Snow Peaks offers variety of vehicle customizations

SEELEY LAKE - Snowy Peaks Off Road & Fabrication Owner Dean Ruth is prepared to make any welding or fabrication modifications his customers request with his new automotive customization shop based in Seeley Lake. He works with customers on modifications including suspensions, bumpers, rock rails, roof racks, spare tire mounts, roll cages and lift kits.

Ruth specializes in square-body vehicles which he describes as "anything from '73 to '87" as well as 1991. These include crew cabs, blazers, suburbans and K5s. He said he enjoys working with these kinds of cars because they were the prominent style when he was growing up.

"I learned in the garage from my dad from the time I was like eight years old," he said.

He began learning how to tear a car down and rebuild it when he was around 14. He was originally born in Oil City, Pennsylvania but moved to Seeley Lake with his parents when he was less than a year old.

He graduated from the NASCAR Technical Institute in North Carolina in 2011 where he sharpened his technician, fabrication and welding skills. He has also been doing welding and mechanical work through the Boilermakers union for 14 years. There he works as a journeyman for coal power plants in Denver, Colorado. He shares his time between running Snowy Peaks and working for the union.

He officialized the name and concept in September 2020 but did not begin customizing vehicles until January. He said he named it Snowy Peaks because of his proximity to snow-covered peaks and glaciers in the north.

"I love winter and the snow," he said. "I spent a long time thinking about a name, probably over five years or more. I've wanted to start my own business since I was in high school."

Ruth has done bodywork and paint jobs before. However, he said he tends to avoid those because they end up being "really tedious" and more of a long term project. He also said he avoids motor work because it can lead to other problems with other aspects such as head gaskets and he does not want to compete with the other mechanics in Seeley Lake.

He tends to focus mostly on welding and fabrication. Before making some of his customizations he produces 3D designs on his computer.

"I just want to just build stuff that is different than your ordinary vehicle, anything from simple to extreme," he said. "I just like to pretty much customize them and go above and beyond."

The most challenging aspect of running the business is organizing the budgetary and managerial aspects such as keeping track of labor and material costs.

He said the most unique project he has worked on recently was developing a "gas tank riser" which raises a gas tank back up into the truck's body when a driver does a body lift.

In the future he would like to remodel the interior of his garage and develop a website where he can sell custom pieces online. He is also looking at buying a plasma CNC machine so he can produce and sell his own parts.

Overall Ruth is looking towards meeting his patrons' requests.

"I just hope ... that I can make them happy doing whatever work I have to do with them," he said.

He currently operates by appointment only. Those interested in booking a customization session with Ruth should email snowypeaksfab@yahoo.com or call 406-360-7841. More information can also be found on Snowy Peaks Off Road & Fabrication's Facebook page or @Snowypeaksfab on Instagram.