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

[Rapt]

All you UAE guys are driving a vehicle that wasnt intended by the Mfg. to be there & then you complain when things go badly.
Why do you think Ford doesnt want to export them?
This is the same as if I nosedived a Cessna and complained the wings tore off.
Yeah, you paid a ton of money for your Raptor, is that Fords fault? Not from where I sit. Go scream at your dealer.
Come to one of the many Raptor events here in the states and you will be able to see just what this vehicle can do without all this drama.

My Raptor is actually a GCC (Gulf) Spec built and intended specifically for this region and distributed directly by Ford

 

[Al Bastaki]

Lol... Nice to see fanboys getting all defensive.

Anyways, I'm keeping the truck, and look for simpler routes. Like the many pms I've got from fellow raptor owners here, they all say we should have our own club and form routes that are less destructive to our cars and that our cars break following fj's and patrols.

The bottom line is and the lesson learned hard was that we ought to stick to simpler non-bumpy routes, the car does well on gravel and soft sand, but can't do crests, and at high speeds.

You don't need to get your mouths dirty with all the foul language that has been thrown. There's no harm in being objective. Lol.

I thought I was having a bad day. Sheesh.

 

[JP7]

Lol... Nice to see fanboys getting all defensive.

Anyways, I'm keeping the truck, and look for simpler routes. Like the many pms I've got from fellow raptor owners here, they all say we should have our own club and form routes that are less destructive to our cars and that our cars break following fj's and patrols.

The bottom line is and the lesson learned hard was that we ought to stick to simpler non-bumpy routes, the car does well on gravel and soft sand, but can't do crests, and at high speeds.

You don't need to get your mouths dirty with all the foul language that has been thrown. There's no harm in being objective. Lol.

I thought I was having a bad day. Sheesh.

Al - to address your original post - you appear to have come off as a 'Tool'.

Your subsequent posts, and those that Jeep or Nissan would be proud of - single you out as a promoter for those companies (or the 'Z' to stir it up).

Inflammatory posts against the truck whom so many members experience fun and satisfaction with - will get you negative feedback, no matter if you are a club marshall.

If you have a problem with your engine or tranny overheating - then Ford should be able to help, and if you follow the owners manual on how to drive the truck, you may realize that 'cool-down' periods are required in extreme conditions.

If you bend your skid plate - you didn't understand the limitations of your vehicle and clearly took it too hard. By the way, it's aluminum. Check out today's thread under 'AARG' and you'll see this truck can take a pretty severe beating under jumps and still drive out unscathed.

I won't go there on the Hennessy burn-down mentioned earlier by Birdman - nor the apparent lack of respect for driving skills and other motorists.

Your documentary video is very political and appears to have had the assistance of marketing consultants for your club. Watching Jeeps and Nissans slide sideways through sand was pretty boring. A video of the Raptor getting it's skid plate smashed into oblivion would be much more exciting - followed up by the Jeeps and Nissan's hitting the run at the same speed taking factors such as wheelbase into account.

It's understandable that you are upset of the overheating issues - but should a little bit of the hatred you've expressed on this thread be directed at your "Ford Certified Mechanics" there who analyzed the problems?

I beat the hell outta my first Raptor without breaking anything serious and I consider 25 years of wrenching, building, and racing trucks offroad to certify that claim. If you rendered your truck (not car) unuseable in only 1000km, I'd like to see how you drive, and the trail conditions you have besides the sand dunes. PropDr and 6.2 had it right as far as "use the vehicle as intended, and drive accordingly to your needs".

You have a losing battle here, as objective as you thought you presented your opinion. Too many of us like these trucks and I know for a fact that (aside from a little sacrificial paint) I can take my Raptor only places a Jeep, FJ, or Nissan could dream of going.

/steps down from soapbox...

 

[Al Bastaki]

Yeah every other carmake didn't break down the other day, except for the raptor.

I'm stating facts.

And just so you know, I just got back from the dealership's service center, claiming that they will try to see if they could set the car in mid perch, they were confused and baffled and utterly stood there in silence as I explained that the front shocks had perches in them and the car can be raised... They said... It will definitely void warranty. I further expressed that I wanted to install rear chassis strengtheners, which made them even more concerned.

After 3 hours of showing the plethora of images of mods done from people on this forum and that many of whom have done straight from the dealer in the states... They were even more confused. We have a money sucking, incompetent, dealership. I spoke of coil compressors... And they stood there as if I was speaking in an alien language.

