Author Topic: Indebted to Marlin!! (Read 6471 times)

BlingTaco · « **on:** Jul 21, 2005, 09:50:09 AM »

Ok peeps, this may be a bit of a long post, but read it....trust me. Note: please don't take this with the expectation that it's ok to call vendors on off days or expect after hours work.....this is just a very high 2 thumbs up for a rare instance and I'd like peeps to have an additional view of Marlin

In an industry full of super cool, helpful, and caring people, always ready to help out and continue having fun with what we do with our junk, I still find it amazing to see certain individuals RISE way above the rest with uninhibited, selfless acts of giving! As everyone knows, Marlin is the Coolest...but lets take it a step further for a minute....

I drove over 500 miles to spend a week of wheelin on the Rubicon, only to find out at AJ's shop Bentup that my crawler had a blown roller bearing....realizing this at 3pm on a Saturday, frantic to figure something out, and having to pick up my girlfriend at the airport the next day, I felt completely screwed

, and faced making the trip back home, no wheelin, and a disappointment to my girlfriend who'd never been wheelin before.

I had since lost Marlin's personal number from a year ago when he offered to put me up at his house before we were to go on the Dusy run

.....I couldn't find the part anywhere and would have been tuesday or wednesday before I got on the trail....yada yada......a buddy gave me a number that he believed was Marlin's at the last minute.....amazingly, it was right, and got Marlin on the first ring....told him the situation, and he REFUSED to make me wait til monday for the part....in fact, told me to meet him the following morning at 8am....ON A SUNDAY....to replace the part and get on my way to keep wheelin. He was very apologetic about not having a place for me to stay (as if it weren't enough he was already totally hooking me up coming in on sunday)

......Met up with Marlin the next day....He demanded we do a full rebuild, instead of just replace the faulty bearing, because he wanted my crawl box to be in perfect shape (should I complain about that!) My original installation included some wrong bolts....so long story short, Marlin was Marlin and he put the box in tip top shape, we put it in the truck, he solved a few other issues on my tranny for me....and when I thought we were finished, and I'd pay him for his hard work, he asked what I was doing with my hubs on my front axle (I'd sheared off all the bolts on both warn hubs...I'd planned on drilling out the broken bolts, and replacing the hubs by the campfire whenever I got up to Loon lake)....Marlin, of course, said unacceptable and the rig would leave his shop trail ready!....so we continued working until the rig was ready to go......Both Marlin and I thought we'd work on the rig for about an hour or so, and we ended up about 8 hours later all done and ready to go....after a broken easy out, 2 drill bits, a bunch of thread inserts, and the purchase of 6 drain plugs for 30 bux, with much gratitude, I asked Marlin for the damage bill (knowing the work was 1) probably very expensive, 2) well worth it, and 3) was more than willing to pay any price he asked................................Marlin said, "well, you can just owe me...I told ya yesterday I'd help ya and friends help eachother".

Marlin, you never cease to amaze me.....you are without a doubt, by far, the most selfless, giving person I've ever met, and its a priviledge to know you, let alone call you my friend. You are an example to all, and the ideal to our hobby.

Marlin, my friend, I owe you!

MiniSimp · « **Reply #1 on:** Jul 21, 2005, 10:01:38 AM »

Too cool!

decyfer · « **Reply #2 on:** Jul 21, 2005, 10:18:04 AM »

i wish i lived closer, just so i could stop by the shop and meet the guy.

Volcom · « **Reply #3 on:** Jul 21, 2005, 12:18:55 PM »

And folks, that's why I don't mind sending my hard earned money to Marlin Crawler

I can't wait to order up a t-case adaptor from these guys. I talk about Marlin Crawler all the time when explaining what I'm going to do with the truck in terms of building it up. All my Jeep buddies wish they could double their t-cases up

Thanks for running such a great company

crawlerdan · « **Reply #4 on:** Jul 21, 2005, 12:26:59 PM »

i had a similar experiance with marlin 18 months ago, he is with out a doubt why i continue to purchase form the compant, would allpro do that? any other compant for that matter? no. props to marlin for bein the man!

