We had run our modified Toyota van, ‘Vannerite’, about as high as she would go. With over 300K miles on her clock she had seen every stretch of asphalt the Northwest had to offer. Someone had loved her, that was obvious. But that someone wasn’t us. Our relationship was going to be bit more complex. It started with the obligatory eviscerating of her wheel wells and shoving in a set of 30” Falkens. Gutting the interior of any amenity, reducing the wiring harness to a skeleton cluster, and destroying all her paperwork - she was now ready for a proper VIKTOS first date.
We had reached the summit the night before, intent on overnighting in the rig and setting out ass-crack early on the shoot. On the way up we’d pass the usual backwoods Oregon fare; Tweaked out coasties, suspect bikers caning rattletrap KX500s, and a couple long-haired friends of Jesus in a Subaru Forester. Your average camper might be concerned about such disparate company, but given the 3rd world look of Vannerite and the armory contained within, we’d have no troubles that night.
Inversion layer below and a glorious ‘Oregunian’ sunrise above - natures reminder free men still roam these lands
As the the sun pulled higher overhead the temperature changed quickly. Off came the Zerodark jacket and on went the Kadre shorts and sandals. Black gunning is a lifestyle that requires adaptability and VIKTOS is built around this philosophy. If you ain’t adapting, you ain’t winning.
Like many things in life, coming down was significantly easier than coming up. Until the brake fade produced a moment of our own inversion, namely of the sphincter. But good vans are as good vans do, and our Kandahar Kruiser took it like a champ. Look for her in future episodes of VIKTOS versus wild.