Conversations with Big Rich
Hear conversations with the legacy stars of rockcrawling and off-road. Big Rich interviews the leaders in rock sports.
Conversations with Big Rich
Aqualu Industries Todd Gronsdahl joins us on Episode 225
“If I’m going to weld, it might as well be for myself,” we couldn’t agree more. Join Todd Gronsdahl from Aqualu Industries and Big Rich on Episode 225. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.
6:57 – I took any job I could get because I really didn’t have any skillset
11:15– Rich: I asked your wife, “Is that your boyfriend?” She says, God, no, that’s my husband, my boyfriend would be way older and way richer!
13:30 – I bought a dilapidated Land Cruiser, and I was driving home one day when the roll cage fell through the wheel well onto the tire.
19:06 – the hardest part is just getting the aluminum body as close as you can to replicating the original
30:18 – the biggest challenge of being in Canada and exporting is location, we are packed in a little town in the middle of the mountains, so transportation is a real pain
35:59 – my wife has plans for us to buy a diesel pusher, and hook the vehicle up and go have some fun
37:37 – my simple rule of thumb: don’t spend more than you make and be humble
Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.
Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.
All Automotive with Matt ClawsonAutomotive related topics. Anything from owning an repair facility to racing. Anything...
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
[00:00:01.020] -
Welcome to Conversations with Big Rich. This is an interview-style podcast. Those interviewed are all involved in the off-road industry. Being involved, like all of my guests are, is a lifestyle, not just a job. I talk to past, present, and future legends, as well as business owners, employees, media, and land use warriors, men and women who have found their way into this exciting and addictive lifestyle we call off-road. We discuss their personal history, struggles, successes, and reboots. We dive into what drives them to stay active and off-road. We all hope to shed some light on how to find a path into this world that we live and love and call off-road.
[00:00:45.280]
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[00:01:13.020] -
Have you seen 4Low magazine yet? 4Low magazine is a high-quality, well-written, four-wheel drive-focused magazine for the enthusiast market. If you still love the idea of a printed magazine, something to save and read at any time, 4LOW is the magazine for you. 4Low cannot be found in stores, but you can have it delivered to your home or place of business. Visit 4LOWmagazine.com to order your subscription today.
[00:01:40.020] - Big Rich Klein
As a hands-on type of guy, my guest this week wanted to work for himself, not others. And now he has spent over 30 years building that business. My guest is Todd Gronsdahl of Aqualu Industries. Good morning, Todd Gronsdahl. How are you doing this morning?
[00:01:59.580] - Todd Gronsdahl
I'm doing fantastic, Big Rich. How about you?
[00:02:02.470] - Big Rich Klein
Excellent. So let's talk a little bit about you and find out about you and your company, Aqualu. But first, let's dive back in the years and answer the question, where were you born and raised?
[00:02:19.280] - Todd Gronsdahl
Oh, God. Kalvington, Saskatchewan, a very small town, probably 1,200 people, middle of Saskatchewan.
[00:02:28.570] - Big Rich Klein
And what What was it like living in such a small community? I would imagine Saskatchewan is not a booming metropolitan area, any of it, really. Maybe Saskatoon or however you say it. But what was it like?
[00:02:45.580] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, Saskatoon was the biggest one. Well, to be honest with you, I was three when we left, so we moved out to Kelowna here in 1965.
[00:02:52.560] - Big Rich Klein
Oh, okay. All right. So you don't have really any memories of Saskatchewan?
[00:02:58.050] - Todd Gronsdahl
Correct. Yes.
[00:02:59.510] - Big Rich Klein
And What precipitated the move for the family from there to Kewlowna?
[00:03:09.580] - Todd Gronsdahl
Well, I think lifestyle for sure. A very, very cold winter flat flat. I've seen my parents numerous times from moving from there to here.
[00:03:23.070] - Big Rich Klein
Things would have been a lot different if you had stayed there, huh?
[00:03:26.500] - Todd Gronsdahl
Absolutely. I'd probably be a farmer.
[00:03:29.350] - Big Rich Klein
Yeah, I I'm glad you made the move. Glad you made the move.
[00:03:33.320] - Todd Gronsdahl
No, for sure. Yeah.
[00:03:37.190] - Big Rich Klein
So, Kewlowna. I mean, I was just there for the the BC Overland Rally. First time beyond going to like, Vancouver or, I've been up to Canada a couple of times for off-road expos.
