Since World War II, the Jeep has been the all-around go-anywhere vehicle. But as the sport of four-wheeling has evolved, the trails have gotten tougher and the Jeeps have evolved to meet the challenge. Most Jeep modifications start out as home-made, DIY projects. And as hardcore rock-crawling began to grow in popularity during the 1990’s, many Jeep enthusiasts were starting to “armor” their Jeeps to withstand the punishment of these tougher trails. Poison Spyder’s origins took shape among these early rock-crawling pioneers.
It was a company that was born of a need for innovative, armor-tough, high performance Jeep accessories that could handle the punishment being dished out by the latest hardcore trails from Calfifornia to Colorado. Rock crawlers quickly discovered that while bumpers needed to be tough, they also needed to be tight to the Jeep, to keep from hanging up on obstacles. The result: gone are the fat tube full width bumpers, in favor of high clearance, low-drag bumpers made of tough steel plate. Gone are diamond-plate body panels, as those who really use their Jeeps found they not only grip the rocks but easily bend or tear. In their place are armor panels made of smooth, cold hard steel to both protect the Jeep’s body and also allow it to slide over the rocks rather than hang up on them.
Many ideas that first took shape in Jeepers’ garages were first commercially produced as a Poison Spyder product. The Tube Fender, upon which most of the Jeep armor industry was based, first found commercial success as a Poison Spyder product. And many of their product brand names have almost reached generic-term status since they were first-to-market and the standard by which all competitors are judged. Crusher Corners, Rocker Knockers, Stingers, and the term “Comp Cut”, for example, were all first coined by Poison Spyder, setting the pace for the rest of the industry to follow.
In 2009 Poison Spyder entered a new chapter when Larry and Cheri McRae bought the brand and set up shop in southern California. Since then, the McRae’s have guided the company through further innovation and impressive growth. While continuing to service the legacy of the early Jeep Wranglers and CJ’s the company was founded upon, the growing popularity of the JK Wrangler, and Poison Spyder’s innovations to armor it, have fueled the company’s rise from a niche manufacturer to an industry leader. It’s products have continued to evolve, for example the venerable Tube Fender, originally pioneered by Poison Spyder, has since been replaced by the even tougher, better-looking all-plate DeFender product line.
The relentless pursuit of innovation drives Poison Spyder. The company is always looking for the latest development in manufacturing technology, the next step in the state of the art of Jeep armor design, the next great idea for bringing its products to the Jeep enthusiast community
PASSION, DETERMINATION AND LARRY MCRAE
Family man, businessman, off-roader, racer, entrepreneur, designer, American. All of these traits come together in Larry McRae, the president of Poison Spyder. For their employees, he’s an inspiration. For company's fans, he’s an icon.
Larry’s love of all things off-road and outdoors germinated at an early age, bouncing around in the back of the family 4X4 while exploring the mountains and deserts of California and the southwest. And once he was old enough for his father to let him take the wheel, he was hooked. From these roots grew a lifetime of exploring the backcountry, enjoying the freedom of the great outdoors, building lifelong friendships with his fellow off-road travelers, organizing clubs and events, cutting new trails, and eventually finding success in competitive rock crawling and desert racing. And during his free time he managed to grow several successful businesses, from real estate to construction.
This diverse wealth of experience and enthusiasm would culminate in Larry and his wife Cheri purchasing Poison Spyder Customs in 2009. If Larry is the passion behind Poison Spyder, Cheri is the strength behind the man. Together, they have turned Poison Spyder from a small producer of niche products to a household name in the Jeep and off-road aftermarket industry. Under Larry’s guidance, Poison Spyder has built a fan base upon admiration of the company’s products. To this day Larry personally overseas product development, ensuring that the ultimate off-road enthusiast--Larry himself-- gives each new Poison Spyder product its stamp of approval. As a company run by enthusiasts, Poison Spyder is able to keep its finger on the pulse of the off-road community, earning that community’s respect while bringing it the products it wants. And speaking of the off-road community, Larry’s favorite aspect of Poison Spyder is in traveling the country to off-road events, exploring new trails and off-road challenges, meeting other enthusiasts and spreading the word about Poison Spyder.
