MLine has a reputation for building tough, good-looking sled decks. When Mountain Sledder went looking for a new deck to haul around our toys, the manufacturer was high on our list.
One look at the MLine Pro Deck will tell you that it’s a quality product. The finish is excellent and it looks bomber. But this wouldn’t be much of a review if all we did was look at it. We wanted to find out how the deck holds up and performs under regular use. So we spent three years hauling sleds and all kinds of other stuff around with it.
The #1 thing that really stands out with this unit is how good it looks after three seasons of hard use. This thing is built as solid as they come. It’s going to last, and you will definitely be switching this deck from truck to truck.
TOP 3 mountain snowmobiles for beginners.
Key Features and Design
Every aspect of the loading ramp is well thought-out. It’s a one-piece telescopic ramp that extends 10′ for a good loading angle, even on big trucks. There’s no need to mess around with coupling two separate pieces, like the ramps offered by some other manufacturers.
The ramp is decked with superglides for durability and control when loading, and has bumpers at crucial points so that your carbides won’t catch and damage the deck or ramp.
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Ramp Assist Bar
Under the deck-below the ramp storage-is a dropped cross-member which can be pulled out. MLine calls this their Ramp Assist Bar. It really helps when you are manipulating the ramp by yourself. The bar makes it easier to hook up your ramp and move it around. It also helps prevent the ramp from accidentally dropping and slamming into your tailgate.
Tie-Down Points and Versatility
Let’s talk a bit about extra tie-down points. Sometimes you want to grab some lumber or some other item that requires the truck, but you don’t want to pull your deck off to do it. The Pro Deck has three tie-down points on the headache rack, five on the decking itself, and four on each side rail.
I have also been able to try the platform in other situations over the years and it’s not only for transporting snowmobiles. I’ve hauled construction materials, motorcycles, moved furniture, you name it. You can really use it year round and that’s what I like about this deck with its anchors everywhere.
Retractable Sides
On some sled decks, pulling out the retractable sides is a three-man job; they tend to stick and bind after time when the poly-coating starts to wear out. Some manufacturers use round tubing for the retractable sides, but the round tubes have a very small surface area to make contact, resulting in premature wear on the poly-coating. And bare aluminum doesn’t slide very well on aluminum.
When the sides are pushed in, they do not stick out beyond the cab of the truck. This gives your setup a tidy, streamlined profile.
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Headache Rack
The headache rack on the Mline deck is bomber! On some decks the rack will stop you from driving your sled through the rear window by accident for sure, but you might wonder about its strength in an accident. Not with this deck.
Maintenance and Adjustability
Another thing I liked about the deck is that before the snowmobile season, I changed my truck and the ergonomics of the box is different from my old version. The advantage of the Marlon, which I didn’t know, is that the legs are fixed on superglides. It is therefore possible to slide them to put them in the desired place in the box of the truck. Also, with the adjustable leg brackets, you can adjust the height of the deck, because the box of my new truck had a good 3 inches difference with the old one. This is really something that sets the Marlon apart from the competition. A truly custom fit.
As for maintenance, I put some grease in the extension slides and the teflon is as good as it was at the beginning. All the mechanisms are also in good condition.
Weight and Installation
It’s heavy. The MLine Pro Deck is built to last, but you will need two men and a few kids to lift this deck in-and-out of your truck each season. Good thing it’s a job that only needs to be done twice a year.
Minor Issues
Although the light under the deck is an incredibly handy feature, the switch placement on ours is difficult to reach. On our F-350, the 5th-wheel receptacle is located directly in-front of the rear driver’s side leg on the MLine sled deck. This may be different on other trucks, but we had to plug in the deck before final positioning of the deck and really crank over the wire as it came out of the receptacle.
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Who would have ever thought that there could be such a thing as too much light? Well, the big light bar option that came on the headache rack looks cool but is a bit of overkill. It certainly lights up the night, but its brightness and location will blind you when loading up in the dark.
Real-World Advantages
For the snowmobile transport, it did a great job once again. I experienced it a few more times when I went on narrow logging roads with other colleagues who had trailers, when there was an accumulation on the ground. They had a hard time finding a place to turn without getting stuck in the snow, while I could turn anywhere. It’s really advantageous in these conditions, and there’s a reason why the popularity of truck decks is on the rise in the off-trail community.
Value for Money
MLine products are in the higher end of the cost spectrum but this is one of those cases where you get what you pay for. A sled deck is arguably the most versatile option for getting your sled to a trailhead. But loading and unloading can be a challenge the first few times.
Final Verdict
Another trip around the sun ends with my truck deck. After 2 years of use, I was able to put the deck to all kinds of tests and it allowed me to see the durability of the product. Without hesitation, it easily passes the test. Its 100% aluminum design is practically indestructible. It is in the same condition as when I got it.
The Marlon is known as a top of the line truck deck and that’s really what I’ve noticed since I got it. I’m already looking forward to using it another year to report my findings next year.