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The Tip is 'Ask Before You Buy' I went to a department store for a pair of dress shoes recently. The clerk helped me with three different pairs that I tried on. 'The Big Secret' was on the forefront of my mind so I asked, "Are these shoes imports?" The salesman responded that they were in fact imported. "Do you have any Made In America shoes like these?" I asked. To my surprise he said, "We have a whole line of Made In USA shoes." I was able to purchase the same color and style with the Made In USA label. These Made in America shoes were less expensive, came with a better warranty and were more comfortable. It's amazing how often this simple Made in US question yields unexpected and often times pleasant results. I now ask this question regularly, whereas before I would not have thought to ask for a Made in America alternative. More often than not, I can find a Made in America product of higher quality and at the same, or slightly higher price. Asking the question is so simple and can make a positive impact, in both the short and long term. Try it sometime. If you are like me, you may be surprised with how many Made in US products are out there. You will love it when you realize you are making a difference that benefits many. With your help America will be ours again and that is a good thing. Buying Tip Continued - Read more on Made in America Products by Rickson Wheel Manufacturing As owners of ? and one-ton pickups, we were frustrated with the rapid wear and poor handling of our 16 light truck (LT) tires. Plus, when we really loaded up our rigs, we felt that our safety was marginal? at best. As engineers and innovators, we knew there had to be a better answer. Using a commercial-grade tire made sense, but there was no wheel available to put them on our trucks and we didn't want to use adaptors. We figured that if we wanted better handling, improved tire wear, and a larger safety factor, with a direct bolt-on fit, that others must too. Frustrated at the lack of availability of such a wheel, we set out to produce 17.5 & 19.5 wheels in the correct bolt patterns and hub bores for our trucks, and now, for virtually any application that can benefit from an upgrade to commercial- duty wheels and tires. We are proud of that fact that we manufacture our wheels here in Hunt Valley, Maryland, U.S.A. Match Mounting & Balancing: History of The Rickson Process Early in the business, it became obvious that these commercial tires that were initially designed for heavier applications, and which we were now using on lighter (predominately ? and one-ton pick-up trucks in the beginning), have a propensity to cause vibration problems due to the higher out-of-round tolerances than those found on the LT tires that the vehicles were originally equipped with. We discovered a relatively new, yet complex piece of equipment on the market from Hunter Engineering Company that was designed to diagnose and fix out of round tire issues. Our management team's background in mechanical engineering, along with the newly purchased equipment allowed us to develop our unique match-mounting process., which allows us to achieve a ride quality equaling or exceeding that of a new-car with a tire never intended to give such a smooth ride. Today we have quietly become known in the industry as vibration specialists and we are called upon to match mount & balance wheels and tires for all possible applications. |
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