FIREBALL · « **Reply #5 on:** Jul 21, 2005, 01:21:03 PM »

Sat down with Marlin last Friday night when he came by my place on his (out of the) way to the coast. We were looking at pictures of when he and his wife first started dating, when we started talking about how long we'd known each other. Wow, 10 years now. What a great friend he's been.
In those 10 years, i've now lost count how many times i've heard stories like this one, or been one of these stories, or had the privledge of being part of one of these stories.
Marlin is truly a rare breed, and so is his whole family, including his emplyees. Some of my favorite memories is sitting around the camp fire just listing to his stories, and his endless wealth toyota knowledge.

Great post BT

wa4x4 · « **Reply #6 on:** Jul 21, 2005, 01:47:49 PM »

Hey Bling, Just remember to pay it forward for good karma. It always comes back to you. Cool story, Marlin sounds one of a kind! $Beer Chug\'n$

HFCRAOffroading · « **Reply #7 on:** Jul 21, 2005, 03:35:11 PM »

The EXACT reason 90% of my build has Marlin parts!!

Why any one would buy somewhere else is beyond me!

to Marlin

*FFC* · « **Reply #8 on:** Jul 21, 2005, 06:30:30 PM »

Quote from: wa4x4 on Jul 21, 2005, 01:47:49 PM

Just remember to pay it forward for good karma. It always comes back to you.

Very true

CruzrDave · « **Reply #9 on:** Jul 21, 2005, 07:33:35 PM »

Marlin is a great guy but he is also a great boss.

CTENG in KS · « **Reply #10 on:** Jul 21, 2005, 07:46:34 PM »

Quote from: HFCRAOffroading on Jul 21, 2005, 03:35:11 PM

The EXACT reason 90% of my build has Marlin parts!!

Why any one would buy somewhere else is beyond me!

to Marlin

Amen to that, I'm a little far away to stop by and meet the legend, but I know quality, and everything I heard was good, and now that I have his products in hand and on my truck, I will buy everything I can from him.

BlingTaco · « **Reply #11 on:** Jul 21, 2005, 08:12:56 PM »

Quote from: wa4x4 on Jul 21, 2005, 01:47:49 PM

Hey Bling, Just remember to pay it forward for good karma. It always comes back to you. Cool story, Marlin sounds one of a kind! $Beer Chug\'n$

For sure..........there is a reason I carry an extra 200-300 lbs in tools and parts....I know I break

but in my experience, more of my parts and tools go to fellow wheelers and that's totally cool in my opinion. Anyone ever see's the blingtaco rollin down the trail, I will always be there to help out in anyway I can, if not complete the job if I can.....we all should take a lesson from Marlin in having that kind of attitude!!

Marlin · « **Reply #12 on:** Jul 21, 2005, 11:05:46 PM »

When I started Marlin Crawler in '96, my main objective was to get respect for Toyota trucks.
And, being an auto mechanic and automotive machinist, it just seemed right, with a long bed pickup, to haul a few extra parts and lend a helping hand to others to further my Crawler business.

Being a small shop and without an advertising budget, I soon found myself very busy helping anyone on the trail.
Unfortunately through the years, my business had declined due to my poor business desicions, lack of operating capitial, and competion in the market place.

I was tired and worn out and no longer had the money or time to make the weekend runs. I was working seven days a week without any real direction or vision for my company.

Because Rocky, Dave, Tim, and Mike stuck it out and put up with me, my business continued to exist.
Then with Andy [who moved from Hemet], Dean, and finally my business manager, Mr. Chris Geiger [who also moved from Hemet], along with CJ, Angelo, John, and Alex, the rest is history.

It was a pleasure to help Dan on a weekend without having to be financially reinbursed so I could pay the bills.
It brought back great memories when I used to help anyone on the trail and enjoyed helping people just to get the job done, not for the $$$.

Dan was very helpful and expressed concern because I refused to make a bill.
Dan is a first class guy and in time, I know he will pass on my kindness to others on the trail.
I regret that I did not have the time to run the con with him and the Tacoma boys.......

I also recall that on the trails in the past, I have done a lot more work and have not even gotten as much as a simple thank you.

Thanks to all for your kind words.

However, I trust that any one of you would have done the same thing if you had the same opportunity and attention to small details that I have had.

