Mark and his FJ

I have owned a couple of 4WD vehicles and many times I have had to walk several miles to get to a place to call for assistance because I was stuck and could not get the truck out. After a year of researching the Toyota FJ Cruiser, Copperhead Consulting bought their first new vehicle during the summer of 2008. A 2007 4WD model equipped with the six-speed manual transmission, full-time 4x4 transfer case, rock rails, and skid plate. Not ever owning or driving an exceptional 4WD vehicle I was blown away with the impressive handling when the terrain became uneven, knotted and laced with rock and mud. As a biologist working on a variety of projects all located off the beaten path it is important to be able to get to the project site and return efficiently. This often requires us to cross from the comforts of the paved road to the unforgiving territory of dirt/mud logging roads on steep hillsides, jagged boulder roads on coal mine sites, and trail/roads within the National Forest. Crossing such rugged terrain is a necessary evil that is required to get us in and out of particular sites within the project property.

I remember the first time I got it stuck while negotiating a large road rut on a mine site in WV several miles from a good dirt road (and who knows how far away from a paved road). I was in two-wheel drive and the right side slid into a large rut, sinking into the muck. The tires just spun and the truck was sliding deeper into the slop. Once I stopped I remember thinking it was time to see what the FJ was made of. I shifted into 4 high, hit the rear differential, shifted into first and slowly released the clutch.

Now, I believe that the earth rotates on its axis and around the sun. There are also things and moments that cannot be explained, they just have to be experienced. Thus, I am convinced that when the FJ gripped the earth that day, it did not merely pull out of the road rut. The FJ twisted the earth under the four tires and for a split second the FJ and I were the center of the universe! The power to go where one needs to go, no matter the terrain, is power that I do not want to ever do without again.

At the beginning of 2010 we reached 100,000 miles with the FJ. In the two-half years having the truck I have had no major problems with it. As our company grows I hope to add additional FJ’s to our fleet of field vehicles.

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