My King Expedition front lift is worn out on my 2013 Tacoma. I am prepping for a trip to the Dempster Highway and oil sands in Canada's North, in addition to the normal parks and stuff, and then on to Prudhoe Bay in Alaska. I was hoping to go South after that to Chile, but that seems unsafe right now (cartel violence in Mexico, and instability all over in general after Venezuela), and is a different topic for a different sub-forum.
I was thinking Marlin Crawler for my refresh, as I really need/want a better steering rack along with good articulation and general travel performance. My rig is currently set up more for Rock Crawling with King Expedition components, and steering feedback is a bit hard on my hands for longer drives. With my tires and higher steering force stress levels, I am also concerned about losing my steering rack in an inconvenient place on the road, as it is at 150,000 miles
The All-Pro setup is being recommended to me and is priced similarly, so a viable financial alternative. The new front-end structure looks promising. There seems to be a lot of All-Pro hate in general, but I don't know the history ...
Both front-end replacements will have the Land Cruiser 200 steering rack, which is a big plus for me.
So, given a budget that accommodates either the Marlin Crawler or All-Pro with its larger labor bill and lower overall parts cost, both seem to have a similar total installed cost. Why would members here choose one kit over the other, or something else of similar capability and quality?
Worth noting, my Tacoma is currently on a Dana 60 extended rear axle with E-diff and an ARB air locker on the factory front with 4.88 gears and 35" tires. It isn't going back to MOAB anytime soon. If one kit is easier to field repair with minimal support, that is an important data point for me as well. I don't require hardcore rock crawling capabilities, but I do want to maintain ground clearance to drive over larger obstacles within reason without gaining an excessively high center of gravity for off-camber situations. I will see loose sand, some mud and snow, occasional ice, and similar challenges as I travel North, Central, and South America, or maybe just North America, and maybe Australia, to avoid current troubles South of the USA in my part of the world (Texas-based
)
TIA,
Sid
I was thinking Marlin Crawler for my refresh, as I really need/want a better steering rack along with good articulation and general travel performance. My rig is currently set up more for Rock Crawling with King Expedition components, and steering feedback is a bit hard on my hands for longer drives. With my tires and higher steering force stress levels, I am also concerned about losing my steering rack in an inconvenient place on the road, as it is at 150,000 miles
The All-Pro setup is being recommended to me and is priced similarly, so a viable financial alternative. The new front-end structure looks promising. There seems to be a lot of All-Pro hate in general, but I don't know the history ...
Both front-end replacements will have the Land Cruiser 200 steering rack, which is a big plus for me.
So, given a budget that accommodates either the Marlin Crawler or All-Pro with its larger labor bill and lower overall parts cost, both seem to have a similar total installed cost. Why would members here choose one kit over the other, or something else of similar capability and quality?
Worth noting, my Tacoma is currently on a Dana 60 extended rear axle with E-diff and an ARB air locker on the factory front with 4.88 gears and 35" tires. It isn't going back to MOAB anytime soon. If one kit is easier to field repair with minimal support, that is an important data point for me as well. I don't require hardcore rock crawling capabilities, but I do want to maintain ground clearance to drive over larger obstacles within reason without gaining an excessively high center of gravity for off-camber situations. I will see loose sand, some mud and snow, occasional ice, and similar challenges as I travel North, Central, and South America, or maybe just North America, and maybe Australia, to avoid current troubles South of the USA in my part of the world (Texas-based
)TIA,
Sid
