Trail-Gear started with the frustrations of an ordinary Toyota wheeler back in 2004.
Matt Messer, our founder and CEO, was ready to put high steer on his 1985 Pickup rock crawler. Back then, there weren’t many companies that made aftermarket parts for Toyota. After paying a lot of money and waiting 3 months, he finally received his high steer kit. Matt was a seasoned engineer and knew how things were made. Looking over the parts he received, he knew that they shouldn’t cost that much or take that long to make. That was the first time he imagined the vision: an Off-Road supply company that specialized in tough, hardcore rock crawling parts, always kept them in stock, and sold them at a fair price.
The next year, the company that Matt worked for was bought out by a bigger company. The bigger company closed the Fresno factory and moved the equipment and tools to their own factory. Needing to find a job to support his growing family, Matt prayed on the matter, and soon the answer came to him: make your vision a reality.
In December of 2005, Trail-Gear was founded.
At first, it was just Matt and a handful of simple parts: wheel spacers, high steer kits, crossmembers, leaf springs, knuckle service kits, weld-on tube sliders, & shackle kits.
Matt worked hard to get the word out, and soon he needed help. He hired his first employee to help with packaging and shipping. As word spread about the tiny company that kept stock of tough rock crawling parts and sold them at a great price, Matt was able to hire more help and an engineer to help him design more parts.
As the years went by, Trail-Gear worked on progressively more complex parts. Our IFS eliminator kits and Classic lift kits were soon seen on the trails. Every part and kit was designed in the same way: wheel it hard at the Hammers (Johnson Valley, California) until it breaks, then figure out how to make it stronger. Transfer cases gears, Crawl Boxes, T-case doublers, and Six-Shooter knuckles quickly followed. Trail-Gear soon became the go-to source for hardcore Toyota wheelers, crawlers, and racers.
In 2010, Trail-Gear released the Rock Assault Toyota axles. We were the first company besides Toyota to make solid axle knuckle balls, so our axles were compatible with stock Toyota running gear. Wheelers with IFS Pickups & 4Runners no longer had to scrounge for old Toyota solid axles or Dana 44 axles. Eventually, Trail-Gear made upgraded versions of Toyota axle parts, so you could now build up a solid axle swapped Pickup or 4Runner without ever having to visit a junkyard.
Steering wasn’t ignored. We made Toyota engine-specific power-steering upgrade kits that were strong, reliable, and designed so the average wheeler could install them over a weekend. Full-hydro kits followed next. Paired with our solid aluminum Creeper Lock beadlock wheels, Toyota wheelers now had the capability to put almost any size tire on a Toyota crawler and have the power to turn them easily.
In 2011, Trail-Gear took notice of the emerging trend of first-gen Tacoma wheeling. We became the first company to offer a complete kit for solid-axle swapping the Tacoma and lifting the rear. The Tacoma SAS kit became the industry benchmark for Tacoma rock crawling.
In 2014, Trail-Gear acquired Longfield Super Axles after the untimely death of Bobby Long. The world’s strongest axles were a natural fit for the company that made the world’s strongest Toyota rock crawling suspension kits, and we were able to expand Longfield into the Suzuki & Nissan Patrol communities.
2016 saw us acquiring Low Range Off-Road. Their comprehensive selection of Suzuki parts and kits greatly expanded our offerings for the Samurai rock crawling community.
We were fortunate to bring All-Pro Off-Road into the Trail-Gear family in 2018. All-Pro founded Toyota rock crawling and was the inspiration for many of our own products. With the addition of All-Pro, the Trail-Gear Family of Companies became increasingly recognized as the world’s leading Toyota rock crawling company.
Late 2019 brought Wheeler’s Off-Road to us as the world grappled with the beginnings of the pandemic. As more and more people were subject to stay-at-home orders, the addition of Wheeler’s Superbump technology and suspension lineup were a welcome addition at a time when Toyota off-road enthusiasts had nothing to do except work on their rigs. The increase in orders challenged our team and our supply chain but drove us to improve our efficiency and scalability.
The world and the Toyota wheeling community have definitely changed over the last 20 years. However, during all that time one thing hasn't changed: Trail-Gear’s approach to making products. Make it stronger, wheel it in the toughest terrain, find out where it breaks. Use that knowledge to make it even stronger. Use the best materials. Keep it in stock and ship it out the next day. We haven’t always been perfect, but our commitment to Matt’s original philosophy has never wavered.
We invite you to celebrate our 20th anniversary with us, and we look forward to serving our customers for the next 20 years and beyond.
