Rogue Fabrication was started by Joseph (Joe) Gambino in 2010 as Rogue Offroad Engineering, LLC. Joe found his interest in auto mechanics and fabrication in high school while building several project cars. His first project back in 2002 at the age of 16 was a bone stock S13 240SX. Joe swapped in an SR20DET engine and installed a lot of suspension/brake/performance mods. He learned more welding and suspension fabrication on a 1981 toyota pickup 4×4 that was built up as a snow wheeling and rock crawling toy that doubled as a daily driver (done in 2003). This rock crawler had nearly no bent tube and desperately needed a roll cage.
By 2005 Joe had begun studying Engineering at the Oregon Institute of Technology where he also competed in pole vaulting on the track team. Joe removed the SR20DET from the S13 and installed in an E30 BMW convertible with a variety of newer (up to E46) M3 suspension and brake components. This project was more of a wiring challenge with the German chassis and Japanese drivetrain. After becoming unsatisfied with the power of the 22R and the known weakness in the entire drivetrain of the 1981 pickup, Joe set out to build a new toy. He bought a stock 1988 4Runner and a wrecked but running 1989 Toyota Supra Turbo with a 5 speed trans. This chassis and drivetrain are the heart of the current Rogue Fabrication 4Runner, along with Mercedes Benz Unimog axles, dual transfer cases, 42″ tires on RogueFab H1 beadlocks, and more.
During College, Joe worked internships in mechanical engineering teams at both Garmin (avionics division) and Leupold and Stevens (riflescopes and optics). Joe Worked 40+ hours per week while completing school (15+ credits per term at the OIT Portland campus) to allow him to continue working at Leupold and complete his degree on time. With the 4Runner still needing bumpers and a roll cage, Joe graduated college with a bachelor’s of science degree in Mechanical Engineering and honors of Magna Cum Laude with a GPA of 3.90.
Joe was rapidly promoted to higher demand projects and teams within Leupold and Stevens and served on the Tactical Product Development Team for a few years. Joe took an exam and passed the senior level Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing Professional certification by the Oregon State Board of Engineers and Land Surveyors, making him the youngest person ever to do so in the state. Rogue Fabrication was born as a moonlight business during this time, and the H1 wheel centers were released as Rogue’s first product. The very first set ever made are still on the 4Runner today. Before leaving Leupold, Joe developed the first revision of the M600 series tubing bender, at that time called the “Alpha”.
In 2012, Joe moved on to work for Precision Castparts Corporation (PCC), the world leader in Titanium investment (lost wax) casting. Their complex aerospace castings put Joe’s GD&T experience and certification to immense use. After PCC, Joe took on several contracting positions within the area including work with FLIR (gimbal mounted infrared and thermal camera systems), Pro Lift (truck suspension systems), FlexForce Enterprises (military contract work, stabilized mid-weight weapons mounting systems), and Sig Sauer Optics (small arms weapon sights, optics, and rangefinders). Nearly every company Joe worked for benefitted from his experience and abilities to simulate loading conditions in thermal, buckling, frequency, and static stress simulations in FEA (computer aided Finite Element Analysis).
Rogue Fabrication continued to grow and broadened its product line to include tubing notchers, shaped and round dimple dies, gusset press brakes, drill press reduction kits, and mandrel tubing benders. Many of these products are patent pending and include features never before available in the industry. Joe (and Rogue Fabrication) will continue to innovate into the future to bring creative solutions into the chassis fabrication industry.