No Boundaries: Ford 4×4

If you had just taken delivery of a brand new Ford truck or SUV—Ranger, F-150, Expedition, or Explorer Sport Trac—then the last place you’d probably take it is to a place where it can be pummeled by rocks, crash into a riverbank or get buried in lahar.

That’s exactly what Ford asks its customers to do when it sends them invitations to the Ford Outfitters Run. The Outfitters Run is an offroading experience designed to let Ford 4×4 vehicle owners experience exactly what their trucks can do off the beaten tarmac. Although Ford described it as “light offroading,” anything more severe than parking-lot gravel would seem extreme for us offroading virgins. Our vehicle was also a virgin—we were behind the wheel of a brand-new panther-black Ranger 4×4 XLT, courtesy of Ford Motor Philippines. For a couple of days, we had put the Ranger through city duties, both as passenger car and truck, ferrying people, tables, tents and other equipment, but we suspected that it would truly be in its element come Outfitters on Sunday.

As the sun dawned over Pampanga, about 50 km north of Manila, the Outfitters group assembled at Max’s San Fernando—a glittering array of thirty-three Ford 4x4s. As luck—or rather our own brilliance—would have it, we ended up at the wrong Max’s and had to high-tail it to the correct branch at 130 km/h. Not that our Ranger complained about it; it was surprisingly willing and capable of such highway runs, and we soon arrived at the assembly point. As we stared at the brilliant paintwork, particularly the two bright yellow Pinatubo editions, we thought that this would be the last time that day that we’d see them spotless.

We were pleasantly surprised to see that the other participants weren’t wrestler-type hardcore offroaders, or taciturn Finns ready for the Thousand Lakes Rally, as we had pictured the group to be (due to an overactive imagination). They were warm, friendly folks, composed mostly of families, complete with moms and kids, who wanted to enjoy a break from the mall for once. And tear up some chunks of volcanic debris before lunch.

As we gobbled down our hearty breakfast, the people from Ford Group Philippines explained some of the basics of offroading. Don’t grip the steering wheel from the inside; a sudden twist of the wheel can sprain your wrist. When crossing a muddy path, keep the vehicle moving. A white flag means stop, and yellow means switch to 4×4 mode. Our appetites were whetted even more.

We were assigned our numbers—we were vehicle No. 27. We almost felt the spirit of Gilles Villenueve stir a fire in our bellies. Overactive imagination again; it was more likely the longganisa. With some effort we reminded ourselves that we wouldn’t be going anywhere near Monaco, this was not a race and we wouldn’t be doing any qualifying laps today.

The vehicles rolled off one by one around the parking lot and onto the highway. It must have been quite a sight from the sidelines, eighteen Rangers, eight Explorer Sport Tracs, five F-150s and two Expeditions in formation. A few kilometers later, the convoy broke off from the highway onto the Megadike.

The Megadike is a wall about 56 km long and 6-8 meters wide at the top. It was built in 1996 to the tune of PHP1.4 billion (USD 26 million) to protect southern Pampanga from being buried by Mt. Pinatubo’s lahar, a mix of mud and volcanic debris that could easily plow through anything in its path. Think of a river of steaming-hot concrete, including debris from stones to 10-meter boulders, flowing at up to 60 km/h and you’ll have a pretty accurate idea of what lahar can do to the landscape.

The top of the Megadike doubled as a road, in the same way that a pile of boulders could be termed a footpath. Actually, the road surface was pockmarked with rocks, bumps and deep ruts. We plowed along at about 30-50 km/h, avoiding the deeper holes, but traversing the shallower dips with ease. We switched the Ranger to 4×4 high mode. The pickup held steady and was nimble enough to dodge the bigger holes. Soon it became impossible to avoid all of them, as there were oncoming trucks in the other lane.

We were not about to drive over the craters slowly, or we would lose sight of the vehicle ahead and break the convoy. So we rode the holes like a speedboat would crest the waves. The Ranger was utterly obedient to commands to change direction. Thankfully so, because the alternative would have been a 6-meter plunge down the edge of the wall.

Fist-sized rocks pummeled the Ranger’s wheel-wells and floorpan. No car-derived SUV, no matter how tough it may look, would have survived even this first section.