[00:03:51.740] - Todd Gronsdahl
Right.
[00:03:52.440] - Big Rich Klein
And then a visit of Vancouver when I was freshly married. So, I mean, that was years and years ago. What was What was Kelowna like back then? Was it still the recreational hub that it is now?
[00:04:09.370] - Todd Gronsdahl
It's definitely a very tourist town, and always has been. But, oh, man, back then, I think it was maybe 50,000 people. And now with surrounding areas, that's probably closer to 280 or 300,000 people.
[00:04:26.200] - Big Rich Klein
I don't doubt that. Just the traffic as we came into town on a Thursday was pretty incredible.
[00:04:39.260] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, it's a nightmare. We're tucked inside the mountains and it's hard to get around here for sure.
[00:04:47.550] - Big Rich Klein
Right. I would say that it's at the bursting point almost, especially when people come in for the weekends to recreate. People that don't know there's a huge lake there.
[00:05:00.410] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, it's a beautiful lake, 90 miles long, lots of water sports for sure.
[00:05:06.220] - Big Rich Klein
And so growing up there, did you guys participate in those sports? I know that there's ski resorts nearby as well?
[00:05:17.260] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, I mean, lots of water skiing in that. And then we've got a great big huge ski hill, Big White, that's 45 minutes away. So it's a four-season place for sure.
[00:05:29.950] - Big Rich Klein
And what was it like going to school there?
[00:05:35.360] - Todd Gronsdahl
Good, I guess. I was not your best student, that's for sure. So school was something that I didn't really spend too much attention at, to be honest with you.
[00:05:46.430] - Big Rich Klein
Where was your attention spent?
[00:05:50.140] - Todd Gronsdahl
Well, I was always a mechanically inclined person, and I loved working with my hands. So I was not the best academic student, and just loved working with my hands. So that's what precipitated getting into this business.
[00:06:04.360] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. And did schooling up there? I'm not familiar with the education system in Canada, except that you guys turn out a lot of comedians. I'm not sure why that is. But what's the... Did you have shop classes or anything that helped with that?
[00:06:24.010] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, I don't think it's much different than in the States. We had metal and woodworking, all sorts of different classes. So that was the path I went down.
[00:06:36.500] - Big Rich Klein
Okay, that makes sense. And college after that?
[00:06:43.570] - Todd Gronsdahl
No, I don't have any post-secondary education.
[00:06:46.920] - Big Rich Klein
Okay, and from your schooling and work, what jobs did you have early on?
[00:06:57.340] - Todd Gronsdahl
Oh, basically construction and I take any job I could get because I really didn't have any skillset, and somehow got into welding, and I absolutely hated doing it for other people. And I said, If I'm going to do this, I might as well do it for myself. So 34 years ago, I started manufacturing aluminum boats and just morphed into what I'm presently doing now.
[00:07:26.960] - Big Rich Klein
And the welding that you did before that, before when you were working for somebody else, the part that you hated, which I think we have in common. I've never been able to hold a job for more than a few years working for somebody else. I just I get bored or We're all just twisted up. I don't end up... I'm not a very good employee, you might say.
[00:07:53.060] - Todd Gronsdahl
What was it?
[00:07:53.640] - Big Rich Klein
What was... What work were you doing in the welding?
[00:07:58.220] - Todd Gronsdahl
We were basically manufacturing pontoons for a houseboat company here. Predominantly, they were made here and sold down to the States, down to Shasta Lake and Lake Mead, those places. And it was a dirty, disgusting job. I just figured, if I'm going to do it, I might as well do it for myself.
[00:08:17.010] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. And what was it like when you walked away from that paying job to being self-employed?
[00:08:26.810] - Todd Gronsdahl
Well, I think the most difficult thing was I I had to make it work. Losing was not an option. Basically, I've been doing it for 34 years, and a lot of hard work and dedication is what's made it work for me, I believe.
[00:08:46.420] - Big Rich Klein
Right. And how did you get those first customers with building pontoons?
[00:08:53.480] - Todd Gronsdahl
I can't even remember, to be honest with you, and then I'm surprised that I wasn't a little more scared than what I was. I just opened up a shop and started doing small V-hull boats and somehow got a contract to build these pontoons, and it just went from there.
