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 "The
RAV4 Does Proud
It
was not without some trepidation that I made reservations for a weekend
of 4-wheel drive instruction with Dora Fang of Let's Go Jeepin.
The off-the-asphalt world is dominated by Jeeps piloted by males, and
I am a female owner of a Toyota RAV4. My husband and I had taken our
RAV off the road a few times on backcountry vacations, but this was
probably going to push our vehicle to its limits. The final words of
a recent article I'd read about the RAV4's capabilities echoed in my
head: "Not for serious off-roading." This utterly urban secretary from
downtown Chicago got even more nervous when we pulled into the Badlands
Off-Road Park that Saturday morning. Not a non-Jeep in sight, and the
exceptionally high male population density meant I could count the other
women present with a few fingers of one hand. Were we going to spend
the whole weekend being towed out of the mud? Would I leave a trail
of auto parts behind me? Would my husband be taking the bus to work
for a month? I could almost hear the blond jokes circulating...
After
several hours of classroom instruction, airing down our tires and some
practice on the obstacle course, we headed out into the park. The air
was as thick with testosterone as it was with dust. However, some coaching
over the two-way radio from Dora, along with encouragement from the
husband and a friend who came with us, gave me the help I needed to
keep up with the other vehicles. It was a good two days for the fairer
sex and for the Toyota Motor Corporation. I was completely amazed at
what my seemingly tame RAV4 was capable of. I coaxed it up hills, through
pea gravel, and around steeply banked turns without difficulty. Even
slogging through the mud and the up-to-the-bumper water level of the
local creek were all within my reach. Of course, I didn't take on everything.
I elected to skirt a hole that screamed BODY DAMAGE, and a couple of
the more vertical hills proved just too much for the clutch, even with
the limited slip differential engaged. Probably the most triumphant
moment was successfully surging up a mountain of sand, to the open-mouthed
amazement of a gathered crowd of ATVers. My husband, sitting nearby
in another party's Jeep, overheard such remarks as "hey, that's a RAV4!"
"what's THAT doing here?" and "there's a WOMAN driving it!" The instructors
were pleasantly surprised, too, and told me my vehicle had managed most
of the course more easily than many other students' larger and more
powerful SUVs. Dora's tow straps never got used once, and the winch
cables stayed wound all weekend! Not getting stuck gave me more time
to play on some of the more challenging parts of the course.
An
upcoming trip to Colorado is going to be all the more enjoyable now
that I better understand what my RAV4 can-and cannot-do, and I know
more about how to handle it safely. With a little more practice, we'll
be ready to tackle Botswana and Namibia when the bank account and vacation
time permit. Thank you, Dora!"
Jill,
Chicago, IL - 1997 Toyota RAV4
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