J40 Land Cruiser wipes out during daring hill-climb attempt, but things could have been much worse.
Off-roading is not about instant success. The funnest trails are those that pose challenges. They require you to think ahead, plan, and use a combination of patience and determination. Even when you think you’ve done everything right, you might have to stop, back up, choose a different line, and take another shot at it. It doesn’t matter which rig you’re in, whether it’s a Wrangler or, in this case, a Toyota Land Cruiser. Sometimes off-roading doesn’t go the way you expect it to.
Someone on Reddit recently posted the video you see at the top. It shows three guys in a J40-series Land Cruiser trundling up a chunky dirt path. Judging by the grille guard, snorkel, and faded red paint, it seems as if this isn’t the first time this vehicle has been taken off-road. The trio bangs and bounces its way up a series of progressively steeper ridges as people flanking the path watch their progress.
The J40 seems to have no trouble reaching the peak of the trail, but once it reaches that point, something goes horribly wrong. From the sounds of it, the engine cuts out. The Land Cruiser quickly starts to roll back. It’s hard to tell exactly from the video, but it looks as if the driver either loses his brakes or doesn’t think to apply them. One thing that is clear is that he and his friends are in trouble, especially the guy standing up in the back and gripping the roll bars with a vice-like grip.
The Toyota barrels down the uneven incline as the driver looks behind him and tries to steer the runaway rig away from any trees or people that may be nearby. He keeps the vehicle mostly straight until it reaches the bottom of the hill, where it takes a turn, loudly spills the cooler and drinks that were in the back, and comes to a stop.
Miraculously, the guy who was hanging on for dear life doesn’t fly out along with the Land Cruiser’s refreshments, although it’s likely a string of obscenities and skyward thank yous that fly out of his mouth.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