[00:09:13.450] - Big Rich Klein
With that contract, were you working directly for a manufacturer, or were you working for a company that then turned around and sold those like you were working a sub shop or something?
[00:09:32.550] - Todd Gronsdahl
Well, I had a job when I was doing building pontoons for a company called Three Boys Houseboats. So I did have some experience. So I just took that when I ended up starting my own company. So I did have some knowledge there and was able to convince somebody that I could do this job for them.
[00:09:52.800] - Big Rich Klein
Perfect. Okay. And was it all smooth sailing at that time?
[00:09:59.980] - Todd Gronsdahl
Oh, God, no. I don't think I turned a profit for the first seven years, to be honest with you. My wife had a job. We lived off of her wage, and I would just build anything possible that I could, just to make ends meet.
[00:10:18.220] - Big Rich Klein
And she stuck with you through that, huh?
[00:10:22.250] - Todd Gronsdahl
She did. She's a good Texas girl, so yeah.
[00:10:26.750] - Big Rich Klein
All right. Now I need to ask, how did you get a Texas girl?
[00:10:29.980] - Todd Gronsdahl
I don't know if I want to tell you the truth or not. I actually used to play rugby, and I went down on a tour down to Dallas and just ended up meeting her there. And happened real fast. We got married within a year, and 34 years, she's still with me, so hopefully I'm doing something right.
[00:10:58.620] - Big Rich Klein
Right. And I have met her. We met at Off-Road Expo in Pomona one time.
[00:11:06.540] - Todd Gronsdahl
Exactly. Yeah. You remember the story there?
[00:11:11.490] - Big Rich Klein
A little bit. Go ahead and tell it.
[00:11:15.190] - Todd Gronsdahl
Well, I'm just fairly new in the business. I want to say 2008 or something like that. And I'm going around just to do some networking and meet people and buying people drinks and having all sorts of fun. So There's a big lineup at the bar, so I'm back and forth buying drinks with other people just trying to chat. I remember you sitting down beside her and you would ask her, Is that your boyfriend? She says, God, no, that's my husband. My boyfriend would be way older and way richer.
[00:11:52.540] - Big Rich Klein
See, that shot us both down.
[00:11:55.580] - Todd Gronsdahl
Exactly.
[00:11:58.720] - Big Rich Klein
That's So then you're struggling for the first seven years, trying to get... Well, let's get back into that. Let's change direction here a little bit. You played rugby. That was like a club, or did you play for the country, or how did that- No local club.
[00:12:21.810] - Todd Gronsdahl
No local club here. It was just a good fun thing. Lots of beer drinking and more emphasis on fun than good quality play, probably.
[00:12:33.380] - Big Rich Klein
You know, rugby's a rough and tumble sport. That's- Yeah, it's a little hard on the body for sure. Right. I don't know if there's a lot of old older rugby players. You know, your body does take a lot of abuse in that.
[00:12:51.980] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah. You know, I had been in business. Well, I had just started my business and broke right arm playing rugby. And I said, You know what? I've either got to run a business or go and have some fun. And so that was the turning point to when I decided to start Aqualu full-time.
[00:13:13.810] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. And how did you come up with the name?
[00:13:19.510] - Todd Gronsdahl
Well, it's a stupid name, but it was Aquatic and Aluminum, and we were manufacturing boats back then. That's where I started. Right.
[00:13:28.090] - Big Rich Klein
I figured it was something like that. And then I did stuff.
[00:13:30.000] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, and you know what? Very first year, I had a friend, he drove up to my shop in this old dilapotated Land Cruiser and he says, Oh, you should build one of these bodies. And I looked at him and I said, You're crazy. It doesn't make sense to me. And then I started thinking about it and I saw one at a car lot that was really beat up. And I went and purchased it and I was driving home one day, and the roll cage fell through the rear wheel well onto the tire. I said, I've either got to put some plywood in here, or I've got to make a body or do something. That was my prototype back in, I guess, 1991.
[00:14:15.740] - Big Rich Klein
Wow. Okay. So you went from Marine to off-road. You guys have quite a little bit diversity. Did I read right Is it on your website that you're doing the mini jet boats?
[00:14:35.140] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, we do mini jet boats and service decks, and pontoons, lots of boat-related products as well.
[00:14:46.150] - Big Rich Klein
Awesome. And all sorts of toolbox and everything.
[00:14:50.030] - Todd Gronsdahl
It's- Yeah, you bet.
