[Tejas@perioimpl]

It all started with a call. Mostly everything does nowadays. So, we catch a flight and go to Delhi to have a look at the barren piece of flat land that will need to be converted into a 4WD track for the upcoming Toyota Bootcamp.


The piece of land:




Mostly sandy in nature:




Doodling plans over lunch:




More doodling:




Rough sketch of the track:




Final outlines of the track:




Superimposed on Google Earth:




Pdf of plans, layout, brief mailed for approval:




Plans approved and we reach the venue a week ahead of the event to start work on the track:




Track marking with JCB starts:




Track outline done:

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Obstacle preparation starts:




Supervising the work:




Obstacles being prepared:




Ditch Preparation:




JCB hard at work:




Filling the water ditch prior to testing:




Work and testing goes on till late night:




Testing clearances:

[Tejas@perioimpl]

JCB finalizing the deep ditch:




Testing ditch clearances:




Clearance is just fine!:




Axle twisters (“axle breakers”) being chalked out:




Checking axle twister clearances:




Rubble arrives for the base of the mound:




Work on the mound starts:




The mound rises:




More soil on the mound:




Another layer of rubble sandwiched on the mound:

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Watering the mound as the JCB compresses the soil:




If it’s compacted enough for the JCB to climb, it’s good enough for the Fortuner:




Testing with the Fortuner:




View of the mound from water ditch:




Work on slush area starts:




Adding grass to the slush area to make it “slushy”:




Water added and lots of runs by a tractor with a plow to make it even more slushy:




And bingo! We have slush!:

[Tejas@perioimpl]

The Tyre Obstacle:




Logs arrive for the log obstacles and crossings:




JCB helps with the parallel log crossing:




The log rumblers:




Testing the slide incline. Yeah, we increased the inclination further; ask any participant how tilted the car was!:




Testing clearances of the alternate mounds and dips:




Yup, more clearance required here:




Getting the manual labour to help with the approach, departure and ramp over angles:

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Late night at workshop to test the see saw ramp:




Yes, the welds hold!:




The ramp skeleton:




Works progresses through the night:




Ramps get delivered in the morning for final assembly:




First ramp in position:




Both ramps in place, joined together by a few bars welded prior to testing:




Fortuner approaches the ramp:




Ramp works!:

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Here's a video of the track obstacles that was shot by Toyota:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LcR94_ekUmE

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0fP3AndvsuA

[Tejas@perioimpl]

A few pics of the track while it was being prepared from a nearby building:

[Tejas@perioimpl]

A few photos of the event off the web:

[bblost]

Thread moved from Assembly Line

Thanks for Sharing.

[nilanjanray]

Brilliant thread, thanks for sharing how the course got conceptualized from scratch!

I only wish Toyota would train the ASCs to cater for the offroading crowd.

When I had done this course in Bangalore, and went to the ASC later, they didn't have an clue on what to check and what/how to maintain after such slushy offroading. E.g. proper tightening, greasing etc. Or for that matter, checking the alternator, starter motor...my starter motor was affected later because dirt/mud/water would have gone inside and created some sort of coating, and it started malfunctioning after a few months. A simple check-up and wiping/cleaning would have prevented what happened. I didn't know then what I know now, and many folks like me would be left at the mercy of the incompetent ASCs for post-bootcamp maintenance and check-ups.

Perhaps you can pass on the message to the organizers - to create a checklist of things to do and things to check after such a bootcamp at the ASC.

[parsh]

Feels like having been there all this while, right from ground 0 to the actual event. I would have thought, such things (the planning and execution) etc were not to be made public but the public event could be. But seeing them here, maybe it is not so. Isn't there confidentiality etc involved, not that it seems to be big trade secret. But loved it absolutely. Thanks a ton for sharing complete detail, especially since it involves the favorite SUV TFort in the new Avatar.

[Ahmed]

Thanks a lot for sharing this information. Well deserved 5 stars on the same. After reading your thread - it felt like I was there and felt each and everything happening there.

Wondering when this will come back to Mumbai/Pune... My ride needs to flex a bit!

[phamilyman]

brilliant job done boss. i am at a loss of words

i think dentists make some of the best engineers!!

[zipperone]

Excellent Track by Allan, Dr. Tejas and the team. The event was very well organised and I hope to see the guys next year with even more challenges.