Centrally located in Denver, Colorado, our shop has the capacity to work on multiple Unimog simultaneously with generous yard and storage space for additional equipment and implements. Despite the smallish size of our operation, we turn out a large amount of high quality work.
COUCH'S HISTORY
From competitive off-road cycling to building the ultimate 4WD machine, COUCH Off-Road Engineering owner, Jay Couch has always been passionate about the off-road capable vehicle.
A passion is born
As an adolescent in the mid-80s, COUCH Off-Road Engineering owner, Jay
Couch began competitive off-road cycling. This lead to the building of
custom high-end mountain and triathlon frame sets. Not long after that
he tried to take a Nissan Sentra through some of the mountain bike trails
that he frequented, with less than desired success. This lead to the
purchase of his first off-road vehicle, the Suzuki Samurai. As one thing
led to another he began to modify his Samurai into something larger
and more capable. Starting from his home base of Omaha, NE, he began
doing 4WD trips. Soon he was championing trails in Rubicon, Moab,
and other various North American locations. Because of these long distance
trips and his uncanny ability to push his vehicles beyond their limits,
he began carrying way too many parts, hence started the search for a
new off-road vehicle. After looking at Land Rover, Toyota FJ40s and others,
he finally found his dream ride, the Mercedes Benz Unimog.
The natural progression from passion to career
In the late 80s Jay started a very small 4WD, metal fab and auto repair shop.
In 1989, Jay found his first Unimog, a 411B imported
in from Denmark. As the Unimog addiction grew,
he was the owner of six U900s, four front end loaders, five backhoes, one
trencher, one bulldozer blade, and an extensive spare parts inventory
for his 411 and U900s. Before he knew it, he had all of the equipment for
a construction business. In 1996 it was time for a change and he took a job
with Spiderplow international, utilizing the 2450 Unimog as one of the primary
components of the cable plowing system called Fockersperger
Spiderplow. This job took him throughout North America
and around the world, installing fiber optic/power cable, gas lines
and waterlines all around the globe. Besides operating the equipment, he
was hired to head research and development and travel to
train workers on how to use the Unimog (and later MAN) most efficiently
for their work.
In 2002, Jay Couch moved back to his birthplace of Denver, Colorado, with his good friend Eddie Casanueva who he helped with his new business, Spidertrax Off-Road. Simultaneously he had started a small fabrication and 4WD repair shop, which has since grown into the Unimog specialty shop he runs today.
Give Jay a call to discuss how we can help you with your next 4WD project. 888.X.UNIMOG (888.986.4664)
