Trail Gear Trunnion Eliminator Kit

[Slowerthanu]

I find it funny that most people here are judging these items SOLELY based on the fact that it says Trail Gear on it.

If Marlin or Slee marketed this item everyone would be jumping up and down at how awesome they are.

I doubt any of the naysayers have actually run them.

After countless egg shaped Koyos on a properly set up front end (using factory book and the factory SST that I own) I decided to throw these in with my 6 shooters (which were of excellent quality BTW).

Guess what, they work and they work well, they are a bit tougher to setup and I would not recommend them for a daily driver (my rig rides a trailer to most trails save for the ones 5 minutes from my driveway). Over at that other website in the mini truck section, there are a few retailers that have put 8-10000 road and trail miles on their kits running 37 inch tires and up. Mini truck guys beat the ever loving hell out of their trucks. Guess what, no explosions and minimal wear (to the coating, no grooving or metal loss).

I will continue to run Koyos on my FJ62 with 33 inch tires because they work very well in that situation (mostly road, some mild trails).

People shouldn't guess or form an opinion because they assume something will fail, that only muddies the water.

Trail-Gear Trunnion bearing Elim kit install - Pirate4x4.Com These are people running the kit, not much negative to say and a lot of praise actually.

Dan

 

[cody c]

They do look good, they are a couple bucks however. I am interested in Marks idea about using brass for the race, I would like to hear how they'd hold up first though.

Was there a link on how to set up your races properly with the shims? It sounds like you add or remove the shims till you get 10-15 pounds deflection on a fish scale before they will rotate when the caps are tightened down? And at which point do you connect the fish scale?

 

[elripster]

My 2 cents.

Bushing wear and load capability is a function of the load AND the speed at which the loaded part is rotating. Bronze bearings (their technical name) have natural lubricity so even if they run out of grease they will last well beyond what many bearings will.

Steering moves very slowly in the world rotating parts. Bushings can often withstand more load under very low rotating speed condition than can bearing which can Brinell their races.

My point is, don't discount the product because it's not a good replacement for a high rotating speed high load application such as a wheel bearing. These things can work quite well in situations where high load/low rotating speeds are the norm.

Frank

 

[cruiserfj45]

I can say I have run there springs before on my 2nd 4Runner and when the rear set 3' shorter than the front I went to them and asked why? They wanted nothing to do with me. There "warranty" and customer service is piss poor as well as there poorly monitored quality control standards. The price of quality always exceeds the low bid.

 

[TS888]

I find it funny that most people here are judging these items SOLELY based on the fact that it says Trail Gear on it.

If Marlin or Slee marketed this item everyone would be jumping up and down at how awesome they are.

I doubt any of the naysayers have actually run them.

After countless egg shaped Koyos on a properly set up front end (using factory book and the factory SST that I own) I decided to throw these in with my 6 shooters (which were of excellent quality BTW).

Guess what, they work and they work well, they are a bit tougher to setup and I would not recommend them for a daily driver (my rig rides a trailer to most trails save for the ones 5 minutes from my driveway). Over at that other website in the mini truck section, there are a few retailers that have put 8-10000 road and trail miles on their kits running 37 inch tires and up. Mini truck guys beat the ever loving hell out of their trucks. Guess what, no explosions and minimal wear (to the coating, no grooving or metal loss).

I will continue to run Koyos on my FJ62 with 33 inch tires because they work very well in that situation (mostly road, some mild trails).

People shouldn't guess or form an opinion because they assume something will fail, that only muddies the water.

Trail-Gear Trunnion bearing Elim kit install - Pirate4x4.Com These are people running the kit, not much negative to say and a lot of praise actually.

Dan

Dan, your point is well taken -- for exclusive trail use, these are probably fine. For road use, I'll stick with bearings. If I was looking for an upgrade, I'd go with the oversize Marlin bearings, because my daily driver truck will always see more roads than trails.

Regards bronze bushings -- yes, they're unlikely to break or seize, but they'll also wear much faster if not properly and regularly lubed.

Trail Gear doesn't say their kit is off-road only, but they do position it as a product for hard core wheeling. In all likelihood, most people who buy it are not going to put it on a daily driver.

 

[cody c]

I can say I have run there springs before on my 2nd 4Runner and when the rear set 3' shorter than the front I went to them and asked why? They wanted nothing to do with me. There "warranty" and customer service is piss poor as well as there poorly monitored quality control standards. The price of quality always exceeds the low bid.

Dan, your point is well taken -- for exclusive trail use, these are probably fine. For road use, I'll stick with bearings. If I was looking for an upgrade, I'd go with the oversize Marlin bearings, because my daily driver truck will always see more roads than trails.

