Marlin Crawler's New Rock Crawling Long Travel IFS Suspension System (#RCLT)

I too ended up going the JD fab route.

 

But I do hope MC gets things figured out. It’s unfortunate to see such a great company and pioneer in the Toyota rock crawling scene struggle with product development/ release issues. The taco box would be a solid alternative to an atlas.

 

I really don't know much about MC, but I wonder about employee turn over in this industry. Finding good people to produce quality parts consistently in a small business setting can't be easy. You can do the best R&D in the world, but without the infrastructure to get the product to market? Tough situation.
Not trying to let anyone off the hook for missing promised deadlines, just curious mostly.

 

You’re right about finding good employees. Most guys think they are getting into this industry to build trophy trucks and that’s simply not the case.

The other big issue is customer service/support. I was a utility consultant for a decade and worked with some very high profile clients so I understand the value in this. The reality is most guys are working on their trucks after hours and on the weekends which is why I make myself available during those times. The last thing I would want is to plan my Sunday around working on my truck only to get stuck with a simple question and no one to answer. There are a lot of very talented fabricators out there but if they don’t understand the importance of customer service and customer relationships the business will suffer greatly

 

Good point...a great product is not what makes a great business

 

Frankly I'm surprised Marlin Crawler hasn't gone under with the current leadership. Sad, because Marlin built such a legacy and to see it steadily decline in recent years has been nothing short of disappointing.

 

Now factor in having to live in Fresno on top of that. Just think about where most guys linked to these kinds of jobs end up - beach and or cities next to off-road Mecca’s like Barstow or major cities.

 

guess he got tired of posting in here and just moved everything over to his thread about his truck.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-new-2016-tacoma.427850/page-53#post-24931459

 

This threads funny. I have been in this hobby since 2005 and marlin has always had god awefull customer service and support so this is no surprise. I remember the days of having to sit on hold for a few hours just to talk to someone.

 

There is a vendor/middle man in the 4Runner world that helped get our Thorley V8 headers and Y pipe done a few years ago. He has lost dozens of customers because of his lack of communication skills and missed dealines. He's not a fab guy, but poor customer relations = lost sales plain and simple.

 

PR is 90% of good business. No/Bad PR means no customers. The other 10% is having product that is in demand.

 

Lol I have been stalking this thread for a while since I have sold my truck and I’m glad I did t hold onto it waiting for this kit to come out. Sorry for all who are still waiting though.

crazy even the dirt lifestyle guy on YouTube bought a Tacoma and really wants this kit and he’s a Jeep guy. Crazy how they have sooooo much interest and people willing to drop crazy amounts of money on them and it seems like they are dragging their feet. Might have pre maturely announced this product to the world.

 

It will be available soon, or maybe sometime this year, or maybe next year, or the next year, ORRRRR??? WTF....

 

At least there have been some recent updates and a new YT video today. But we shall see.

 

Lolz

 

Yeah. This is the wrong thread for anything about this product. Go to his build thread

 

Looks like Big Mike is updating and answering questions on his own build thread about it. So I'd move over there if you want to know more.

 

Hello everyone! Have I got some incredibly long overdue updates for this thread. First, I'd like to post a preemptive TL;DR: Pre-orders are starting next week with the first kits planned to ship by late next month. This weekend I'll be sending a final update to those who have submitted to our RCLT HD webform. Pricing and remaining details: We only have one more item to figure out and will post info to our site next week before opening pre-ordering.

And second, I'd like to say how the patience and kindness of those still waiting for RCLT HD has been entirely undeserving and I am so very sorry for our broken promises. The backlash we've caused is justified; I'd do the same in other shoes. The biggest hold-ups have been the MarRack (minor) and the one-piece CNC billet lower section (major). My final/production designs were completed Jan 2020 with most P/Os fulfilled last April (literally thousands of parts collecting dust), issues with machinists really took flight, finally charmed by our third. Excuses don't matter anymore; I learned lessons in managing dependencies and the importance of Plan B's. Obviously the delay has cost our company opportunity and face, and negatively impacted other areas.

Nevertheless, we stayed with it and never gave up in finishing something no other company has done before, doing so even as an initial product offering into a new industry for us (IFS). We could have wet our toes with a run-of-the-mill UCA kit but went full YOLO straight out the gate. This was not easy. This was incredibly expensive. I clearly understand why this has never been accomplished before. We've experienced production hell before but this had many uncontrollable factors and was the most drawn-out and frustrating project I've ever been a part of. But we did it. We kept our head down. We hammered through. I am very grateful to be the one delivering this revolutionary product bringing Rock Crawling for the first time ever to the Toyota and Lexus IFS community!

As @Slashaar mentioned I've been pushing to get my build thread updated. This is because I've stated on FB and that I have completed the coolest and most innovative thing I've ever seen done to any daily driven Rock Crawler, and I can't post photos of the Production RCLT HD installed without exposing just what the hell I'm on about so I'm looking to finish updating my thread this weekend.

In closing, everything is green-lighted for the first time since I began this journey, so any unexpected delays from here will only be in terms of weeks rather than months. Hold on to your butts: We'll be taking orders for RCLT HD next week!

Regards,
BigMike

 

Here come recent highlights from my build thread:

Installed the Final Prototype for use at KOH (crossed the finish line in 10th place), Page 53 Reply #1,044








----
Displayed the Final Prototype on my Tacoma at KOH, Page 53 Reply #1,048





Shared a video from KOH

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD4SdVZwoDI

 

RCLT HD Final Prototype on display at CAL4WD Convention, Page 54 Reply #1,056




----
RCLT HD Final Prototype on display at the Adventure Expo, Page 54 Reply #1,067












----
My "HOLY GROUND CLEARANCE BATMAN" post where I compared RCLT HD + 40s to a SAS + 40s and discussed what RCLT HD can do that a SAS can't, Page 55 Reply #1,081



Shared a video from the 4Wheeler Adventure Expo, Page 55 Reply #1,083

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5TYTa9FJw0