notoriouslyKEN
New member
A few weeks ago, I took the 101 Class offered by Offroad Consulting @ Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area (AOAA) in PA. I had no idea what to expect when rolling up to AOAA, but the place was huge. There was a large parking lot where people were offloading their dirt bikes, 4 wheelers, and side by sides. If you live near by and haven't been there, I'd highly recommend checking it out for a day.
I have a completely stock 2018 TRD ORP and one of the selling points of the class is that it was made for completely stock vehicles. The class ran from 8:30am to about 3:00pm. There was about a dozen jeep wranglers, one gladiator, and one tundra in the class. Every single vehicle there was modified in some form outside of my 4Runner. All of them had AT tires while I was still rocking the stock Duellers. I did feel a little out-of-place initially, but that feeling quickly went away on the trails. Basically, how it works is that the instructor gives all vehicles in the class a radio. Then as you drive through trails, he explains the different obstacles and basically everything about 4wd (Hi vs Low), traction controls, differentials, sway bars, etc. Our instructor was very knowledgable and I was surprised about how much he knew about all the different vehicles.
First half of the day was basic offroad trails with a few rocks and puddles. A low key introduction to the trails that allows you to get familiar with your vehicle. We took a break for lunch (they do have a food stand there) and then after that went to the more difficult sections that included water fording, off-camber situations, rocky and muddy terrains, very narrow trails (I had to tuck in both side mirrors to fit in a few spots) and steeper inclines/declines so you could learn your approach, departure and break over angles (I did scrape the stock running boards breaking over one hill, but they are fine).
If you are new to offroading, I'd recommend checking out one of these 101 classes as it was a ton of fun. Overall, I feel I learned a lot about offroading and am much more comfortable with my vehicle. I was surprised at how well she performed in her stock form as she had no problem keeping up with the jeeps. Here are a few pictures the instructors took of me throughout the day.
The water fording was the only thing that I was super nervous about. I had my brother-in-law with me, who had just months prior hydro-locked a 2019 Ford Raptor while trying to drive through water. The instructor was warning everybody about the dangers and what you should try to feel as you enter the water. It was nerve wracking, to say the least.
Anyone else attend this class? I think I'm going to sign up for the 201 class at some point in the future. It would be nice to see some more Toyotas represented.
I have a completely stock 2018 TRD ORP and one of the selling points of the class is that it was made for completely stock vehicles. The class ran from 8:30am to about 3:00pm. There was about a dozen jeep wranglers, one gladiator, and one tundra in the class. Every single vehicle there was modified in some form outside of my 4Runner. All of them had AT tires while I was still rocking the stock Duellers. I did feel a little out-of-place initially, but that feeling quickly went away on the trails. Basically, how it works is that the instructor gives all vehicles in the class a radio. Then as you drive through trails, he explains the different obstacles and basically everything about 4wd (Hi vs Low), traction controls, differentials, sway bars, etc. Our instructor was very knowledgable and I was surprised about how much he knew about all the different vehicles.
First half of the day was basic offroad trails with a few rocks and puddles. A low key introduction to the trails that allows you to get familiar with your vehicle. We took a break for lunch (they do have a food stand there) and then after that went to the more difficult sections that included water fording, off-camber situations, rocky and muddy terrains, very narrow trails (I had to tuck in both side mirrors to fit in a few spots) and steeper inclines/declines so you could learn your approach, departure and break over angles (I did scrape the stock running boards breaking over one hill, but they are fine).
If you are new to offroading, I'd recommend checking out one of these 101 classes as it was a ton of fun. Overall, I feel I learned a lot about offroading and am much more comfortable with my vehicle. I was surprised at how well she performed in her stock form as she had no problem keeping up with the jeeps. Here are a few pictures the instructors took of me throughout the day.
The water fording was the only thing that I was super nervous about. I had my brother-in-law with me, who had just months prior hydro-locked a 2019 Ford Raptor while trying to drive through water. The instructor was warning everybody about the dangers and what you should try to feel as you enter the water. It was nerve wracking, to say the least.
Anyone else attend this class? I think I'm going to sign up for the 201 class at some point in the future. It would be nice to see some more Toyotas represented.
