Toyota Land Cruiser 80 Series Off-Road Fail - Not as Invincible as Legend Has It

Certain models have earned the reputation of making perfect starting vehicles for such rigs, and just off the top of our heads we can think about the Jeep Wrangler, the Land Rover Defender, and, of course, the off-road legend itself, the Toyota Land Cruiser.

The Japanese SUV, especially in its older iterations, was a very rudimentary and therefore reliable machine. It would take a lot of battering for it to give up, and it was usually the driver who backed off before the vehicle showed any signs of even thinking about it.

Here we have one such SUV with the usual modifications that change it from a capable off-roader into a rock climbing master. There are the new axles, the giant off-road tires, the lift kit needed to accommodate them, the heavy-duty bumper, the electric winch, and even a snorkel, though it won't be needed here.

What would have been useful was a few spotters to guide the driver through this sticky situation. The story goes that this group of vehicles enjoyed a nice day off-roading, until the Land Cruiser guy decided to try out a trail known as "The Gate Keeper." Just because there's no visible gate, that doesn't mean you can just pass through.

The shape and position of those rocks spelled disaster from the word go. Any slip of one wheel and the car would just wedge between them, making extraction difficult even for the crane that they could never get there. But the driver felt confident he could do it, so he insisted. After all, you can't return home after an off-roading session with your car unscratched.

In the end, he might have bitten off more than he could chew as the inevitable happened. The Toyota almost ended on its side, and another vehicle had to pull it out using the winch. The damage included the vehicle's entire right side, the engine hood, one headlight, and who knows what else. But we're sure that if you ask him, he'd say it was worth it. That's what we love about off-roading.