Marlin

iNfErNaL · « **Reply #13 on:** Jul 21, 2005, 11:40:27 PM »

Awesome stories guys...Not a lot of shop owners will do stuff like that,SPECIALLY on a day off.As most of you know,I own a Jeep,and dont have any Marlin Products on it,but I sport his

sticker.Reason being,(other than because I'm a member on here)is because I've heard from friends who have had personal experiences similar to the ones mentioned.I met Marlin @ Johnson Valley this year,and my impression from him was awesome.I had seen him pulled over sleeping the night before(actually,it was more like 4am),and stopped to take pictures of his truck and tow rig,and noticed movement in the truck after the flash,so I hurried out of there(didn't want to wake him,or the wife).Then,the next day I was talking to him,and he said"Oh,that was you?,I tryed to get up to say hi,but you had left".I thought he was a cool cat,and before I became a member on this board,I saw him like 2 or 3 times out on the trail,helping someone out...That's cool!.The very first time I saw Marlin's truck was about 9 years ago,when it used to read "Don't gear down,double up" on the side.(I think,I don't remember that well).

wa4x4 · « **Reply #14 on:** Jul 22, 2005, 12:14:07 AM »

See I have only made one purchase from marlin and the only reason I chose marlin over All Poo was because of the stories I have heard about marlin and what a stand-up guy he is. My dream is to someday have something like what marlin has now. I am taking classes at my local technical college and will have my ASE cert in 2 years. For as long as I have remembered I have wanted to open up an offroad shop and could see it in my head. A couple built trucks outside in the parking lot as advertising and an RTI ramp in the corner...Someday maybe...

HFCRAOffroading · « **Reply #15 on:** Jul 22, 2005, 01:05:59 AM »

The first part I bought from Marlin was my Crawl Box with the 4.7 gear. I talked to him on the phone for at least a half hour asking questions. It was my first major purchase for my Toyota. When my wife got home, I explained to her why I wanted to buy from Marlin instead of saving a 100to 200 bucks buying from some one else. She said, "I would like to talk to Marlin before we spend that kind of money."

Marlin was on the phone with her for at least another half hour explaining what I was buying. She was extremely impressed and told me to order the tcase. When I got done ordering, he told me straight up that it would be a few months and not to tear down my truck if I still wanted to wheel. After that few months, I called back, he told me that his gear sets were tied up in Customs and would be a little while longer. He then asked how the "Boss" was doing and if she was there so he could talk to her. She wasn't home at the time and he made me promise to tell her that the tcase was going to be late and he was very sorry!

When I started ordering parts for my build, Chris, Dean, and Dave were great with answering all of my questions and helping to make sure I was ordering the right parts. At one point, the Fab Shop found out that some of the things I ordered were not in the packaging. I called Marlin Crawler and explained to them that some parts were missing that I had ordered. No questions asked!! No, are you sure? The missing parts were shipped that afternoon!

I am glad that Marlin Crawler stuck it out through the hard times. Marlin, I sat them hard times out with you too!! When everyone was b!tching about how long it took to get your product, I just sat and waited knowing I was getting the best parts and service.

Keep up the OUTSTANDING work guys!!! I am proud to run your products!!

wa4x4 · « **Reply #16 on:** Jul 22, 2005, 01:11:55 AM »

Yeah I dont order a lot of things from the internet but I was very confident buying from marlin and his stuff got from california to northern washington 3 days after I ordered it and that was very cool. And they sent the extra sticker that I requested which was really cool of them.

mr4x42u · « **Reply #17 on:** Jul 22, 2005, 04:57:34 AM »

One more reason marlin is the man..And I was thanksful he was at the shop on a saturday just so i could pick up a bumber and a new craler adapter...Thanks for everything marlin

GRNTACO · « **Reply #18 on:** Jul 22, 2005, 12:44:32 PM »

It's great to see people like Marlin still exsist in the world.