[00:14:52.690] - Big Rich Klein
It's Aqualu Industries for anybody that's interested. I first was introduced to Aqualu In the early 2000s, one of my very first sponsor was a guy named Dave Knight, and he was importing the bodies in from Canada and selling them here in the States.
[00:15:18.810] - Todd Gronsdahl
Correct. Yes.
[00:15:22.470] - Big Rich Klein
I'm sure when I just said the name Dave Knight, that a lot of people just cringed and the hair went up on the back their neck. But that's a completely different story. We won't get into all that. But how did that relationship come about?
[00:15:42.960] - Todd Gronsdahl
Well, I started building these bodies And just people started hearing about it and they said, Well, I want to sell your product. I said, Well, it was more or less a hobby. It wasn't a product. But people kept bugging me. So then I started ramping up and doing a little more production work on it. And somehow they heard about me and that's how that started. Unfortunately, it fizzled out, but I went down to Moab. I believe my first year was 2005, and everybody's looking at these bodies and go, Oh, these are this guy's body. They're says, Well, no. Actually, he was the one who's the one who's how we built them. And I think I ended up picking up 18 distributors down in the States in that one week that I there.
[00:16:31.380] - Big Rich Klein
Nice. And did you ever build aluminum frames?
[00:16:38.530] - Todd Gronsdahl
No, I didn't do any aluminum frames. I do manufacture steel frames for the Toyota Land Cruisers. Other than that, all the bodies are aluminum.
[00:16:47.990] - Big Rich Klein
All right. And the product line you have goes from... What vehicles do you do?
[00:16:59.630] - Todd Gronsdahl
We do the old Suzuki Samurais. We do all the Jeep product, old Willies 2A, 3A, 3B, CJ5, 7. We do four-door models, lots of custom products. We do the same with the Toyota Land Cruisers, the FJ40s and 45s. We do a four-door model, which Icon on the Los Angeles produces. And then recently in the I'm going to say four or five years, we're doing the Land Rover Defender now. And that we do in the Defender 110, and we're just doing the '90s series right now.
[00:17:43.410] - Big Rich Klein
Nice. And you're Are you doing hard tops for those as well?
[00:17:50.670] - Todd Gronsdahl
We're in the process of looking at it right now. We're doing a prototype right now. That's what we're looking at.
[00:17:58.300] - Big Rich Klein
All right, cool. Excellent. What would you say is your biggest seller of the aluminum bodies so far?
[00:18:09.800] - Todd Gronsdahl
You know what I still think the old Toya length is your CFJ 40s and 45s. Okay. Although the Landrovers right now have really taken off just recently selling.
[00:18:23.780] - Big Rich Klein
That makes sense. The Landrover guys, they're a different breed.
[00:18:28.830] - Todd Gronsdahl
They They are different breed, and you and I saw that at the BC Overland rally here this weekend. And you know what? The vehicle is virtually unchanged for decades. So it's a very nice universal body for me to manufacture.
[00:18:47.840] - Big Rich Klein
Because it fits a 110 or a 90 fit so many different years.
[00:18:54.410] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, exactly.
[00:18:56.800] - Big Rich Klein
What's the the hardest part of creating an aluminum body for a vehicle?
[00:19:06.600] - Todd Gronsdahl
Just getting it as close as you can to replicating the original. Right now, what I'm really focusing on is trying to make sure that the hard top and doors and that fit on the defender product. I'm constantly tweaking it. Might be an eighth of an inch here, a sixtenth of an inch here, or a quarter of an inch here. But just trying to evolve and make the product better all the time.
[00:19:34.760] - Big Rich Klein
And are your pieces pre-weld? They're all done cut CNC-wise or what?
[00:19:45.150] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, all our material comes in flat sheet. We've got three CNC machines. We cut all the product out, and then I've got custom dies that I've made for different radiuses and curves. It's a pretty lengthy process to build a prototype in anything. I feel that the defender right now is nicely finished, where we can really start producing them and make a really nice product.
[00:20:13.780] - Big Rich Klein
Very good.
[00:20:15.740] - Todd Gronsdahl
Whereas they'll say the Land Cruiser, we've been doing it for years. We're constantly tweaking little things, but putting on a really nice product now.
[00:20:27.510] - Big Rich Klein
Customization, would you take a say, like an old flat vendor, a CJ2A, and would you stretch the body?