We would have considered thirty minutes of rock-surfing a sufficient dose of offroading, but it was merely a preview. Part two was a descent from the Megadike to a river bed. The vehicles ground to a halt at the end of the dike, and we were instructed to switch to 4×4 low mode. We needed to traverse some large boulders that formed a staircase of sorts down to the river bed; these rocks would be pulling each of the Ranger’s tires in different directions.

The correct way is to keep the vehicle parallel to the line of descent—that is, pointing straight down. It may seem like a steeper plunge from the driver’s seat, but the vehicle will be more stable because it will descend along its longer axis. If one attempts to take it in a diagonal path, the truck has good chance of rolling over. There was a frightening moment when a white F-150 Lariat took the descent slightly diagonally. The marshals shouted at the driver to keep it straight. Once the huge pickup was correctly aimed, it rolled down without incident.

The riverbed itself was not too deep and we traversed easily, the water rushing by just below the truck’s floor. At the far bank was some soft sand which the Ranger climbed easily. We ascended a 30-degree hillside—funny how quickly we begin to take things for granted—then roared off along what passed for a road in these parts—a hardened lahar path leading to the Porac river.

Still far from the river, we broke off from the main road onto an expanse of mudlike land. The only other vehicles there were ten-wheeler dump trucks. We immediately realized that this was going to be the tricky part. Our path wasn’t just mud or sand; it was soft lahar, as thick and sticky as wet concrete and as treacherous as quicksand. The convoy didn’t have the luxury of pausing for instructions before plunging in but we recalled the earlier briefing. We stayed in 4×4 high mode and kept the throttle halfway to the floor. The key here was to not to follow the tracks of the vehicle ahead. Each truck would carve out a deep channel in the lahar, and going in its tracks would sink your vehicle deeper in. If your own floorpan sinks down to the lahar, the only way out will be at the end of a towrope.

Slicing our own path, we felt the lahar clawing at our wheels, slowing down their rotation. When that happens, you’d better not lose your nerve and slow down, as once your wheels stop spinning it’s hard to get them turning again. One Explorer Sport Trac and an Expedition were sunk in, the Expedition buried nearly to its floorpan. The marshals’ Pinatubo-edition Rangers waded over to winch them out. We kept the engine on the boil, thankful that the Ranger had 280 Nm at its disposal, and soon found ourselves on solid ground again.

The vehicles that made it through stopped in a single line, everyone taking out their bottled waters and chips. We were spectators waiting for the other vehicles to pull through. That is, until an F150 owner realized that this was a good time to play. The hard lahar with pockets of water in between was the perfect place to stretch the vehicles’ legs. Everyone soon fired up their engines to have a go on the improvised rallycross field.

After all the vehicles had made it through, the convoy sped off across another lahar field, this time firmer than the quicksand variety. The vehicles spread out so as not to ride in each other’s tracks. After the short sprint, the group assembled on a plateau for a photo. There was a surreal beauty to this place, a desolate, rocky landscape surrounded by lush mountains. Color everything red and you’d have an excellent set for Mission to Mars 2.

The last portion was a drive along a jungle of weeds extending way past the trucks’ roofs. Lara Croft would have felt right at home. We soon arrived at the gate of Clark Special Economic Zone. We parked at the picnic area, and the famished group attacked yet another series of courses—all of them quite appetizing.

We ended the day with our vehicles nearly unrecognizable. All of them were now chalky white, the only clear area being the glass swept by the wipers. Yet the trucks were running smoothly, all drivetrains purring and all external panels in place. There weren’t any squeaks or rattles, even after the rough treatment. Apparently, these Fords could take anything that Mt. Pinatubo’s lahar fields could throw at them and still have something in reserve. As for the participants, we were all cool and happy, as if we’d gone for a Sunday drive in Makati. We filed out of Clark Special Economic Zone with a new respect for the truck at our command. We didn’t think that Mount Pinatubo would be acting up on our way home, but if she did, we had just the right Ford for the job.

motioncars.com would like to thank Ford Group Philippines.
If you’re a Ford 4×4 owner (or potential owner) and would like to know more about the Outfitters program, please contact Ford Group Philippines at +63 49 541-5000 or visit https://www.ford.com.ph

By Jason Ang | Photos By Ulysses Ang and Jason Ang
Originally Published in the June 2002 Issue