4THEWKN · « **Reply #19 on:** Jul 22, 2005, 02:44:35 PM »

I got a Marlin story for ya. I just started working for Marlin and he was going out of town on a parts run to picking up t-cases & trans in UT & CO. And it seemed no one wanted to volunteer to go , so I say to myself "Self lets see if he will take us." So I ask and he is more than happy to have me along, but informs me that it's going to be a long trip. I'm thinking heck his got almost ten years on me it shouldn't be to bad. Well the first stop is Salt lake city UT. Were going to swap a trans real quick on a T100. We get to Salt Lake and the truck is in a gated community, so we have find somewere to change this tranny out. So after a little scouting trip we found an abandoned Kmart. So we slip around the back of this Kmart were the sun is shining to stay alittle warmer and proceed with the swap. Man you should of seen the looks we got from some of the consrution workers building apts. behind the Kmart. You could read their lips. "Joe those are some crazy !*^$#. Their changing that tranny out!!! We even had one guy come by and ask what the Power Tank did. So we button up this truck and head For Moab to meet Uncle George to pick-up some parts. While there we walk in to this 4x4 shop and there on the floor is biggest piston I've ever see. And whats the first words out of Marlins mouth. "Man I gotta have that." And I'm like YA Buddy that's sick. So deal is worked out and onto the trailer it goes. I'm thinking in myself " Man Gieger's gonna be pissed,this is going to be good!!". Oh I for got to mention we left two days ago and have about 2.5 hours of sleep in us. So the next stop is to Castle Valley UT. to fix a Toybox in a landcruiser. The owner was a really nice guy. We fix up this toybox in this guys shop and I think it was Marlin the notice this Chevy truck next to the shop and ask the guy about it. He says it has real low miles on it, and Marlin says he wants it. Now I was cool with the piston and all, but what the heck we buying this motor for. I'm thinking man we need to get some sleep. So we pull the motor and on to the trailer it goes. Next stop Grand Junction CO. Driving down a main street there some guy pulls up and ask "Hey you guys need sone Toyota parts?" We say yes. He says " Follow me"..... After that we are homeward bound. I finally start getting some sleep going down a mountain pass called the Grey Wolf when I wake up and look over at the speedo. Rub my eyes and realize we doing 87 MPH in a Tundra that is towing a car trailer thats over loaded by at least 2000lbs. Shake my head and go back to sleep thinking " Well at least I'll die in good company"......Dean

wa4x4 · « **Reply #20 on:** Jul 22, 2005, 03:47:21 PM »

These are some good stories!

mudmaster · « **Reply #21 on:** Jul 22, 2005, 04:03:25 PM »

I'll be ordering even more parts from Marlin now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So far speedy service with not a thing missing. Good job guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lowgeared · « **Reply #22 on:** Jul 22, 2005, 06:09:27 PM »

Marlin is the pimpest pimp of all pimps. He has always answered my questions I've posted. The shop has always came through with the parts I need. The ones I have heard complain aren't even real wheelers and have no patience. Remember, I'm the one with no patience for AOR, and if Marlin and gang can do it in half the time, I'll pay the extra money for the better product and follow up customer service. I may be in the San Jose area in the next few months picking up yet another project and may drive the little extra distance to meet the guys at the shop.

crashfab · « **Reply #23 on:** Jul 23, 2005, 12:25:57 AM »

Certainly some cool stories. Its been a # of years since I purchased anything from marlin for my own rig (noly toy part left is marlins gearset/crawlbox) but I had the great honor of meeting him at one of the marlin get-togethers on the con a few years back. He sure was a busy fella that day

But I do have a good story. A buddy of mine got his first toyota. It was somewhat setup and had the very first version of his crawl box(really long sucker, you couldn't miss it). In any case we are out playing when he looses all power to the wheels, something in the back portion of the trans to the t-case had failed. So I rip it out and tear it down to find the input splines gone on the t-case and the coupler from the doubler to the t-case also had whiped out splines. So my buddy calls marlin and explains what he has and I guess that version was known for that. So here is what marlin does. He sends a replacement coupler that he had laying around so we could get the rig back up and runing on one condition my buddy buys a new adapter(and I believe marlin said he would give it to him a half price). So we get the new coupler and I put the works back together with another t-case. Not more than 4-5 days later marlin calls my buddy and says he is shipping a new adpater---free of charge. What does that say about a persons integrety. Stand up guy

Rocksurfer · « **Reply #24 on:** Jul 23, 2005, 12:30:14 AM »

One of the members of my club is the founder of the Toyota 4Runner Jamboree and that's how I met Marlin. We were actually at TDS and were talking about Marlin's new double case, I was video taping Marlin walking next to his truck while it drove along by itself. This last year at the Tin Bender build up Marlin was under my truck checking out my 5 speed conversion and trust me I didn't tell him when, where or what my trans and tcase came out of but Marlin knew exactly what year and what month they were made. Since it was an early 84 it came out of he even knew it was truly made in 83. I was amazed he knew it right off the top of his head. Now I know you can determine the year and month of them by the numbers but not off the top of your head, the problem was, he was absolutly correct. I still think he was pulling my leg on the day and time my junk was built.

