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00:00Expedition Overland's Pan American Series is presented by General Tire. Anywhere is possible.
00:44After many months of work, planning, building and dreaming, it was now time to cross the
00:49southern border of Mexicali into Mexico.
00:55We're going to make our first border crossing in just a few minutes here.
00:59Look at that line.
01:01Let's get back in the U.S.
01:04Let's not come back.
01:07It was exhilarating to say the least, and within minutes we pulled out our Spanglish and started
01:12the border process of getting ourselves and our vehicles properly into Mexico.
01:25It was a quick victory and gave us a boost in confidence having our first border completed,
01:30especially since there was no hassle.
01:32We're in Mexico now.
01:34There's a little gate over there.
01:37Yeah, so we just did our paperwork stuff for getting in the country with our vehicles.
01:43It was pretty smooth, actually.
01:44You know, it took a little bit of time, but they're really nice, good people.
01:49I had this idea in my head of it'd be like going to the DMV and working with people there,
01:53you know?
01:54Totally different.
01:56It was a really good experience.
01:57So now we're going to motor into Baja and see what that holds for us.
02:03The stark separation of countries is intriguing.
02:06Two powerful entities separated by an iron fence.
02:10It's amazing how fast the driving conditions deteriorate a couple of miles.
02:15Now that we're over the border, we're into Mexicali and things are changing.
02:22Oh, wait, we're in Mexico.
02:24Wait, where are we?
02:26And on your right, we have a big tall fence that you do not cross.
02:33Yes, that was a pair of pants stuck at the very top.
02:38It's easy to spot the bear naked, boy.
02:41We are about to find out what's greener on this side of the hill.
02:46Food is a good place to start.
02:48The crash landed into a mistaken seafood restaurant thinking it to be a taco stand.
02:54I'm getting that.
02:55Which one's the gnarliest?
02:57This one has the weirdest.
02:57The one that you gave to Clay.
02:59The hot sauce war started right away.
03:01You know, the common gentleman's game of who thinks who is tougher than the other guy.
03:05I want to get it out!
03:07Personal experience tells me to stay out of this one.
03:10And after all, I don't think there's ever a true winner.
03:13Everyone ends up paying.
03:14You have to do it.
03:15You have to do it.
03:16No!
03:18You win!
03:21Pretty good.
03:23Ah!
03:24How is it?
03:25Did it burn at all?
03:26Oh, no.
03:27It's great.
03:27Oh, okay.
03:28Uh, Bikaki, Bikarka.
03:32Spicy here, spicy there.
03:37These guys will most likely pay the price in a couple of hours.
03:57I have no idea what I'm eating and I don't really like seafood
04:21that's a lot of seafood for $35 yeah our guts filled with questions we push south deeper into Baja to
04:28make our way to Mike's Sky Ranch and eventually hitting our first bit of dirt with the new forerunners over
04:35the radio I asked Kyle what it felt like to now be on expedition and exploring a remote unknown road
04:40in Mexico
04:42you get to the top of this mountain and it's super epic and you're gonna pick a challenging line with
04:49a couple cliff drops and you just got a fresh 12 inches of powder and then you like lock in
04:56and everything you get ready and you just hit it this is what that feels like it's like super exciting
05:02but you don't know what you're getting yourself into
05:12some 20 miles or so into the high desert we arrived at Mike's Sky Ranch upon arrival we found out
05:19we had a suspension issue
05:23what's going on shock well it's a shock ball it's a shock ball it's just missing yeah I doubt it
05:31broke either I bet it just waffled out that's not going anywhere right now
05:36okay all right well let's see if we can go find Mr. Taman Cure
05:51I've heard a lot about Mike's Sky Ranch over the last few years and being here seemed to check off
05:56a special box
06:05especially for the reasons to our visit
06:08to meet up with TRD's lead design engineer and our friend Ted Moncure
06:22we met Ted last summer at FJ Summit in Ure Colorado
06:27there we were able to spend a little time with the TRD team as they put some prototype TRD Pro
06:324Runners through their paces
06:50we discussed our plans for the next day and then settled in there's the infamous San Felipe 40 miles of
06:56whoops okay but I mean they're like this deep to get seasick because you're on them for 40 miles
07:03get the flavor of San Felipe because when we tell people you went to San Felipe they're all going to
07:07go oh did you go through the 40 miles of whoops you can say well I did the whoops from
07:11zero to the dump
07:11okay but I didn't want to I felt like that was enough for life I needed to save my shocks
07:16for Panama and back
07:18you know to break it on day one yeah except for Kurt he already broke it on day one bottom
07:23shock bolt
07:24yeah I got you that's an easy pick
07:26yeah so Mike is the owner in there
07:28okay the bar he's Mike Jr. so the cool thing you see the door the old race car over here
07:33I did see that
07:34that's a UW Bug that his dad raced in one of the early Baja 1000s
07:39so this place was a hunter's club
07:41it was not about dirt biking or off-roading or anything
07:44it was just about hunting and then his dad raced in Baja and then over the years you know less
07:50hunters started coming and more dirt bikers and off-roaders
07:52yeah and so that's how it became famous
07:55this place is a gym
07:57reminds me of chicken a little
07:59a little like chicken Alaska
08:01a little bit of chicken Alaska
08:03is there underwear on the ceiling?
