Taking on the Mint 400, America's toughest, most storied off-road race, is hard enough in a purpose-built race truck. But attempting it with a near-stock Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro? That's crazy talk.
Starting and finishing in Primm, Nev., the Mint 400 runs as a series of loops that cover everything from rocky mountain passes to flat-out dry lake beds. It's a tough ask for any vehicle, but the beating it puts on a stock truck – the frame, transmission, and especially the suspension – is way outside the normal operating envelope.
Get to the finish and you've earned some bad-ass credentials for your chosen manufacturer. But end the day at the side of the trail with a corner hanging off – or worse – and word gets around that the truck ain't everything it's cracked up to be...
Camburg Racing was the team hoping to conquer the Mint with a Tacoma TRD Pro. Based in Huntington Beach, Calif., it's a major player in off-road suspension systems and designs and builds its own race trucks, too. Still, competing with a near-stock vehicle offers a different set of challenges. It's as much about what you can't do as what you can.
No guts, no glory. But did Camburg and the Tacoma TRD Pro have what it takes to beat the desert? Follow the story from build to raceday in our five-part "Dealer to Desert" video series, and find out more about Camburg here.
. They sometimes have fun off road stories and news stuff.