And for fun sake I asked about installing catbacks... Hahahaha... Bolton... Catbacks... They said, oh sorry sir, bubbleheads, then goes on and says, you can't fix it to the car sir. Hahaha..bubbleheads again. It will void all car warranty. So no borla... No corsa... Or anything for that matter.

I'm just speechless.

I swear I have no intention of causing a ruckus. I swear. I have paid on my truck 20g's more than anyone else on these forums, and I am told by the dealer that if I so much as add a bolt or modify a bolt on this vehicle.. I void it's entire warranty.

And the. I mentioned, well it states that if I changed a part why I on earth would it void the entire cars warranty... They simply said, we will then have to consider the customers argument and further study the argument. I then said how long does it usually take to study such "arguments"... Bubbleheads.. Then says.. Maybe one month to get reply sir.

:/

 

[zaherachour]

hahahaaaaa, these guys push driving to the limit. in my country driving is not as civilized, but you dont see us driving on two wheel drifting on the middle of the highway, blocking the whole traffic for your personnel use. crazyyy.

i know one thing if your radiator is lighting up your dashboard like a Christmas tree, than you should go see your dealership, and say f*** you and upgrade the radiator. each car company in the world when they send a car to a particular country, they do modification based on the countries standarts.
it is really surprising to hear that ford UAE is not doing its job and are ignorant.

tell me one thing is it normal that you register in a forum, then bash the one thing that represent this forum, and think your gonna get away with it.

sorry man, that's not the way how to roll up in here.
you should have introduced you car, explaining what are your problems and that's it.
i am sure you would have seen a better reaction from the boys, offering more ideas to you problem. but you had to bash the car
God knows i want to put my foot up your A** for bashing the raptor, but we are all civilized ppl.

good luck with finding a solution

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

 

[NY SCREW]

should have bought a ram runner sounds like it would fit you just swell.

its one thing to sign up an post up in a respectful way asking for help trouble shooting your dilemma you encountered, its another to do what you did hence the reaction from the members. You brought this own your self by disrespecting the truck this forum is built upon . Seriously what did you expect to sht talk the truck an everyone agree an we all decide to sell our trucks based on your particular problems? it seems based on your op you were trying to stir the pot for the get well sir you did. Ever hear the old every action has a opposite or equal reaction? your action to drive this truck irresponsibly resulted in its current state the truck didnt do this on its own you have to take responsibility for what you did sorry the truck dosnt meet your standards but whos fault is that? . your action to post up like a spoiled 5 year old who broke his tonka truck after he threw it into oncoming traffic resulted in the members taking offense .

you strike me as the kind of guy who buys a lambo an hits 180 then crashes an cry's about how the car is made to do it,an the car sucks cause it crashed . yes the car is designed for that , with a responsible educated experienced drive behind the machine not you.....oh ,an whos to blame if a person buys a car over sticker value the sales men doing his job, or the person under no duress an of his own free will that actually pays the price knowing how much it should coast? rant to be continued..........

 

[pallwall]

So glad I left that crap hole. The worst drivers are over there. He sounds like an idiot and he should be banned.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[bstoner59]

Your problem sounds more like a dealer problem than a Raptor problem. I see why you are frustrated. For $70,000 dollars the truck doesn't live up to the hype. Really...you paid $20,000 more than its intended cost. $20,000 can get you a nice little head start in the mod dept.

Driving a 6000lb truck in the dunes isn't like driving a 3,000lb truck. It takes a little different driving approach. It's your job as the driver to understand and adjust to your vehicle.

Bring one of your little Nissans over here to our desert and see if it can keep up with us Raptor owners

 

[Squatting Dog]

Since you are the grand marshal of an offroad club, you should know the cardinal rules of driving offroad.

Before taking your new truck offroad..

1) Read your owners manual thoroughly before going off-road, or on road for that matter. Learn your vehicle.

2) The most important elements of a successful off road adventure are safety and preparation. ALWAYS prepare your vehicle and yourself for driving offroad!

Taking any new truck offroad and bombing through the trails at high speed, is abuse and asking for vehicle damage to occur. With 23+ years of driving offroad the Ford Raptor is one of the most unique and capable offroad vehicles I have EVER driven. There is a learning curve in learning to drive it, because of it's shear size. I would put Raptor up against ANY production truck WITH A SKILLED AND CAPABLE DRIVER and the Raptor will come out on top EVERY time.

Just because you spent an extra $20k on the Raptor and drove it like an idiot within the first 1000km and wrecked it. That is your own damn fault, more money than common sense!

Expecting to come on a forum with passionate Raptor owners, and get sympathy from them. Whose owners/members take pride in owning the most capable production offroad vehicle.


-Greg