08:05no
08:05I saw her panties in there somewhere
08:07how sweet is this place
08:12outside we gave Ted the tour of the newly built rigs
08:16yeah happy about that
08:21platinum's in there
08:21yeah it looks so nice
08:22oh yeah I got this light bar back there behind the grill
08:25yeah it's got a 40
08:26we were just commenting down going through here
08:29just all the lights and the new technology that's out there and how this just has changed our world
08:35advice and wisdom started to flow right away from this Baja winning racer
08:39actually with good light it's better to drive at night than it is during the day
08:43yeah
08:44because it gives you this tunnel vision
08:45yeah
08:45everything that's not important is now black
08:47and just focus on what's important you can see it all really well
08:50and then you don't worry about what's not important
08:52right
08:53like all that beautiful scenery that you're missing
08:54yeah that's not important
08:55well you see it during the daytime
08:57right
08:57so during the daytime you look at the scenery
08:58night time you go fast
08:59you guys have done a great job on these things
09:01you look very cool
09:02thank you
09:05the following morning at breakfast we realized that two Baja 1000 rivals were sitting at the same table
09:13Kurt and the kangaroo racing team had competed toe-to-toe against Ted and the Toyota Tundra team
09:18in their Land Cruiser 200 series
09:20Cinderella stories
09:21Land Cruiser guys out of Utah
09:24keep the pressure on us the whole way
09:27we never should get comfortable and just take it easy
09:31three, two, one, it's you Mark
09:49kangaroo racing was definitely the underdog but their grit and strong nerves held Toyota's racing team to the fire
09:58staying only 30 some minutes behind almost the whole race
10:05Ivan Stewart always said you know what it feels like when tires come off the ground
10:08oh yeah
10:09you know what it feels like when you bottom out
10:10yeah
10:11don't do that
10:13you don't do those two things and probably finish the race
10:16but seriously it's like you have 11 inches
10:19one thing that definitely bonds these two together though is their love for Toyotas
10:24a testament to the toughness of Toyotas
10:27you know out of everybody out there the two Toyotas are the only ones left standing
10:31that's right
10:32vehicle advice flooded our conversation and all that talk made us anxious to get going
10:37but first we had to fix the missing shock bolt on the Tacoma
10:43we're gonna find what we're looking for
10:46because this is about one of everything
10:50so this will work worst case
10:51winner, that's great
10:52and then washer
10:53winner winner chicken dinner
10:54one more big washer
10:55we're in business
10:57hey can I see that bolt real quick
10:58I'm gonna test it in the hole
11:01there you go
11:01push it through
11:03beautiful
11:09that'd get to Panama
11:10there you go
11:11if you had to
11:12that's right
11:13look at that
11:15is that how you guys engineer?
