Why aren’t there high clearance lower A-arms?

Why aren’t any of the suspension companies making high clearance lower a-arms? Marlin has the one prototype and the talk, but we all know it will be at least 3 more years until limited runs are produced. With the number of UTV suspension manufacturers producing them and the fact that most of the IFS Ultra 4 cars run them, it only seems to make sense that we’d see companies making them for IFS trucks. TC and AllPro have been in the Toyota off-road and rock crawling game for years...

 

I would say there are multiple parts to this answer.
1) UTV world is much more competitive with many many more units sold. You need any kind of advantage possible to sell your product. Also the units are sold all over the county, not just sold in the southwest, where playing in the dirt is much more than just go fast stuff.
2) High clearance arms are more for crawling than go fast applications (although we do occasionally slam into a rock with an a-arm at speed), and non-go fast applications for LT is a relatively new thing. In go fast situations we do not worry about arm clearance as the ground clearance of the frame (subframe) at full bump is a much more crucial aspect to going fast (and not breaking your back). Real go fast applications need portals to keep the frame out of the dirt at bump.

I could see a company like Total Chaos releasing high clearance a-arms as a way to keep the innovation/excitement for their products going as they appeal to a much broader aspect of the market. However the go fast specific companies probably will stick to current trends to keep unsprung weight down, maintain optimal damping rates and work with shock packaging constraints.

 

I totally get it from the go fast standpoint, but it seems like half the guys with long travel and probably 75% of the guys with midtravel are doing more rock crawling/trail/expo driving where the clearance would be beneficial. Plus, it’s not like upgrading IFS is a new thing for crawlers, I mean Toyota Trails has been talking about rock crawling ifs since 06.

 

I agree about wheeling IFS trucks, I remember rock crawling and talking about rock crawling IFS Toyota's since the 90's... people are going to wheel whatever they have access to. Putting LT on crawlers is not new either, however the idea of bolting on a LT kit was just starting to gain acceptance as a viable option for 4wd travel before the overlander/expo popularity came about. The overlander/expo era is mostly filled with people who are looking for bolt on solutions (no disrespect meant, just pointing out that they represent the mass market) providing a surge of popularity in bolt on LT applications.

As for the statement: "half the guys with long travel and probably 75% of the guys with midtravel are doing more rock crawling/trail/expo driving", I would emphasize the stock lower arm (I hate the term "mid-travel", argument for another time) guys as being more like 99% of the market is expo/crawling. I would disagree with LT numbers though. I believe that the majority (90%) intend to use their trucks in some form of off-road, but never actually leave the mall parking lot.

Its all good though, people should spend their own money however they want. Just my opinion why companies that are geared more toward racers and going fast don't bother, however a company like Total Chaos whom touches both the performance side and the mass market side could benefit from the high clearance arms.... Good questions though, made me think about the market as a whole I would definitely conclude that there is a gap in the market for a company like TC or similar to come out with a high clearance stock length lower arm.

 

The real constraint is up-travel and shock length. Unless you build custom shock towers, you can’t build more clearance into the arm and use all of the shock stroke, since adding in clearance shrinks the dimension from lower shock mount to upper shock mount.

 

BigMike from Marlin Crawler here. I am new to IFS and have been enjoying designing my first Long Travel system. I think the answer boils down to practicality, as it's far easier, less complicated, and costs waaay less to make a traditional arm. As for the UTV world, they have so much less parts involved, far less loads and stresses to worry about, and overall are just so much easier to manufacture parts for. Also, there are a few usability issues perhaps not obvious at first with high clearance LCA such as where the heck does one place their floor jack for simple maintenance. Due to the sloped arm design, you can no longer jack up one front tire; You must lift the vehicle from the center.

Thank you for mentioning our up-and-coming RCLT Kit, which not only provides more ground clearance, but also moves the front axle forward 2-inches for greatly improved approach angles. It has been a luxury doing something new/different and helps avoid stepping on the toes of our industry friends (such as TC). We are moving in a completely different direction where there is ZERO competition to meet the needs for the Rock Crawler and by extension basic trail riding, which is why we applied for a US patent. As we all know the desert race LT aftermarket is well established and saturated with a lot of blood in the water. Making LT specifically for Rock Crawling, as your question demonstrates, is a blue ocean decision and allows us to enter the IFS market while steering clear of existing LT companies.

As for production, I just released updated details on my second prototype installed onto my Tacoma two weeks ago (that has 40" tires & Triple transfer cases). We are on track for a summer release of our all-out Heavy Duty kit, however our Standard kit won't be out until most likely this winter. This new info just posted may be found here: RCLT HD V2.0 Prototype finished & installed, (Page 15).

I am convinced that providing features tailored around Rock Crawling helps the general user / weekend warrior due to the extreme strength requirements Rock Crawling demands by things such as...

• Never having your steering fail for the rest of your life, and
• Able to fit up to 37" tires without cutting your cab body mounts

...and am VERY excited that Marlin Crawler is the one to finally push the market in this direction

Regards,
BigMike

Click an image to view more about our V2.0 prototype...

 

The @TOTAL CHAOS Lowers are higher clearance than anything else out there right now, that I am aware of
You need to get the race Kit though.
If you look at the TC kit, the lower begins to climb up right after the shock mount. I imagine that is to allow for a longer shock.

I am sure the Marlin kit is great for rock crawling, but I rather have a chromoly TC lower that works for everything and doesn't sacrifice travel.

 

What all does your patent cover on your suspension and/or steering if you dont mind me asking? Only reason is your upright is almost an exact copy of mine.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/dirt-designs-05-taco-4wd-race-kit.284268/

 

Oof haha caught love your stuff Steve!

 

Marlin Crawler with their RCLT kit offers the best LCA clearance ive seen out there

 

Ya... but it will never be available, so it's kind of a moot point.