A custom spring shop that caters to four-wheelers By Phil Howell Photography by Phil Howell

With extreme four-wheeling getting so popular, it's no wonder that enthusiasts are having some trouble meeting their needs with the off-the-shelf suspension systems that are available. The major suspension manufacturers need to stay in business, so they build their products to meet the needs of most of the 4x4 owners out there. That leaves us, the more extreme crowd, to find other sources for the radical, weird, or even esoteric setups required by our vehicles.

Enter Alcan Spring, Incorporated, from Grand Junction, Colorado. Associated for almost 19 years with quality custom suspension setups ranging from leaf springs to air-ride systems, Alcan can and does serve a wide variety of vehicles, ranging from small trailers to heavy-duty trucks.

Charles Carter, President of Alcan Spring, says . . .

"My experience in this business began in the late 1960's when my father and I owned and operated Alaska Spring in Anchorage, Alaska, for ten years. In the 29-plus years I have worked in the business, there have been many changes in the industry. A simple example of this is the pickup market. Pickups were originally designed to carry a payload and no consideration was given to ride comfort. Today's consumer wants the best of both worlds and, consequently, greater emphasis is placed on the ride factor, in addition to carrying the load. Another instance is older pickups and large trucks, which had short springs that were made up of many leaves in a stack. Today's technology allows the use of longer, more pliant springs with fewer leaves in the stack.