Solid Axle Swap VS Marlin Crawler LT

As the title suggests, I'm really on the fence for doing some serious suspension mods to my '15 DCSB. I have always been a pretty hardcore crawler, but always come back to wanting a multi purpose rig. Right now my rig does well for what it is. Has Fox and OME suspension and 285's with full armor right now. I do use it for driving on all sorts of terrain, from pavement to mud and rocks. I'm dead set on 37-40 in tires and body mods don't bother me in the least. Weighing all options, I really think that a properly setup 1ton or fabricated housing SAS on a 3link front leaf rear is actually a cheaper route than the long travel IFS. I just like the idea of something "different" on harder than your average trails. Different isn't always better though.

 

If I were in your predicament I would do a 3 link rear and RCLT HD kit rollin on 37”s for sure. If seriously considering FSA then I’ll just build a TJ unlimited. Cheers dude!

 

@CGoss has a red truck, too and it’ll make you rethink all those options…

you can build until the sun don’t shine. Beat the piss out of what you have and see what your needs are. It won’t take long. Building is fun, too don’t get me wrong. It’s easy to get wrapped up in what people say you need vs what you actually figure out on your own. Just my two cents after going down a few wormholes of my own.

 

Thanks, but if i had the finances i would have a much different build. Budget and lack of downtime are what made my build how it is today.

The best thing for you to do would make a list of your goals for your truck and work to achieve them. Your goals will change as your progress with your truck.

Staying with IFS is extremely difficult when comparing it to the strength of a solid axle.
Steering is the biggest struggle with IFS, there are no good options that maintain mechanical link without moving the motor. And the commitment to full hydro is something not everyone can or wants.

But ive also never seen a well setup solid axle swap truck without completely cutting it to peices. Getting decent geometry and uptravel so that it doesnt feel like a SAS truck is difficult.

Ive calculated it out and it would be 20-30k in just parts for a solid axle build that i would want. Plus the downtime to save and build the truck. My IFS is cheap and easy to maintain.

 

I would have never thought you had budget or time constraints. I just thought you built super efficiently honestly haha it takes no skill to swipe a credit card, but it seems like you’ve tackled upgrades like steering that become immediately apparent after wheeling without going nuclear without justification. I wouldn’t say minimalist, but just damn efficient. I’m totes jelly.

As I dig more into SAS I’m finding all that to be true. The uptravel I’ve seen has been disappointing. I’m kinda at a crossroads with the truck and what I want. There are few Tacomas in my area that wheel hard so that leaves a crowd of crawlers and bouncers on 40+ tires. So hell even your crowd dictates a bit of the wheeling style and direction the truck goes, too I suppose.

 

Heres some more info on the marlin kit aswell.
Its a good kit, but it has its downsides. I wouldnt say its as strong as solid axle, as guys are already tearing apart the steering racks. Buts its a nice, purpose built rock crawling kit.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/rclt-hd-2-75-travel-numbers-and-notes.771723/