2001 Toyota Sequoia Overlander Turned Race Rig

STORY BY DANNY KORECKI

PHOTOS BY AUSTIN LESTER

Johnson Valley sand is no competition killer for this modded Sequoia.

“[I] NEEDED SOMETHING RELIABLE TO PUT MILES ON DAILY, IT WASN’T INTENDED TO BE WHAT IT HAS BECOME. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO JUST BE A BEATER TO SAVE MILES ON MY NICE TRUCK.”

Derek Miller inspects the Big Tree's cockpit and performs a comms check before qualifiers.

There is something special about being the first. Sure coming in first in a race or competition is great, but being the first to achieve something that no one before you had put a path down for you to follow? That is truly special.

For Derek Miller that unique thing to achieve was being the first to take on the toughest off-road race—King of the Hammers—with a Toyota Sequoia.

The Rig

Miller’s rig is a 2001 Toyota Sequoia SR5. You might be thinking why a Sequoia? “I found a great deal on it. Needed something reliable to put miles on daily, it wasn’t intended to be what it has become. It was supposed to just be a beater to save miles on my nice truck. It went through several build stages,” says Miller.

In its current stage, the Sequoia features the original stock Toyota 4.7-liter V-8 engine and has over 220,000 miles on the clock. Not only that, the rig features the original 100-percent stock Toyota A340F transmission to go along with it. The transfer case was upgraded a bit however to an Off-Road Design Magnum/205 combo.