2012 raptor - a big disappointment. Not for desert trail.

[Al Bastaki]

guys.. sorry but this truck is a piece of ****.

Here's why;

Prologue--

I've owned and driven jeeps;
Jeep Rubicon '09 (which was shipped over as it isnt sold in the Emirates).
Jeep XJ '01
Jeep Sahara '11

I've owned and driven;
Nissan Patrol Y61 (LWB) '09 VTC engine.
Nissan Patrol Y61 (SWB) '08 Swapped with a VTC engine.
Nissan Patrol Y61 (SWB) '12.

All these cars were driven offroad. our beloved popo's have become very strict on suspension mods, engine swaps, lift kits, exhaust systems.. etc..

Then our local ford stealership comes up with this truck and claims that it's giving out offroad warranty on their trucks. The trucks come preinstalled with everything you need; from acclaimed super heavy duty control arms and fox shocks and rear diff lockers and whatnot, all the bells and whistles.

So here I was; I shed a... no... not 45k us $.. oh no.. no no no. I paid Seventy. Yes.

I Paid Seventy Thousand U.S. Dollars for my rig.

Why didn't I just import one from the states? simply because the warranty does not work here, there are tonnes of imported raptors and they are all out there stacked up in the used market with warranties that are deemed unusable.

SO... The GCC spec'd Raptor;
1. Overheats. and so does the transmission (the radiator is a joke).
2. Frame-Bents.
3. A suspension that sucks; i.e. the front drops on every speed bump, the rear hops like a galloping freggin pony.
4. the bump stop.. is just a joke. honestly wtf?!

I just finished my 1k and took the car into the desert on a Junior Route from Al Fayah to Al Khatim - Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Dropped the air pressure down to 15 psi and hit the sand. yes it drive smooth on some of the slightly bumpy areas... but anything that would be considered as an average bump... damn... the front just DROPS! ... the skiddie was like bumped right through in no time! I was like... what the!! i've built 3mm thick steel and aluminum skid plates... none ever got this f-ed up, esp on a newbie route.. I WAS LITERALLY OUT Just stretching my cars legs.... its brand new.. i didnt want to break a 70k rig on its first day into the desert... no extreme driving... going up and down hills... speeds NEVER exceeding 50km/h. the average speed was like 30km/h.

The entire route.. the car was playing squishy squashy, I was like.. am I in the sea? am i sitting on a freggin boat?! The front keeps going.. BUMP. BUMP... the rear.. BUMP.. BUMP. I was like.. okay.

So I was like.. i gotta check this out. my skid plate is almost totaled now.
I filled up the tyres and got on the road.. alas! the steering isnt straight... i laughed... I kept laughing. I was like...

with my nissan patrols... I litterally would go off and jump off a crest and LAND on IT's nose... the car would DIVE and the car would be at a 90 DEGREE angle and form a CARHENGE right smack in the middle of the desert and smack back down right on its wheels on leaving a slllliiiiighhhht bump in my cars front steering mount assembly was bent which was fixed for about 1k and that was one decent of a jump that landed on the cars nose... its bumper and chasis. The Plastic Bumper was Still intact so was everything in the car... I only had to get it fixed because i got a slight wobble as i drove at high speeds... so only when i finally got to check it out a couple of months later.. i went ahead and got the thing fixed.

The Nissan chassis never saw any harm of the 3 years of constant 40k mileage of abuse that it saw in the desert... all that was changed and serviced were the diffs, and the shafts that the dealership did on its own expense. They come with dana 60's front and rear.. unlike jeeps.

the raptor yesterday... only saw... SOFT sand.. the rain hasnt fallen yet... the dunes havent hardened yet... and the car has broken down.

so i read and read about the raptor and started to understand more and more about it.

what ****** me off the most is that everyone is AWARE that the frame gets bent.
everyone is aware that the skid plate is a joke.
everyone is aware that the front suspension should've been set to atleast the middle perch setting for any proper offroad use.
most are aware that the front suspension requires harder and strong upper and lower control arms and what not should they plan on using upper perch setting.
everyone is aware how weak the factory upper and lower control arms are...
everyone is aware that the dealership.. will not reimburse them due to the design shortcomings.