11:16that's basically how it is
11:18at Toyotas
11:21that's right
11:21we all sit around
11:22you know
11:23we get our parts
11:24we go
11:24somebody dig through that bucket
11:25hole today
11:26with our temporary fix secured
11:29we head into town
11:30to find a more permanent solution
11:32but first
11:33we all thought it was a good idea
11:35to eat again
11:35so yesterday we failed pretty miserably
11:38at trying to get Mexican tacos
11:40Mexican tacos
11:41because it ended up being a seafood joint
11:43and there were no tacos to be found
11:45but today with Ted at our side
11:48we apparently have stumbled on the best taco stand
11:51in Norte Baja
12:03with a fantastic lunch between us
12:06Ted and I discuss what it must be like
12:07to be an engineer for one of the world's finest auto manufacturers
12:11I lead a team
12:12of guys that are all motivated
12:14and passionate about performance
12:16and about trucks
12:17you know
12:18and about making the best
12:20the best truck for people who want to go out there
12:24plenty of people who tell you
12:25who don't understand why we go to the lengths we go to in developing things
12:29and they always love to quote the stat
12:32that well 90% of our people never go off road
12:34and I go yeah but 10% of our customers do go off road
12:37sure
12:37but if you design it for the 90% that never go off road
12:40then the 10% are left stranded in the middle of nowhere
12:43right
12:43it's been really cool to personally see behind that big corporate veil
12:47and find out what you always hope for
12:49that there are incredibly passionate people
12:51that believe in what they are doing behind the products that you love
12:55case in point
12:56Ted took personal vacation time to meet us down here and talk shop
13:00there you go
13:01now everybody who comes here knows that this taco stand has the TRD Pro seal of approval
13:12no no no
13:14he's in it
13:16hold on
13:17you gotta get over here
13:18hold me
13:19hold the video on it
13:20hold me
13:23oh my hernia
13:25with Toby's Christmas list delivered
13:26it was time to hit some of the Baja 1000 race course
13:29but first we needed to get more of a permanent fix on the Tacoma
13:33got rid of our Mike Sky Ranch fix which was a combination of odds and nuts and bolts
13:39and we put some proper hardware on there from a great hardware store here in Valley de Trinidad
13:44so we're back in business we're 100% and some spares for the road
13:48now on the course Ted wanted to teach us a thing or two about our vehicles and instruct us on
13:53driving techniques
13:55how do I get fired because I came down on my vacation to Baja
13:59hang out with you guys you said the wrong thing
14:01yeah
14:02that's perfectly fine
14:04this is Baja 1000 race course that we run every year so it's a little bit looped out
14:10just basically remember to have a good time but don't use up all your wheel travel
14:15so if you feel the car bottoming out slow down
14:17sometimes you can
14:18if you're going a little bit too slow though
14:21you get too much body movement
14:22you can actually give it a little more throttle
14:24and you'll find kind of a sweet spot
14:26where you're in the vehicle's natural frequency is being damped the best by your suspension
14:30so just kind of play around 2 or 3 miles an hour on either side of the speed you like
14:35until you find the sweet spot
14:37and the KDSS system
14:39so KDSS will actually push your tires down
14:42more on the high speed stuff on the pavement
14:44it'll prevent body roll
14:46which will allow the vehicle to kind of be more confident going through windy corners
14:50so over this kind of terrain
14:51we're probably moving fast enough that we won't be engaging KDSS
14:54but if we do what it's doing is helping you to keep all your tires on the ground
14:58to keep traction and to keep the vehicle body level
15:00alright guys rolling
15:11so when you hit a bump you don't want it to be multiple events
15:14you don't want to feel the bump and then feel the car dipping and moving up and down
15:17yeah that means you're underdamped
15:18and then if you're overdamped it gets jarring
15:21your fillings being rattled
15:22so you want the appropriate amount of dampening
15:24and then be looking behind it
15:26another thing you should do when you go through loops like that
15:29just dab the left foot slightly
15:32and what that does is on the far side of the loop
15:34it'll bind everything up a little bit
15:35and it'll prevent that weight transfer that's causing the vehicle to hitch back and forth
15:39I had a Volvo 244DL 1979 in mustard yellow
15:47and I had an issue where if I didn't ride the gas it would die on me
15:51so I had to do right foot gas left foot brake for like two years
15:56that set me up for victory now
15:59because now I have the gas brake thing pretty dialed
16:04I mean now we're on part of the Baja 1000 road
16:06amazing to have the ability to flutter between your gas and brake without sloppy footwork
16:17the Baja is living up to its reputation
16:19we are having a fantastic time
16:23especially in shorter wheelbase vehicles like FJH 4Runners, Jeeps
16:27that's where it really helps the most
16:29longer wheelbase stuff you don't have as much weight transfer
16:32you've got more mass moment of inertia
16:34preventing the vehicle from pitching up and down
16:36all you're trying to do is change the relative velocity a little bit
16:40not trying to stop the car or slow it down
16:42so just practice with it and you'll get the hang of it real quick
16:51it was somewhere around mile 50 that we all realized
16:54that this year's winning Baja 1000 driver and engineer of TRD was sitting here
16:58giving advice to us on the actual Baja 1000 course
17:02we needed to pinch ourselves to make sure this was all really happening
17:17honestly it's a pretty cool honor to be able to have him teach you
17:22and he just he picks up exactly what you're doing
17:25and says hey try this
17:26and it automatically it develops it right into what you're doing
17:30and you're like wow that actually does work
17:33reaching the coast we air down the generals
17:35and hit the beach for some fun in the sand
17:56over the radio we hear the first stuck of the trip
18:01I don't know we'll see
18:04what happened?
