It’s about time. The Isuzu vehicles that state an active outdoor lifestyle went all out to show how the D-Max and the Mu-X can bring the adventurous family camping, no matter the terrain to get there.
An attractive convoy of eight Isuzu vehicles – four D-Max variants, two Mu-X editions, and two D-Max support units – drove from Metro Manila to Tanay, Rizal on Saturday, Oct. 14, just as the weekend started.
“We are going camping!” was the statement the units made on the road, outfitted by Overland Kings with roof top tents, awnings, crossbars, lights and tires – three D-Max LS-E 4x4 AT, a D-Max Limited 4x2 AT; and two Mu-X LS-E 4x4 AT, with the support D-Max units.
The D-Max overlanding kits displayed a variety of models of the Adventure Kings Pop-up tents, adjustable aluminum rack, 270-degree free standing awning, Mammoth Crossbar and PIAA LED bar.
The Mu-X overland kits presented the outdoor lifestyle with the convenience amenities of the 900mm Titan drawer a 42-liter water system, Adventure Kings side awning, and EcoFlow Delta 2 power supply.
Overland Kings, led by Joel Conrad Pedro, set up a dream campsite which captured the attention of camping devotees at the River Ranch in Tanay, and even of the casual campers who just came along for the ride.
“Each one of you has an Isuzu story to tell,” Isuzu Philippines President, Tetsuya Fujita, said to the motoring media who were there.
True. With the years of road trips that Isuzu Philippines Corporation had organized since 2002, each motoring editor, reporter, or broadcast journalist always has one story to tell – from the time they drove Isuzu vehicles in Pinatubo (Ron de los Reyes holds the record number of drives there), to Mt. Pulag (where former IPC president Mr. Koso was taken for a very long ride through another route after going down from the summit), to Chico River in the north (where Tessa Salazar still remembers the level 4 white water river rafting), to many more. (Don’t make the mistake of asking one of them a story except if you have time to listen to stories of the many test drive events of IPC.)
The Tanay drive will add another story to be told again and again.
Before driving to the campsite in River Ranch, Joel Pedro had prepared river crossings and rock crawling routes to challenge the D-Max and Mu-X.
Ron de los Reyes and me, with Mr. Fujita as our passenger, drove the D-Max 4x4 AT. Switching to 4H, Ron drove without hesitation to cross the three river crossings, a portion deep enough with a strong current to displace a vanity plate off one of the D-Max units. We switched to 4L when the rocky portion came, listening to Joel’s instructions on the radio, to guide our steering. Then it was regular driving all the way, with a few bumps that was hardly noticeable with the new suspension of the D-Max 4x4 AT Limited edition, which has a 20 mm higher ground clearance than the other variants.
The drive to the campsite was comfortable, we were led to our camp by neatly placed placards – ‘Isuzu Camp Out – D-Max and Mu-X’. Joel had thought of all the little details that made the event a real campsite.
There, the eight Isuzu vehicles were turned into our quarters for the night – awnings folding out of the sides of the units, roof top tents rising from soft- and hard-shell packs, ground tents standing beside the vehicles.
In the middle of the camp were places to socialize, a large tent for dining, another for drinks or conversation, another for the kitchen where good old comfort food (like Batchoy) was prepared by Sarsa. It was a delight and a pleasant surprise to be served the Bacolod delicacy of piaya with longanisa filling by a man named Saul, who replied that he is “taga-UK” when I asked where he comes from. (I thought he was a local as he was speaking in Taglish.)
And what’s a campsite without a bonfire? There was one too, the wood for the fire cradled by a steel contraption like an open vase, to prevent burning the grass.
There was coffee too at a silent part of the campsite where a classic VW Kombi parked that drew the campers around it in the morning because it served coffee under the name of Kombi Brew.
Even the stars cooperated to make the camp experience special. When the lights went off at about 10 p.m., those still awake gawked at the clear sky filled with stars. The simple joy of star gazing was amazing. When was the last time we did that?
That experience – of the river crossing with the D-Max and Mu-X, the sound of a running river beside the campsite, the company of old and new friends, good, freshly cooked food, and the stars – happened because of the Isuzu Camp.