I mean for crying out loud.. the thing weighs 3200 kilos and they put a joke of a skid plate and set the suspension to droop and hop around like a monkey even on speed bumps?! they utterly wanted to cut costs JUST so that they'd cut on expenses and make a tad more profit.

And everyone knows of the essential mods... and everyone is talking about it... only they are talking about it.. TO THE WRONG CROWD.

ive dealt with jeep - they are pros.. and they know what they're doing... the jeep dealership here.. beats any dealership in the entire region. even nissan's.

but honestly.. for our terrains... that require constant cresting, the bloody raptor will collapse right on to itself. This thing is not built for the Sahara... i can't even cross a mile in the empty quarter with the way this thing is built.

sorry if i've come to the church of ford raptor and spoke my heart out. But atleast i am honest. and i appologise if i hurt anyones feelings or got out of line. but this is how i feel. and I'm marshal of an offroading club here in Abu Dhabi... and everyone's crossed the raptor for good in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.. especially after the footies i shot with my dslr and the documentary ive made... its consumer abuse... and I cant stand it when companies abuse their customers.

 

[Macman]

Interesting perspective, did you bend your frame? Most frame bending I have heard about was going over 100mph off jumps exceeding what any factories frame would handle. I think based on the shear temperature of your region lots of birth American cars might have cooling issues with stock systems. I don't see how you could bend your frame going 30 though.

 

[Raptizzle]

 

[Al Bastaki]

Macman.. I gotta show you the rears of my other cars, where the holes are laid for the chassis for expansion, the raptor has got the right smack above the bump stop.. and not only that... the bumpstop even looks like it was forcefully smacked into the chassis.. never in my life have i seen such a stupid design.

Yes, i did get the bend, but not so much, the terrain was against the dunes and the side crests were towards the left, the left side would get a headsup, therefore most of my bending was seen on the right side...

its not so much about speed as it's about impact.

i've decided to make a documentary about it, i've got a couple of gopros, i'll stick them to a couple of cars showing speed and how hard the bumpstops are hit.

it's clear and very obvious that measures have not been taken to create a better suspension. what car on gods earth hops, and the front drops 2 inches from the moment you get it right out of the dealership. i've seen some suspension sag... the worst ive seen was on my '09 patrol which was an inch lower after 3 years of offroading abuse.. the raptor's front suspension sagged by 1.5-2 inches right from the factory accross the first speed bump.. and so did most of the cars that ive seen on the forums.

 

[Raptizzle]

Move your perch to middle and buy a bump kit. Problem solved....

 

[Macman]

I think a few preventative mods would create the exact vehicle you are looking for. Stage 3 from rpg or outlaw would protect your frame and then go atleast mid perch. I'd also just upgrade the radiator and you would be virtually bulletproof. To be fair the truck wasn't designed for the climate over there so there is bound to be issues.

 

[Phyguy]

Maybe an upgraded transcooler if you need it.

 

[SPRSNK]

Kings and an Outlaw Raptor bumpstop would make a world a difference.

 

[Squatting Dog]

failing to prepare is preparing to fail

-Greg

 

[Al Bastaki]

Move your perch to middle and buy a bump kit. Problem solved....

I Can't buy a bump kit... should i take my car to register it... the lovely popo's here wont allow me to register it as it is illegal in the UAE to modify the suspension, lift cars, swap engines, add any engine modifications, headers, catbacks, add bullbars, winchbars, make any modification to the chassis... as in... keep your car STOCK. I can't even change wheel rims or the size of my cars tyres. its gotta be whatever that's on the door's sticker.

They allowed such modifications a year ago.. but have become very... very strict now. the ford dealership knows that their car comes all ready for the desert and no other car comes with a lift kit and all the bells and whistles... so they are charging everyone a premium of 15k us dollars for that. and the popo's cant tell us our car's got fox shocks go get em changed.. because the car comes readily with fox shocks.... readily with a steel bumper.. readily with a skid plate... thats why i got this car. i wont get fined.

but it sucks... its got all nice specs.. but stupidly fitted.