January ‘26 Rig of the Month

Phillip Smith is the January 2026 Rig of the Month!

Alright, let’s get this party started! We have something different for you to get 2026 rolling. Congratulations to Phillip R. Smith and his Toyota Sequoia for being chosen our January 2026 K&I Four Wheelers “Rig of the Month”!

Members may remember that Phil started his K&I wheeling adventures with his daily driver/overlanding Nissan Armada. While Phil was adventurous with the Armada he was still very concerned with tearing it up and leaving himself without wheels for his weekday life.

Enter the in-laws Sequoia…That’s right his wife’s understanding parents are enablers…Gifted him a project. The 2001 Toyota Sequoia you see here. At some point in its life it had been totaled and repaired, so with 330,000 miles on the 4.7 v8 it was time for this Toyota to become a wheeler. Phil put the hefty Sequoia on a diet. Removing whatever didn’t need to be there. This raised the rear 3” which he matched with a front lift. After some body mods he has been able to shoehorn in 37s! In a commitment to the traction gods Phil welded the rear axle. He’s still running the stock IFS in the front…that is until it no longer wants to play. So, if you have a straight axle you are wanting to move you may want to add Phil to your friends list. As far as other mods Phil has also reworked the intake to prevent sucking in the environment.

This may not be the fanciest wheeler out there, but he is out there. Having a blast, learning what works, helping out and doing it differently! When you see Phillip congratulate him on receiving this honor! As always if you have additional pictures drop them in the comments.