18:05dude she does not want to go in the sand
18:09the Tacoma was sunk under its own weight in the sand
18:12it's on dude
18:14it was done she sunk
18:15so he just dug in for the night
18:17yeah I dug in
18:18we're here we'll just get right there
18:19hey we know where we're staying tonight now huh?
18:21our tent's going to be a little lower tonight
18:23yeah
18:24that's gross yeah
18:30we quickly deployed max tracks and remedied the situation
18:33this is where the shovel we don't have would be nice to
18:36yeah
18:36okay
18:38here we go
18:42oh no
18:49we are currently headed into Sam Felipe right now
18:52we are gonna head into town here
18:56maybe look at some getting some dinner
18:58and then heading just outside just south of town
19:01to go find a camping spot on the beach tonight
19:03so the first camp night on the beach
19:07hopefully it'll be a little warmer than last night
19:10because last night we all froze
19:12San Felipe was alive and full of life
19:15the culture of Baja was all around us
19:18street music vendors all filled the atmosphere
19:22as the locals enjoyed the last of the day's sun
19:48Jeff and Ty found themselves holding on to some street guy's high voltage jolts
19:52jump the flux
19:53jump the flux
19:53the anticipation is a killer
19:55crank that
19:56crank that
19:58come on
20:00come on
20:01come on
20:02come on
20:02come on
20:04come on
20:19come on
20:22It's a heavily regulated industry, yeah?
20:25Move it.
20:27Yeah, Dan, get out.
20:28You're going to talk!
20:31You are.
20:34You're next.
20:35Okay, let's do this.
20:37Toby wished to express that he was king of the world
20:40as we sat down for fish tacos at this lovely gentleman's restaurant.
20:46Actually, we all felt like kings after the kind of day we had.
20:51We pulled the last bit of precious knowledge from Ted
20:53and his vast experience in Baja on where to camp next.
20:59Yeah, it depends if you want to camp here.
21:00You're going to be pretty remote, which may be what you're looking for.
21:04But if you push it to San Juanico...
21:06Okay, here we are.
21:0920 minutes later.
21:10Then Ted and Kurt proceeded to make all of our brains hurt
21:13with the amount of race technical shop talk
21:15casually bantered between two engineers.
21:19Yep, cat-back.
21:21Yep, nickel-back.
21:22Nickel-back systems are awesome.
21:25Toby coped in the only way he knew how.
21:29That's interesting.
21:30More nickel-backs.
21:31Well, all good things must eventually come to an end.
21:35There's time to say goodbye to Ted as he returned home, back to the U.S.
21:46It was an incredible life experience for all of us.
21:55As we headed through our trucks, we found another issue with the Tacoma.
21:58We did something in here, and the hose got re-situated, and it was bumping on the belt.
22:05And probably through the ball hauling and stuff today, and especially here in the sand, it just rubbed a hole
22:13in the power steering line.
22:14And then I started to smell something sweet and smoky.
22:18Bless you, cameraman.
22:20The rest of the story is right there.
22:22The massacre is right there, the rest of the massacre.
22:26That tells a real story.
22:27Now, it didn't do any damage.
22:30It's an easy fix.
22:30We get a hose tomorrow in town.
22:32And if we can't find a hose, we could even use a socket or a little piece of pipe, and
22:36we got hose clamps.
22:36We bought hose clamps.
22:37We could tape it.
22:38It's a return line, so it's not high pressure, right?
22:42So everything's still sweet and smoky.
22:44With a plan in place on how to fix the power steering, some unexpected news came over the airwaves.
22:50So we just got a call from Ted, and Ted has hooked us up with Ivan Stewart, who happens to
22:54be staying at his house about 30 miles south.
22:57We're going to get to meet the Ivan Stewart, hang out, talk Toyotas.
23:03Play video games.
23:05This guy has soloed the Baja 1000.
23:08He has driven Toyotas in many, many races, stadium truck racing.
23:13We couldn't wait to get going the next day.
23:16Little did we know that tomorrow was going to be a day that some of us would just rather forget.
23:51We'll get out.
24:05Faceless kings doing what's been done.
24:22We'll see you next time.
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