivered with a mix of hot dogs and pulled pork BBQ each day around lunchtime for show goers along with keg after keg of ice cold Budweiser served up in a BDS branded red solo cups. Offroad videos and music kept everyone entertained during their stop at the BDS booth to check out the kits and all our new products.

To head on to Part 2 of BDS’s SEMA 2012 Coverage: The Rides, click HERE.

To skip ahead to Part 3 of BDS’s SEMA 2012 Coverage: The People, click HERE.

For more photos check out our Picasa album and join the conversation on our Facebook page.

We love hearing back from our customers as well as installers on why the chose BDS Suspension and the reasons they recommend it to their friends. Mike Duval, all around good guy and host of Off-Road Overhaul on the Outdoor Channel had this to say just the other day:

BDS makes some of the best suspension products on the market today. We were fortunate enough to have them on board as a sponsor for 2 seasons of “Off Road Overhaul” (not Off Road Overhaulin’). I found the product to be well thought out and easy to install with great instructions. One thing I find lacking today in many companies is customer service. BDS has re-defined customer service with exceptional staff and a product warranty second to none. Parts were always in stock and ready to ship on a moments notice (which was often required due to deadlines). We tested all the suspensions we installed in an off road environment with no issues whatsoever. BDS is a “Bad-Ass” suspension company that does it right!”

Mike Duval, Host
Outdoor Channel’s Series “Off Road Overhaul”

Come by and see the crew from BDS Suspension at the 2012 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, October 30-November 2, 2012. Booth setup is underway and the blimps are about to be hung. We’ll have a 100×25′ booth (#30192) in the south hall, upper level of the LVCC. This tailgate party themed booth will be the place to be so come by to join the party! Food and beer will be served and along with music, videos, and some killer custom trucks showing off the latest and greatest from BDS Suspension. If you can’t make it out, follow us on Facebook for updates from the show. We’ll see you in Vegas!!!!

Off-Road Expo 2012

One of the largest off-road trade show around was this past weekend in Pomona, CA. BDS made the trip westward to setup and show off some of our latest kit offerings and pair of cool show trucks. Each year the show continues to grow as new truck and off-raod enthusiasts make it to the Pomona Fairplex for this festival of the four wheeler (and 2-wheelers). BDS Reps, Mike Maloney and Jason Shellhaas hung out in the booth talking to customers and answering questions. For booth vehicles, BDS had a 4th Gen Ram 2500 running the BDS 8” Long Arm with all the bells and whistles along with a standard cab/short bed GMC 1500 running the BDS 6” Performance Coilover Series Suspension. Thanks to everyone that stopped by the booth, this year was once again a great Off-Road Expo for us. We’ll see you next year…

To check out all out photos from Off-Road Expo 2012, checkout Facebook and Picasa.

SEMA Show 2012

Without a doubt one of the pinnacle events within the automotive aftermarket industry is the SEMA Show. This annual event hosted by SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) brings tens of thousands out to Las Vegas, NV in a week long barrage of automotive overload to the senses. Whether you’re into lifted trucks, off-road racing, high performance, cars, racing, lowering, lighting, audio, or big wheels and tires, SEMA has something to amaze and excite you. From debuting the latest products to inspiring future trends in the market, the SEMA Show is the place to see what’s going on in this industry. This 4 day show brings together manufacturers, media, and other industry professionals all centered around the Las Vegas Convention Center as over aftermarket companies showcase their company’s newest products. BDS Suspension will be there once again this year, expanding on last year’s booth space to showcase additional vehicles and new products. This year’s booth is set in the same location as last year (left wall of south hall, upper level #30192) and is now 100×25′ with a variety of show vehicles slated to show off the latest products from BDS Suspension.

Each year BDS Suspension teams up with sister company Zone Offroad Products in a joint display. This year Zone will be bringing the Ultimate Adventure Jeep JK Offroadster (2-faced Jeep Wrangler) to display a number of new suspension and offroad products. This year, as in past years BDS will have a themed booth, one of the ways we like to stand out from the rest of the manufacturers displaying at the show. The off-road shop theme of 2 years ago and last year’s outdoor camping themed booth were big successes and this year we plan to have quite the party with our football tailgating themed booth. Come by and join the party with BDS Suspension in booth #30192. Grab a cold beer and hotdog on us and check out some of the new products we have available. Take a load off and feel the excitement as BDS turns the SEMA into the ultimate pregame party.

BDS will also have dozens of vehicles strategically displayed throughout the show in manufacturers’ booths and as featured vehicles. Look for more on those as the show approaches. Unfortunately this show is not open to the public; it is limited to industry professionals and media. To get the latest updates on what’s new at SEMA and what vehicles are on display, check out the BDS Facebook page during the show.

To see photos from last year’s SEMA Show, head to link.

We want to hear what you think about your BDS lift kit. Send us your feedback on Facebook or over email. Taylor Lovelace recently sent us this message and photo of his newly lifted F150:

Just finished installing a 6″ BDS kit on my 2009 F-150. The truck handles and rides just as well as when it was stock. In all honesty I drove long distance in the truck the second day it was completed, I completely forget about the lift until I was already getting out of the truck…. Yeah it rides that good. Great product BDS!!!

-Taylor L.