[00:20:37.230] - Todd Gronsdahl
Oh, definitely. And that's probably the body that we... I sell very few 2A, 3A bodies that are stock. Fred Williams, everybody knows who Fred Williams is. We built a 24-inch stretch 2A, 3A. I believe he put it on a two-door JK frame, and that was years ago. But that's very common, stretching out where your door opening is. They're so small to get into, lengthening the wheelbase and do whatever the customer wants.
[00:21:10.460] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. Yeah, because I used to have a 48 CJ2A And that was my problem, was getting in and out of the ding thing with the stock steering shaft and the seat location. It was like, I needed more room in there.
[00:21:29.380] - Todd Gronsdahl
No, absolutely.
[00:21:31.400] - Big Rich Klein
And with Aqualoo Industries, which is your most popular line? Is it the Marine? Is it the industrial where the welding beds or decks it for trucks? Or is it the off-road?
[00:21:57.770] - Todd Gronsdahl
Probably the biggest product line is our bodies, which makes up, I'm going to say 40, 45% of our product. The other 55, 60% is all of the above that you just mentioned. We do lots of CNC cutting in that for local welding shops in that here as well.
[00:22:19.340] - Big Rich Klein
Okay, that makes sense. And you're primarily doing aluminum. You said you do steel frames for the Toyotas, but pretty much primarily is aluminum.
[00:22:35.650] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, our niche market is aluminum, 90, 95 %, although we'll do any steel you want as well. We do stainless steel also.
[00:22:45.010] - Big Rich Klein
Okay, well, all right. So you could make a stainless steel body?
[00:22:52.410] - Todd Gronsdahl
No, I don't think I would. I had the odd request. Yeah, I'm going to say no.
[00:23:00.420] - Big Rich Klein
Right, because it's- And I'm not saying I couldn't do it out of stainless steel.
[00:23:04.600] - Todd Gronsdahl
I just think the aluminum is a better option.
[00:23:07.670] - Big Rich Klein
Right. It's stainless is brutal, my understanding.
[00:23:14.430] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, it's certainly difficult to... It's hard to drill. It's hard to do all sorts of stuff with it. I think the versatility with our aluminum bodies works really well. Okay.
[00:23:27.880] - Big Rich Klein
Yeah, I think that's why Tesla Tesla and Elon Musk went with their cyber truck with the stainless steel. It's all flat panel. Right. It didn't have to bend it.
[00:23:40.160] - Todd Gronsdahl
No, and there was one in town just recently I saw last week for the first time. It's a very interesting vehicle for sure.
[00:23:47.620] - Big Rich Klein
Right. Everybody's saying it's like a trash can or whatever, but they're starting to grow on me. I I don't know why, but I don't think I'd ever own one, but I don't hate them as bad as I did when the design first came out.
[00:24:08.710] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, I'd like to see one really upfront. I've just seen driving by to take a look to see what it really looks like.
[00:24:14.900] - Big Rich Klein
Yeah, I'm living here in Northern California, and we have a lot of them around. I think there's four or five in our little town of 10,000 people.
[00:24:24.120] - Todd Gronsdahl
It's interesting.
[00:24:28.120] - Big Rich Klein
You're doing these aluminum off-road bodies. Are you an off roader yourself?
[00:24:36.450] - Todd Gronsdahl
I am. I probably enjoy building them more than I actually do driving them, to be honest with you. My problem is I work 50, 60 hours a week, and I'm just trying to put a stop to that so I can actually go out and have the opportunity to go a little bit more.
[00:24:55.410] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. And when did you When did you start doing some off-roading? Was it before building Aluminum Bodies or after?
[00:25:08.080] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, it was before I started my company. I've always been interested in it. I just don't seem to have time to get out there. I mean, I own three or four vehicles right now for different applications. I've built a rock Crawler that I'd like to take back down the Moab. Something we do up here that's quite a bit different is we do a lot of snow wheeling that is really big horsepower and really big tires. That's fun, but it's a very expensive hobby.
[00:25:40.030] - Big Rich Klein
Right. What makes it expensive? What makes it expensive?
[00:25:47.610] - Todd Gronsdahl
Well, these guys are running 54, 58-inch tires. We've probably got three or four guys that are running 632 cubic inch with twin turbos. They're running 1,000 to 1,400 horsepower. And that's a disaster for breaking parts.