Regards bronze bushings -- yes, they're unlikely to break or seize, but they'll also wear much faster if not properly and regularly lubed.

Trail Gear doesn't say their kit is off-road only, but they do position it as a product for hard core wheeling. In all likelihood, most people who buy it are not going to put it on a daily driver.

Yes, trail gear does have a reputation that reflects their customer service. But I have also seen them take care of things really quickly when posted on their forum. Your issues may have been solved in minutes if you post them there as it is in the view of their consumers. Not that its my intention to defend them, but you might have more luck posting on their forum. I think weve heard stories of Marlins customer service on this forum as well.

I wouldnt really buy leaf springs or parts that marlin or other manufacturers makes from TG, due to comparing the other vendors that bring so much to the offroad community. However...

Marlin doesnt make trunion bearing eliminators, 6 shooter knuckles, and the seals that TG make look superior to others on the market. In other words they are a sole source for some parts, so like them or not, they are the only option for some products which regardless of where they are made they are very competitively priced. We can argue china vs. N.A. made products all day and not really get anywhere, especially when there isnt locally made equivalents.

I just got a set of 6 shooters in the mail and a set of their knuckle ball wiper seals. I woulda liked to have the money for the trunion eliminator, but Ill have to save up my change I guess. Though, it will be for a DD so I may go with the marlin product.

 

[Slowerthanu]

Dan, your point is well taken -- for exclusive trail use, these are probably fine. For road use, I'll stick with bearings. If I was looking for an upgrade, I'd go with the oversize Marlin bearings, because my daily driver truck will always see more roads than trails.

Regards bronze bushings -- yes, they're unlikely to break or seize, but they'll also wear much faster if not properly and regularly lubed.

Trail Gear doesn't say their kit is off-road only, but they do position it as a product for hard core wheeling. In all likelihood, most people who buy it are not going to put it on a daily driver.

Well, TG has covered their ass well on this subject under policies

"Product Application

Rock crawling and off-road driving are inherently dangerous activities. Some modifications will adversely affect the on-road handling characteristics of your vehicle. All products sold by Trail-Gear, Inc. are sold for off road use only. Any other use or application is the responsibility of the purchaser and/or user. Some modifications and installation of certain aftermarket parts may under certain circumstances void your original dealer warranty. Modification of your vehicle may create dangerous conditions which could cause serious bodily injury or death. Buyers and users of these products hereby expressly assume all risks associated with any such modifications and use. Trail-Gear, Inc strongly recommends that all products only be installed by trained professionals."

I will be the bsolute first to come in here and say I was wrong if these catastrophically fail on me.

 

[cruiserfj45]

And just a heads up you will not find very much bad publicity about trail gear on Pirate4x4 because they pay big advertising bucks and the mods will delete anything that sheds bad light on them. When I had my spring issue my entire thread was deleted. I have had many posts deleted by there mods "camo" regarding them before.

 

[cody c]

Well, TG has covered their ass well on this subject under policies

"Product Application

Rock crawling and off-road driving are inherently dangerous activities. Some modifications will adversely affect the on-road handling characteristics of your vehicle. All products sold by Trail-Gear, Inc. are sold for off road use only. Any other use or application is the responsibility of the purchaser and/or user. Some modifications and installation of certain aftermarket parts may under certain circumstances void your original dealer warranty. Modification of your vehicle may create dangerous conditions which could cause serious bodily injury or death. Buyers and users of these products hereby expressly assume all risks associated with any such modifications and use. Trail-Gear, Inc strongly recommends that all products only be installed by trained professionals."

I will be the bsolute first to come in here and say I was wrong if these catastrophically fail on me.

This seems to be just about liability. Id bet they have no interest in spending money on testing to see the parts get some sort of DOT approval.

Its like when we modify or alter anything related to suspension or braking, you overbuild it beyond what was there to begin with or you would be assuming some liability.

 

[cody c]

And just a heads up you will not find very much bad publicity about trail gear on Pirate4x4 because they pay big advertising bucks and the mods will delete anything that sheds bad light on them. When I had my spring issue my entire thread was deleted. I have had many posts deleted by there mods "camo" regarding them before.

woh, thats good to know.

Sole source items only for TG with that kind of "customer service".
Having pirate delete threads and posts regarding warranty says alot about them.

If I ever had that kind of issue I would let them know Ill be posting about it on every other off road forum as well.

 

[TS888]

Forums are generally privately owned and moderated, and advertising pays the costs of hosting and maintenance. Kicking sand in the face of the people who pay the forum's bills might feel good, but the moderator has every right to delete those posts.

Post your complaints on Citysearch, or with the BBB.