Events/Trails My first outing with the 200....

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Oct 30, 2007
Threads
148
Messages
2,022
Location
Southern California
Ok well first remember that I am a total newbie at off roading....so take what I say with my little experiance.

My son (7 years old) and I wanted to hit some dirt, but it was getting somewhat dark, so I was not going to hit deep desert in the dark, so this was all done on hard packed dirt, that had about a 2-3 inch layer of soft sand/dirt on top.

I started by turning off the paved road going about 30-35 mph onto the trail. That may sound harsh but try to picture this as a flat desert type of area. There was no drops or real hills around so I could see everything around. No surprises.

As soon as we got off road, the suspension starting going up and down.....BUT the cabin stayed level. It was pretty amazing. Eventually I was going about 25-30 mph and it felt like driving on pavement. You could hear the rough road....but sure didn't feel it.

I did hit some areas of the trail that were much less level, that we did feel it, boy was it fun!!

I remembered the ALL TERRAIN ABS system mentioned, so I looked around and decided why not. I was going exactly 30 mph and slammed on the brakes. We came to a sudden stop....no sliding at all! Just like stopping on pavement. It was amazing.

At this time the sun was down and it was getting dark pretty quickly.

We decided to turn around and head home.

Then it happened...my son says to me:

"Dad, Look at that hill!"

It was a pretty steep incline ( I cannot judge actually angles yet, so bear with me)

I was thinking that I don't know if I would make it or not.

So I got straight in front of it, and went for it..

Guess what?!?!

I didn't make it...but I got about half way up before it dug in and I was stuck there. So I just put it in reverse, let me foot off the brake and backed down. Simple as pie.

The truck is a mess with sand, my son is happy, and so am I.

I think I fell in love with the LC today. With the 5.7 I have PLENTY of speed and power for the road, and with it's off road capabilities, I can go mostly any place I want.

Some other thoughts:

I got my Blackberry 8830 setup with the bluetooth today and it works flawlessly. Speed dialing through he Navi works great.
JBL system sounds pretty good (for a stock system).

I still cannot figure out how the kids can use the headphones and then we can listen to the radio on the speakers. Should be simple...but ummmmmmm nope.

Question.

There was no need for the 4 low setting today. I found it easier to drive and control the LC when I had the speed shift setting in 2nd and 3rd. Is there a reason why I would NOT want to do that?

I am assuming 4 Low is for when I NEED for low. Having it in regular D mode seemed, well just didn't feel right while driving 30 mph on dirt. I felt like I had alot more control (engine braking, steering, etc) in the 2nd and 3rd settings.

Thoughts?

Thanks
DTT
 
Pics?

That's what we want to see....real life man!

-o-

I guess next time I will either have to let my 7 year old take the pics or drive :rolleyes:
 
Nah, just park the cruiser and take some pix in its natural habitat :D


Since your taking out your rig to do what its supposed to do, you are my best friend. Ima ad u to my buddylist :)
 
Nah, just park the cruiser and take some pix in its natural habitat :D


Since your taking out your rig to do what its supposed to do, you are my best friend. Ima ad u to my buddylist :)

Hey there, we have some friends up in Merced..that is close to you right?

Thanks for adding me :)
 
Hey there, we have some friends up in Merced..that is close to you right?

Thanks for adding me :)
30miles away from me :)
 
Question.

There was no need for the 4 low setting today. I found it easier to drive and control the LC when I had the speed shift setting in 2nd and 3rd. Is there a reason why I would NOT want to do that?

I am assuming 4 Low is for when I NEED for low. Having it in regular D mode seemed, well just didn't feel right while driving 30 mph on dirt. I felt like I had alot more control (engine braking, steering, etc) in the 2nd and 3rd settings.

Thoughts?

Thanks
DTT

Thats right low is for simply that, low speed and gearing. Generally a max of 25mph. I would imagine where you got stuck if you reattampted the same incline in low range you may have climbed it easily.:cool:

Does the US LC have the hill assist, that would have even made it even easier (so they say and from the video I have seen)

Anyway sounds like you had fun and that is what it is all about, you dont have to climb 3ft rocks to have fun. You will continue to gain experience as you go, take it easy and always play it safe dont take risks you dont feel comfortable with
 
Actually he was climing sand dunes or sand covered terrain. He didn't have enough momentum to keep the vehicle rolling up.