[00:26:09.620] - Big Rich Klein
Yeah, I'd say so. Okay. I didn't know if it was the cost of the tires or fuel at that point, but it sounds like everything.
[00:26:21.580] - Todd Gronsdahl
Oh, they can go out in one day and burn $350 in fuel. It's crazy. Wow.
[00:26:29.400] - Big Rich Klein
So the pontoons, are you still building pontoon boats then as well?
[00:26:38.280] - Todd Gronsdahl
We do, as people request. Yeah, we do all sorts of different sizes. The biggest The last boat we built was 102 feet. So. Holy mackrel. Yeah, so some really big stuff.
[00:26:52.750] - Big Rich Klein
And what engineering needs to go into a pontoon for a boat that size?
[00:26:59.390] - Todd Gronsdahl
Well, we get drawings from the customer. We do have our set pontoon styles. They're all based on a circumference measure around the outside. We do a 6'8, a 8'9, 10'11, and I believe a 13'0. So depending on size and width of the boat, there's numerous different sizes.
[00:27:22.450] - Big Rich Klein
Wow. Thirteen foot circumference on a pontoon. Yeah, they're about 5 feet tall.
[00:27:31.340] - Todd Gronsdahl
Well, I can almost stand up in one.
[00:27:34.110] - Big Rich Klein
Wow. That's pretty amazing. I hadn't even thought about that. I think of pontoons, and I always think of party barges, the flat deck, guys out drinking cold ones while they're pretending to fish or something.
[00:27:53.550] - Todd Gronsdahl
Exactly.
[00:27:55.630] - Big Rich Klein
But I had done a houseboat before, so never thought of it that way. Where does a 110-foot houseboat... I mean, that's got to be Lake Powell or the the Lake you guys have, Kilona. That's large enough.
[00:28:14.890] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, the houseboat capital in our area is Sycamus, which is about two hours north of it. And that's where most of the houseboats are. The ones we used to manufacture that went down to the States were Lake Mead, Havasu, Shasta Lake, and they were all 56 feet long.
[00:28:37.610] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. That's a big boat.
[00:28:41.850] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, it is.
[00:28:43.750] - Big Rich Klein
And how did you How do you get into the mini jet boats?
[00:28:48.280] - Todd Gronsdahl
Well, I've always had, I always built all sorts of boats initially on. One of my employees is presently doing a little mini jet boat, so we're working together on that. We're just doing a little, a couple more little twelve footers right now.
[00:29:04.840] - Big Rich Klein
I know it's become pretty popular down here in the States. A lot of our off road racers have gone to the boats and using them on the various rivers and jumping sandbars and doing crazy stuff like that.
[00:29:24.910] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, this boat that we're sending right now, I believe, is going down to Oklahoma.
[00:29:30.380] - Big Rich Klein
Nice. Okay. The aluminum, I don't know much about sourcing of metals. I know that for axles, a lot of stuff comes out of China or India. What about aluminum?
[00:29:51.680] - Todd Gronsdahl
Same thing. There's lots out of China. There's lots of domestic mills in both Canada and US as well. Primarily US. You know, Sapa, Salt Lake City, and there's all sorts of mills in the States as well where we get our product.
[00:30:09.990] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. And what's the biggest challenge of being in Canada and exporting?
[00:30:18.810] - Todd Gronsdahl
The biggest is location. We are packed in a small little town in the middle of the mountains, and so transportation is a real pain, to be honest with you. We looked at 2008 and possibly relocating to the States and maybe should have done it until the recession is there. But, Salt Lake City would be a great hub, not only for distribution, but also for the product that we manufacture with the vehicles as well.
[00:30:53.100] - Big Rich Klein
Right. And I can see where that would be a good hub because it's an intersection of two primary interstates with 15 and 80. Makes sense.
[00:31:07.100] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah.
[00:31:09.180] - Big Rich Klein
And then 15 being the corridor, pretty much, that that accesses the lakes that you would sell to, at least with the pontoons. Fairly good access.
[00:31:24.260] - Todd Gronsdahl
Right.
[00:31:25.910] - Big Rich Klein
And let's talk about the future of Aqualoo. I know that you've gotten it into the Land Rover, and you're looking to create more time for yourself so that you can relax a little bit. You're close to my age. You're not quite there, but I know that you've worked hard for a lot of years, like you said. So what's in the future?
