Saturday, July 11, 2015

My Vehicle History & why a Toyota?

      I began my off-road experience driving my Dad's 1986 Ford Bronco II around the local forest roads of Big Bear, CA.  When I moved to college, I moved with my car.  The first "off road" vehicle I owned was a 1998 Ford Escort.  I know, its not an off road vehicle, but I sure made it one.  




     Seriously though, after wheeling my Dad’s Bronco II and then my Escort on trails, I knew I needed a rock crawler.  My first 4x4 which was intended for that purpose was a 1987 Toyota 4Runner.  I did a straight-axle conversion (SAS) on that truck with the help of long time off road friend Tye J. and wheeled it for years.









     When my second child was born, my wife asked for a more family friendly off road rig so I changed into a 1998 Toyota 4Runner which I set up for longer family trips and expedition style trips with more distance and comfort in mind.





  A few years later, I missed rock crawling terribly and our family trips had not happened as envisioned.  In addition, our third child was born and after some discussion, I traded the 1998 4Runner for a 1995 4Runner which was built more for rock crawling with an SAS, lockers, and some other needed accessories.  In 2012, I added a full roll cage to my 1995 4Runner in addition to some other equipment in anticipation of the 2012 Crawl 4 Christ, which I was the organizer for, in Moab, UT.




  The project and the event were a huge success.  However, the last day of wheeling, after 2 successful trips already completed, tragedy struck.  My 4Runner rolled over when side hilling between trails.  No one still knows how or why the truck rolled at that location, but it was by the hand of God that we only rolled one complete revolution because there was much more mountains then we fell down and the only thing there to stop us was a small tree which the truck rolled over and broke off.  God stopped the roll, I have no doubt, but with my family all inside the truck, I was emotionally shaken.  My great friends, Rex, Carrie, Tye, and Jen were all with us on that trail. Through their comfort and prayer, I was able to get back in the truck and drive it out.







   The 4Runner was trailered home and sat in my garage for nearly 2 years hoping to become the buggy now known as “The Spike.”  Some financial difficulty and research learning this was not the best base for my build, led me to sell the 4Runner for parts.




     I have waited since then, over 2 years, to once again have a rig to wheel, and to build my ministry dream. In June of 2015, I bought my "unicorn" project vehicle, a 1985 Toyota 4Runner.  With my knowledge of Toyota vehicles and my love for them, this is the base I have chosen for this project.




  

  

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