Old School 4Runner and Jeep Gladiator Team Up for Epic Overlanding Adventure
Each showing their off-road prowess, the rebellious rigs traverse through some of Canada’s toughest, most challenging terrain.
Normally, we wouldn’t feature a Jeep Gladiator on YotaTech. Well, unless it was a battle to showcase Toyota’s off-road superiority. But as it turns out, outlanding makes strange bedfellows.
Toyota’s been a master of dirt roads and rock crawling longer than most people know. The automaker rolled out their first trucks in Japan in the mid-1930s for military use–just like Jeep. Now both are a major presence in the 4×4, off-road, crossover, and truck markets. Though, it’s much safer to say that Toyota is a much more user friendly and versatile experience for drivers of all types. The biggest thing Toyota has over just about any Jeep is their reputation for incredible reliability. Have you ever heard of a Jeep that exceeded 350,000 miles? Neither have we.
They’re both tough trucks, in their own way. How would an old-school 4Runner and a Jeep fair on an off-road quest together? Well that is exactly what The Story Till Now decided to find out. The Canadian YouTube channel grew quickly in popularity, due largely in part to host Shaun’s incredible off-road action and videography. And this episode is no exception.
We are drawn in immediately, seeing the a second-gen 4Runner leading the Gladiator down a snowy highway. Then he introduces his trail partner, Braun, shortly after showing his viewers around his new Jeep Gladiator.
The trip that Shaun and Braun are about to brave is a 124 mile trip across the Canadian mountains from Harrison Hot Spring campground to Pemberton, BC. Already facing obstacles, the the trail they were due to trek was washed out from severe weather. But, like most off-raders and overlanders, they are able to improvise and find another route.
Shaun does explain that this will be his first overnight trip in the Gladiator. Braun is not concerned about what may lie ahead, he preps his Yota and airs down his tires.
The old-school 4Runner looks great and is outfitted for just about anything that might cross its path.
At first, things seem peaceful and the two ramble on without worry. Then, as they reached parts of the trail that were increasingly affected the trail, tensions quickly rose.
“The further we went down the road, the worse it got,” said Shaun. The 4Runner is going first, as the trail becomes increasingly rocky, with deep water-carved crevices spread throughout the trail. Slowly but surely, the older Toyota (powered by the trusty SR5 V6) crawls down the hillside, without incident.
After the heavily modified Gladiator finally scampered down the hill, the two 4x4s were able to rest. That was until they came by a smaller but washed out stream. The Toyota went first, making easy work of the steep drop off and sheer climb to get to the other side. The Gladiator struggled a little more with the much longer wheelbase and heavier body, but it did it nonetheless. The team climbed higher and higher, crossing even more difficult streams and clearing severely washed out sections of trail. Though, who could be upset about how long a trail takes when Canada is full of incredible sights? Though, they’d spent so long clearing trails and spotting one another, that daylight became scarce.
“As we drove through to higher elevation areas of the road and out of the trees,” noted Shaun, bemused. “We were greeted by a beautiful full moon reflecting off of the snow-capped mountain peaks.”
Not long after, the two finally reached their campsite–featuring the welcoming hot springs of their campground, T’Sek hot springs, in Skookumchuck.
After spending the night a cold night in their cars, the two cooked breakfast and enjoyed basking in the Canadian sun.
“I never sleep better than when I’m in a tent,” muses Shaun. “I don’t know if it’s the fresh out, or just being out on the road – but I love it.”
The video is simply gorgeous, with lots of great footage. It certainly shows the appeal of off-roading and overlanding. And if you’re lucky enough to have a rig that kicks ass like this 4Runner, the journey is more reward, less risk.