I also forgot to mention that when you go offroad in loose terrain, you need to lock the center differential. That'd be that button on the dash with the picture of the stig figured drivetrain with the X in the middle. Thats also another way of getting your vehicle stuck if you didn't lock the diff.
 
Thats right low is for simply that, low speed and gearing. Generally a max of 25mph. I would imagine where you got stuck if you reattampted the same incline in low range you may have climbed it easily.:cool:

Does the US LC have the hill assist, that would have even made it even easier (so they say and from the video I have seen)

Anyway sounds like you had fun and that is what it is all about, you dont have to climb 3ft rocks to have fun. You will continue to gain experience as you go, take it easy and always play it safe dont take risks you dont feel comfortable with

It says that it has vechile hill assist...but I think it is automatic...no pushing of a button
 
Actually he was climing sand dunes or sand covered terrain. He didn't have enough momentum to keep the vehicle rolling up.

I also forgot to mention that when you go offroad in loose terrain, you need to lock the center differential. That'd be that button on the dash with the picture of the stig figured drivetrain with the X in the middle. Thats also another way of getting your vehicle stuck if you didn't lock the diff.

Got it!!

Looking back, It was good that I didn't go up that hill, I don't know what was on the other side!

LESSON LEARNED!
 
Got it!!

Looking back, It was good that I didn't go up that hill, I don't know what was on the other side!

LESSON LEARNED!

You are right, that is a good lesson. It is good practice to walk some hills (particular sand dunes) and see what is over the other side. You also never know what is coming on the other side, especially if there are others coming the other way. We use sand dune flags here in Aus so you normally see the flag coming before the 4x4.:whoops:
 
It says that it has vechile hill assist...but I think it is automatic...no pushing of a button

I saw a video with it off and then on. Have a look on the Toyota site under the Northern Territory Australia.

It says there "when the drive removes his foot from the brake on an incline, Hill Start Assist Control (HAC) helps keeping the from slipping backwards"

It may only work in low range, also I see it only working on solid surfaces maybe not sand where you momentum.

Suppose I wil just have to wait a couple of weeks for mine to come to play. :)
 
Great job dtt255 taking a nice shiny new 2008 off road! Keep it up man!
 
I saw a video with it off and then on. Have a look on the Toyota site under the Northern Territory Australia.

It says there "when the drive removes his foot from the brake on an incline, Hill Start Assist Control (HAC) helps keeping the from slipping backwards"

It may only work in low range, also I see it only working on solid surfaces maybe not sand where you momentum.

Suppose I wil just have to wait a couple of weeks for mine to come to play. :)

I will try this more out today or tomorrow. I read the same thing in the manual last night. Same description but there is not an actual activation of the device.

I have begun to form some ground rules when going out. One is if I have no spotter with me...well then, I only go where I can see ....
 
Great job dtt255 taking a nice shiny new 2008 off road! Keep it up man!

LOL...thanks. right now the front and looks clean!

The tires are brown and the rear tailgate and bumper looks RED with sand! Pretty funny!
 
LOL...thanks. right now the front and looks clean!

The tires are brown and the rear tailgate and bumper looks RED with sand! Pretty funny!
PICTACHURRRS!!
 
Here are the pictures people wanted me to take....not much to look at... :grinpimp:

SANY0053.jpg


SANY0052.jpg


SANY0051.jpg


SANY0050.jpg


SANY0049.jpg


SANY0048.jpg


SANY0047.jpg
 
Now make your truck look meaner by removing them silly ass running boards.

OMG the 200 looks good! :D Closer pics at different angles really make it look different from the press pix.
 
Now make your truck look meaner by removing them silly ass running boards.

OMG the 200 looks good! :D Closer pics at different angles really make it look different from the press pix.

I am planning on taking them off, I need to make sure not everything else comes off with them!
 
Back
Top Bottom