[00:32:01.150] - Todd Gronsdahl
Well, I've got a gentleman here that's going to probably take over in the next month. He's going to buy in. I'm going to hang around for another three years, and hopefully we can just carry on the tradition. I would love to be able to take the time off. I've been to Rubicon twice, 1995 and 2000. I would love to go back down. I'd like to go to Moab a lot more. And there's so many other great places down in the state that make it more of a lifestyle. I can just go try out some trails.
[00:32:37.720] - Big Rich Klein
When you get down to the States and you want to do the Rubicon, let me know, because I'm currently only about an hour or so from the trail.
[00:32:49.180] - Todd Gronsdahl
No, I absolutely will. My newest vehicle that I'm working on right now is a Snow Wheeler, and I'm trying to get a bunch of guys together that want to go do the Rubicon in probably April or May, something like that, when there's lots of snow up there.
[00:33:08.060] - Big Rich Klein
That sounds like a great idea. I've got some guys that are friends that are the premier snow wheelers up here, so I can send you that direction, too. Let's talk about your new partner coming in.
[00:33:27.530] - Todd Gronsdahl
His name is Tyson Chute, and he's a young... He's been in wheeling for years, and he's more or less a Toyota guy who's always been interested, and I think he's the right guy for the job.
[00:33:44.440] - Big Rich Klein
Does he have experience with aluminum welding and all that stuff?
[00:33:50.350] - Todd Gronsdahl
He's definitely done lots of steel welding. Aluminum is a little new to him. I've got a really good crew here that will help facilitate the whole thing. So I don't think there's going to be a problem here.
[00:34:03.720] - Big Rich Klein
And I did meet Tyson while we were up there in Canada. But then I realized that I've known Tyson. He used to hang out with Curtis Warner, one of our racers.
[00:34:16.330] - Todd Gronsdahl
Right. Good old crazy Curtis.
[00:34:18.150] - Big Rich Klein
Yes. Is Tyson there with you?
[00:34:22.370] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yes, he's sitting right here.
[00:34:24.520] - Big Rich Klein
Hello, Tyson.
[00:34:26.510] - Todd Gronsdahl
I'm listening in on what's happening.
[00:34:28.450] - Big Rich Klein
Okay. You're a little far away to hear you on the microphone, but glad you're there.
[00:34:35.060] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, I was just listening in in the background.
[00:34:37.220] - Big Rich Klein
Okay, so are you excited about stepping in?
[00:34:42.820] - Todd Gronsdahl
Oh, I'm excited that I get to work even more than I already do.
[00:34:46.420] - Big Rich Klein
And what are you doing? What were you doing prior to this coming together, you might say?
[00:34:56.700] - Todd Gronsdahl
I have a separate business that I've I've been doing for about 12 years, building like Toyota Four-runners, and Tacomas, and Toyota pickups.
[00:35:07.340] - Big Rich Klein
Okay, so you're a fab guy. So that's good.
[00:35:11.320] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah. I've done that for quite a while, but just That is that I maybe want to stop dealing with people that have a resty old Toyota, and they're mini-shirt guys, and they don't want to spend any money, whereas the line cruiser guys are a little bit easier to deal with.
[00:35:28.120] - Big Rich Klein
Right. Yeah. Yeah, I can understand that. Customers that have a thicker wallet are more than likely easier to to price some dollars out and get paid for what you really do.
[00:35:45.240] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, for sure.
[00:35:47.880] - Big Rich Klein
So the three years, going to hang around and make sure the transition is smooth. Is that right, Todd?
[00:35:59.670] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, Absolutely. What I really want to do is I want to work 1,500 hours the first year, a thousand the next, and 500 the last. But my wife, being American from Texas, we would love to buy a diesel pusher and hook the vehicle up and go do some of these events and go and have some fun.
[00:36:23.630] - Big Rich Klein
So you could come out and bring samples and show the vehicles off and drum up some more business.
[00:36:34.450] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, absolutely. I might be sleeping in your driveway and you don't even know it.
[00:36:38.860] - Big Rich Klein
Perfect. We can we can facilitate that. And if you decide to go to Trail Hero, I happen to know the guy that runs that.
[00:36:48.320] - Todd Gronsdahl
Yeah, absolutely. Actually, Tyson is a little more familiar with that stuff. He would spend two or three months every winter down in the States and, have a Sioux and Vegas area. So, no, look forward to doing that as well.