e_cliff · « **Reply #25 on:** Jul 23, 2005, 05:07:31 PM »

Quote from: BlingTaco on Jul 21, 2005, 09:50:09 AM

Ok peeps, this may be a bit of a long post, but read it....trust me. Note: please don't take this with the expectation that it's ok to call vendors on off days or expect after hours work.....this is just a very high 2 thumbs up for a rare instance and I'd like peeps to have an additional view of Marlin

In an industry full of super cool, helpful, and caring people, always ready to help out and continue having fun with what we do with our junk, I still find it amazing to see certain individuals RISE way above the rest with uninhibited, selfless acts of giving! As everyone knows, Marlin is the Coolest...but lets take it a step further for a minute....

I drove over 500 miles to spend a week of wheelin on the Rubicon, only to find out at AJ's shop Bentup that my crawler had a blown roller bearing....realizing this at 3pm on a Saturday, frantic to figure something out, and having to pick up my girlfriend at the airport the next day, I felt completely screwed , and faced making the trip back home, no wheelin, and a disappointment to my girlfriend who'd never been wheelin before. I had since lost Marlin's personal number from a year ago when he offered to put me up at his house before we were to go on the Dusy run .....I couldn't find the part anywhere and would have been tuesday or wednesday before I got on the trail....yada yada......a buddy gave me a number that he believed was Marlin's at the last minute.....amazingly, it was right, and got Marlin on the first ring....told him the situation, and he REFUSED to make me wait til monday for the part....in fact, told me to meet him the following morning at 8am....ON A SUNDAY....to replace the part and get on my way to keep wheelin. He was very apologetic about not having a place for me to stay (as if it weren't enough he was already totally hooking me up coming in on sunday) ......Met up with Marlin the next day....He demanded we do a full rebuild, instead of just replace the faulty bearing, because he wanted my crawl box to be in perfect shape (should I complain about that!) My original installation included some wrong bolts....so long story short, Marlin was Marlin and he put the box in tip top shape, we put it in the truck, he solved a few other issues on my tranny for me....and when I thought we were finished, and I'd pay him for his hard work, he asked what I was doing with my hubs on my front axle (I'd sheared off all the bolts on both warn hubs...I'd planned on drilling out the broken bolts, and replacing the hubs by the campfire whenever I got up to Loon lake)....Marlin, of course, said unacceptable and the rig would leave his shop trail ready!....so we continued working until the rig was ready to go......Both Marlin and I thought we'd work on the rig for about an hour or so, and we ended up about 8 hours later all done and ready to go....after a broken easy out, 2 drill bits, a bunch of thread inserts, and the purchase of 6 drain plugs for 30 bux, with much gratitude, I asked Marlin for the damage bill (knowing the work was 1) probably very expensive, 2) well worth it, and 3) was more than willing to pay any price he asked................................Marlin said, "well, you can just owe me...I told ya yesterday I'd help ya and friends help eachother".

Marlin, you never cease to amaze me.....you are without a doubt, by far, the most selfless, giving person I've ever met, and its a priviledge to know you, let alone call you my friend. You are an example to all, and the ideal to our hobby.

Marlin, my friend, I owe you!

yeah marlin is a stand up guy, i remeber the days when he had no days off, it good to be able to help.

and im glad you were able to get your truck up and going, i did offer to help you fix your t case, i had a good used needle bearing that came out of my adapterand most of the gastets, even for the taco case

, but that would have been temperary to get you home( no load on the gears in high range but ( everyone was not in a hurry) lol i hope you guys had fun,

cliff

88runner · « **Reply #26 on:** Jul 23, 2005, 05:17:51 PM »

One day, I'll drive the 3044 miles to fresno and meet the guys at MarlinCrawler, you can quote me on that!

for them

thirdgrader · « **Reply #27 on:** Jul 24, 2005, 09:01:55 AM »

Cool to hear that kind of thing. Thats why I'm a Marlin fan. Buy all my shiat, from him now too! Rock on Marlin!

BlingTaco [OP]

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