Their First Adventure — Two T4R Stormtroopers & AdventureTaco

April 21, 2018.

“You should get a 4Runner.” is what I tell just about anyone with kids who asks what kind of car they should get. Of course, nothing generally comes of that — people opt for something more racy — a Tesla, or an Audi, those kinds of things.

So, you can imagine my surprise when Dave and Joe — a couple guys I worked with — each came home with a 4Runner and reached out to go “offroading”! Now that’s cool.

Naturally, I wanted their first dirt in their new trucks to be fun — how else would I get them out again? — but I also wanted to balance that with something that’d be a little uncomfortable for them, not just some flat gravel road that you could drive in a Prius. Oh, and we had weather to contend with as well, since spring really only comes to the PNW around June.

In the end, we decided to take the trucks out to NF-9021 — something they were totally capable of, but that I knew would take Dave and Joe to the edge of their comfort zone, and then leave them wanting more — prefect!

We rendezvoused at the trailhead just after 10:30am, said our hellos, and ran through a bit of a debrief about the trail and offroading in general. The Runner’s — matching white stormtrooper models — eyed the AdventureTaco.

Then, it was time to air down. I handed over a tire pressure gauge and suggested that they air down from 32psi to something around 22–23psi, since they were running P265/70 R17 tires (that “P” standing for passenger-load rated vs. “LT” or light truck). We wanted them to have some give for comfort and flexibility over rocks, but letting out too much air would lower them even closer to the ground and get them riding on their thin sidewalls.

While we aired down, Joe also entered his element. Click, click click.

We’d rallied at a turnout with a couple big puddles, and figured this would be as good a spot as any to get the first bits of mud on the 4Runners. So @mini.turbodb climbed in the back of the Tacoma, and we dove right in. If you could see the smile on Joe’s face here, you’d know he’s hooked forever.

Then, we headed up the trail — potholey at first, then steep, and then steep and rocky. It was fun going — I’d leap up ahead and then jump out to snap some pics of Joe and Dave making their way up — big grins and a bit of fear apparent on their faces.

Of course, they’d both punched it into 4WD early on, and despite the tires these were still super-capable 4Runners, so there was never anything to worry about. I took the opportunity to teach them how to watch and listen to a spotter, as I directed them into the bumpier and more off-camber parts of the trail — still pretty tame, but you know, to give them a little excitement.

I think they loved it.

Of course, that’s not all that happened. To find out all the excitement, check out Their First Adventure at adventuretaco.com.

Originally published at adventuretaco.com.