Larry recently won the ultimate battle, chalking up a win against oral cancer among his many accomplishments. With the tireless help of Cheri and thoughts and prayers from thousands of fans around the world, Larry has recovered and is back doing what he does best: helping design awesome Jeep products and touring the country on behalf of Poison Spyder. Seek him out at an event in your part of the country, chances are he’ll be there , eager to hit your local trails and talk Jeeps around the campfire afterward.
RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF QUALITY AND CRAFTSMANSHIP
A Poison Spyder Jeep is easy to pick out from a crowd. It is built for performance in the rocks and on the trail, with a simplicity of design that is both elegant and efficient. Absent are the post-apocalyptic looks of typical Jeep aftermarket parts, which are cluttered with unnecessary bulk and pointless design features. A Poison Spyder Jeep is built for the job at hand: getting through the toughest terrain with the least damage to both the Jeep and the terrain. And that simplicity of function and design elegance leads to a signature look that is unmistakably Poison Spyder. Every Poison Spyder product is 3D CAD engineered using solid models of the Jeep right in the computer, to design as tight to the factory components as possible to maximize clearance. Bumpers and rocker armor use multi-faceted designs to coax as much clearance for the terrain, large tires, and suspension articulation as possible. Even something as simple as a recovery shackle tab is designed to work with each specific bumper with the least possible encroachment into the bumper’s generous approach or departure angles.
The latest technologies flow from design to manufacturing, where all plate steel components are CNC laser cut and precision brake-formed on stateof-the-art equipment. Steel tubular components are made of high strength DOM structural tubing, CNC laser notched and CNC bent for accuracy and repeatability. These technologies allow something as simple as a stinger tube to have a complex notch where it joins a bumper shell, so that it can benefit from the strength of being welded to 2 or 3 separate planes on the bumper surface, rather than simply welded only to the top plate as the rest of the industry does. Laser notched and etched cage kits result in the most accurately designed, easiest to assemble cage on the market. But the touch of real craftsmen is what finishes each Poison Spyder product. Highly skilled welders lay down Poison Spyder’s signature stacked-dime welds, and each part is hand-finished for smooth surfaces, perfect edges and uniform corners. And all of this is done right in their Banning, California manufacturing facility, where they proudly slap Made In The U.S.A. stickers onto crates and pallets bound for Jeep enthusiasts all over the world.
MOTORSPORTS PEDIGREE
While the weekend wheeler and rock crawler have been the inspiration for many of Poison Spyder’s products, nothing exemplifies toughness better than motorsports and racing. Starting in 2003, future Poison Spyder president Larry McRae would go on to win multiple championships as part of the winningest team in competitive rock crawling history. Larry’s passion for putting the hammer down and going fast also found an outlet in the desert, racing to multiple Baja 1000 wins. The pinnacle of off-road motorsports competition – where the finesse, strategy and technical driving of hardcore rock crawling are combined with the high speed perils of open desert racing – would finally come together with the advent of King Of the Hammers and Ultra4.
Not content to merely enter the race, Poison Spyder has used it as the proving ground for many of its commercial products. In 2011, Poison Spyder took a stock Jeep Wrangler JK and in 17 days turned it into a King of the Hammers racer. The following season the company built a racer from the ground up to compete in the new Modified class, with McRae guiding it to wins in the KOH Every Man Challenge, the grueling Vegas to Reno race, and eventually the season championship. In 2012, Larry entered the same car in the Unlimited Ultra4 class, finishing 11th in a race that saw only a handful of finishers from a field of about 150. It was this commitment to “racing what they sell” that led to the creation of Crispy (named for the burned-out Jeep it was built on), which debuted at the 2014 King Of the Hammers. Crispy is a high performance Ultra4 racer built within a factory JK body and running off-the-shelf Poison Spyder parts. And that is ultimately why Poison Spyder races. Every Jeep built for racing, and every mile raced, helps make Poison Spyder products stronger, lighter, and better engineered for hardcore trail use.