[00:37:05.820] - Big Rich Klein
And what would you say to somebody that was maybe an enthusiast, but wanted to become more than an enthusiast in our market? Wanted to start a business, wanted to jump in with both feet and make off-road a viable lifestyle?
[00:37:37.100] - Todd Gronsdahl
Man, that's a tough one. I question myself all the time. Things change all the time. We've been building the the bodies, but it's not sustainable by itself. We've always had to do all these other products to be able to make things work. And when you run across a recession like 2008, that It was not a lot of fun. My simple rule of thumb is, don't spend more than you make and be humble and just try to continue on and look at building new product and be inventive.
[00:38:17.330] - Big Rich Klein
Right. Those are good words of wisdom. 2008 was rough for everybody. I didn't know if We Rock was going to survive the Rock Crawling Series. 2009, I had made the decision at the beginning of the year that I was going to shut it down at the end of 2009 season. And my wife, Shelle, convinced me not to do that. And here we are in 2024 and got a partner that's in the process of taking over like you're doing. It's amazing what can happen with coming out of a recession like that and having the right people helping you.
[00:39:03.860] - Todd Gronsdahl
No, exactly.
[00:39:06.320] - Big Rich Klein
So was your wife always... You said that she stood behind you and helped along the way. What work was she doing?
[00:39:19.230] - Todd Gronsdahl
She basically takes care of the office. She does all the accounting and payable, billable. I've got my daughter here doing the same thing, helping out as I couldn't do it without her. As you know, I don't even have an email address. I can barely make a phone work. I rely on a lot of other people for that to help me out.
[00:39:47.040] - Big Rich Klein
It's good to have people that will stand behind you and do that. That's for sure.
[00:39:55.030] - Todd Gronsdahl
No, absolutely.
[00:39:56.680] - Big Rich Klein
Tyson, do you have a network like What's that behind you?
[00:40:04.260] - Todd Gronsdahl
I'm hoping that Todd's daughter and wife will stay around and continue to help do some of the paperwork and all that for a while. I have a wife and a little two-year-old that's running around. So hopefully, they'll be able to help me out in the future.
[00:40:23.370] - Big Rich Klein
Excellent. Excellent. Sounds like the the future is bright for Aqualoo.
[00:40:30.290] - Todd Gronsdahl
No, I think so. I love doing the designing portion of it. Tyson's going to step in and deal with most of the daily stuff. And if I can just take a little more time off and help him in the design process of new product, that's where I want to go.
[00:40:50.020] - Big Rich Klein
Excellent. Excellent. Is there anything that we haven't touched on that you want to discuss about the business or yourselves?
[00:41:00.780] - Todd Gronsdahl
No, not really. I just want some more time off. I've always enjoyed going out there and doing this stuff. I always make excuses not to do it. And I'm not kidding when I say that I want to have the opportunity to be able to come down to the States and do a whole bunch of these different runs and still go to trade shows and show a presence there as well.
[00:41:26.650] - Big Rich Klein
So all of my listeners, if you guys are involved with any events or shows throughout the year, give me a call or contact me and I'll get you in touch with Aqualoo, or you can go to Aqualoo Industries' website and Contact them and see what you can do. It's setting up Todd or Tyson to come down and visit during your events. Great guys. Fun to hang out with. And you might even get a round of golf out of Todd.
[00:42:00.700] - Todd Gronsdahl
There you go. Sounds good. I appreciate this, Big Rich.
[00:42:04.490] - Big Rich Klein
I appreciate it as well. And you guys have a great day and good luck in the future. And I hope everything is just fantastic for you guys.
[00:42:16.420] - Todd Gronsdahl
Thank you very much. Thank you.
[00:42:18.090] - Big Rich Klein
All right. We'll talk to you later. Bye bye.
[00:42:21.210] - Todd Gronsdahl
Okay.
[00:42:22.910] - Big Rich Klein
Well, that's another episode of Conversations with Big Rich. I'd like to thank you all for listening. If you could do us a favor and leave us a review on any podcast service that you happen to be listening on, or send us an email or a text message or a Facebook message, and let me know any ideas that you have or if there's anybody that you have that you think would be a great guest, please forward the contact information to me so that we can try to get them on. And always remember, live life to the fullest. Enjoying life is a must. Follow your dreams and live life with all the gusto you can. Thank you.