Looky what I spotted on the highway near Reno, NV!

[Hilux_Max]

But it still says HILUX on the upper RHS of the tailgate . . .

Yes your are right but the Vigo usually has the smaller engine from what Ive seen.

in mining, even here in Australia 70 series cruisers are everywhere and they get absolutely trashed in no time, and then they send em off to the auction to sell.

In construction, they predominantly use hilux's over here.

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

What do the mining companies do with the 70-series LCs after done with it?

What kind of exception is this? the fact that mining companies are allowed to import vehicles to the US not approved as road legal

A person/company can import a vehicle for off road use only.

 

[jnelson4x4taco]

My brother in law snapped some pics of 2 truckloads of Hilux's this morning. They were westbound I-70 just outside of Denver. They had beadlocks, snorkels, front and rear bumpers, sliders, awesome bedcages with dual spares, hi lift's mounted in hard cases on the tailgate, roofracks, etc. He thought they said "D300" on them, what would that be? Also, anyone know what the black port rearward of the tire is? Aux. tank? They were the same color and there were about 6 or so total. Here are some pics he sent me...

 

[KG6BWS]

::drool::Wow1::drool::Wow1::drool::Wow1::drool::Wow1::drool:

WOW DO I WANT ONE OF THOSE!!!

 

[corax]

nifty - I'm guessing the spare tire carriers swing out and then have a linkage that pivots down (like some humvee rear carriers) to get the tire closer to the ground (looks like the mounts have a verticle hinge, doesn't it?)

 

[daverami]

Man, those are nice. It would be nice to one day see those transports swinging into dealerships!

 

[DaveInDenver]

WOW DO I WANT ONE OF THOSE!!!

I drop a note to the Toyota customer service email once in a while with a "I'd like to buy a new Hilux with a D4D to replace my 20 year old Hilux with a 22R-E". I generally get the same response, thanks but there are no plans to import the Hilux or diesel engines in the immediate future. Oh well, it's their lost sale.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Wow, nice.

 

[xpdishun]

Just speculating but Toyota's manufacturing HQ in the US is off of I-70, just south of Cincy on the KY side. The best way to get something there from Japan would be via ports on the left coast via I-70. Maybe these are all crash test victims or for engineering tear downs.

Maybe with the plant in Cali closing Toyota is considering bringing the Tacoma and Hilux line together in the US. Wouldn't that be a dream!

 

[4xdog]

This is a fascinating thread. Thanks to the folks who have been sharp enough to get pix! I travel I-70 from MO to OH pretty often. I'm going to have to keep a camera at the ready...

I think this has to be related to some very special purpose build, and not to any simple consumer testing of the Hilux in the US. These vehicles have way too much custom work done to them for anything but some very serious mission.

The fact that there are two similar sets of vehicles different in a number of details might indicate a testing program in a remote location to determine a contract award winner.

Maybe private security services in a hot zone. My first guess though might be US Special Forces applications. I know a fairly high officer in Special Forces, and he tells me they'll go anywhere, and buy whatever makes sense for them, to get the best equipment for their missions. These have Rat Patrol written all over them, IMO. Extended range fuel tanks, multiple-receiver rear bumpers, something strange on the inside in the way of up-armoring or roll cages. BTW, the bull bars don't look like ARB, although they seem modeled on the ARB commercial bar for the Hilux.

 

[cletaco]

And is that a heavy duty antenna mount on the left front fender?

 

[greg mgm]

Unfreakin believable. I would have followed the truck drivers until
they finally stopped, and asked about those Hiluxes. Those are
super cool !!

 

[Ford Prefect]

What the heck is the difference in a Hilux and a Tundra???

 

[Ford Prefect]

For those interested, as an officer in the military, I can tell you that we would not use these trucks for anything. They would not serve a solid purpose for us.

As for the Hilux itself, I do not know, but look at these things. What in the heck would we need a rack on the roof for? We do not carry stuff up there for any reason. Second, look at the gun case on the back of the truck. That is firstly a gun case, we carry our weapons in hand or in a rack next to our seats, and second it is a ghetto flimsy thing, you should see the cases we ship our weapons in, they are huge, and much much more sturdy. Lastly we do not carry spare tires. If there is ever going to be a time in which we would need one, with those bead-locks, we will drive on the rim first and change the tire at the FOB. Lastly there is a LOT of metal up high, and that can only serve to get a guy killed by rolling his vehicle at high speeds.

Sorry conspiracy folks. My speculation is that these are built for a safari that some private civilian organization is going to take. OH, the black nozzle near the rear driver's side looks like a gas tank to me, for natural gas, or perhaps propane, I have seen them before and that is what they look like. I assume the vehicle is set to run duel fuel? The first set I would assume are going to be a security vehicle in the oil fields or in the mines, that mount on top is WAY too flimsy to mount more than a 22 rifle to it, it screams out Yellow Light mount to me, someone who is even too cheap to put on a light bar.

Not to be a kill joy or anything...
Brian

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

I can assure you that the white one's (Which look identical to the brown one's) were for a military application. There's no conspiracy theory, just fact's that were presented to me.