CAMP TOYOTA

Testing Toyota's Off-Road Offerings in the West Virginia Mountains

- DANNY KORECKI

I was incredibly fortunate to receive an invitation from Toyota to hang out at what the company affectionately calls Camp Toyota. At Camp Toyota, I tested the most off-road capable Tacoma and Land Cruiser models in the mountains of West Virginia while enjoying the scenery, the trails, and, of course, the vehicles themselves.

The Vehicles

Through all the fun on the West Virginia trails, I was going to test out an impressive lineup of the Tacoma Trailhunter, Tacoma TRD Pro, Land Cruiser First Edition, standard Land Cruiser, and a Land Cruiser 1958. I actually drove the Land Cruiser 1958 from my home in southern Pennsylvania to the trail/camp location of Twin Mountain Off-Road Adventure located at Old Fields, West Virginia.

The drive from my home to the location was about three hours and was delightful on its own. With each mile of that three-hour drive I got even more used to the Land Cruiser 1958 on pavement before having some fun with it off the pavement.

The Off-Road Fun

Arriving with the Land Cruiser 1958 at Twin Mountain Off-Road Adventure I was happy to learn that my old friend Jackson Philby from Off Road Logistics and Training (OLT4X4) was going to be my lead guide for my off-road fun.

I have worked with OLT4X4 folks a few times in the past and a lot of them, including Kurt Williams and Scott Smith, are Land Cruiser connoisseurs and actually run the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum in Salt Lake City\. If there were going to be some people to help guide me on not bending the metal of the Land Cruisers or any other vehicle on the trail, I'd want it to be them.

On the land of Twin Mountain Off-Road Adventure, you'll find plenty of natural technical situations. After driving the Land Cruiser 1958 for a handful of hours, I really wanted to test it out on the trails fresh after coming off the pavement, so I hit the trails with it first.