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Bark beetle
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All I need is someone with a Power Wagon in Northern NM so I can take some measurements.
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GEN 2 800A+ Offroad Build
- Thread starter Bark beetle
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All I need is someone with a Power Wagon in Northern NM so I can take some measurements.
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Bark beetle
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I did my first multi-day trip and the truck worked pretty good over the area I covered in Southern Utah. The one major issue I identified is my antenna mount isn't going to work in the current location. I knocked it off no less than 5 times when I was running at higher elevation where there were pine trees. Down in the desert it isn't an issue.
I played with the modes more and mostly used baja mode in 2 and 4wd with manual shifting for "spirited" driving. No matter how you hold the traction control button, it still intrudes quickly which makes Normal and Sport worthless. Mud/Sand mode won't allow 2wd so it is was out for much of the driving. All these modes and nannies suck. They should have just made everything manual and given the driver full control. Manual shifting a tranny with no traction control/ABS and a rear locker is enough for most all of the terrain this truck is good at. The sway bar is good for high speed cornering but way too stiff as soon as the road gets rough, it is a compromise. I left it on for the entire trip because most of the roads we covered were relatively smooth. Going with the sway bar, I find that the EPS doesn't have the feel/feedback that hydraulic steering has and I found the girth on the steering wheel annoying as the trip went on. The loaner truck I picked up on Friday, while they finish the hood replacement, has a thinner one and allows a better grip around the 10/2 and 9/3 areas.
One the plus side, I got great mileage, up to 20mpg, to and from the offroad areas and the power is much much better than my Tacoma. Mileage on dirt was around 10mpg, which is what I expected. Finding the speed limiter is really easy making passes on the two lane roads and finding 70 is far too easy on the dirt because stopping for an unseen animal, bike, UTV at 70 takes time. One has to really pay attention with blind corners and cut the speed way back to remain safe. The truck stepped out predictably and I had no issues with the rear suspension at all. I found the mud flaps when I bottomed once in a dip, so they are longer than they probably should be but they sure did keep the truck clean compared to the Tacoma! The shocks like to be pushed hard and worked well with the tires at 30 psi. The gen 2 KOs don't chip nearly as bad as the first gen ones and they are my favorite tire for this type of terrain. I have tried many other tires and I have always come back to these. I know there is someone on FRF that managed to destroy a set but I think they must have driven on razor blades! I had a set of Gen 1 KOs that were close but that is still an amazing feat.
For a mostly stock truck, the truck worked quite well. I think my dream truck for this type of trip is still a regular cab Tacoma with long travel and a well built turbo charged 4 banger but it can't haul the family or do much work. So there is some honest feedback on the Gen 2 and here are some pictures from the trip and proof that Raptors can work too.
I scaled the truck at the dump before and after to see what the load was and I had 900 lbs with about 4.5" of bump travel remaining. Considering I raised the front 1.5" the stance isn't bad with the load or with the trailer. The trailer pulled great and I think the truck is going to make a great tow truck despite all the negative comments on FRF about towing. That was a short haul with a borrowed trailer, so no weight distribution hitch.
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I played with the modes more and mostly used baja mode in 2 and 4wd with manual shifting for "spirited" driving. No matter how you hold the traction control button, it still intrudes quickly which makes Normal and Sport worthless. Mud/Sand mode won't allow 2wd so it is was out for much of the driving. All these modes and nannies suck. They should have just made everything manual and given the driver full control. Manual shifting a tranny with no traction control/ABS and a rear locker is enough for most all of the terrain this truck is good at. The sway bar is good for high speed cornering but way too stiff as soon as the road gets rough, it is a compromise. I left it on for the entire trip because most of the roads we covered were relatively smooth. Going with the sway bar, I find that the EPS doesn't have the feel/feedback that hydraulic steering has and I found the girth on the steering wheel annoying as the trip went on. The loaner truck I picked up on Friday, while they finish the hood replacement, has a thinner one and allows a better grip around the 10/2 and 9/3 areas.
One the plus side, I got great mileage, up to 20mpg, to and from the offroad areas and the power is much much better than my Tacoma. Mileage on dirt was around 10mpg, which is what I expected. Finding the speed limiter is really easy making passes on the two lane roads and finding 70 is far too easy on the dirt because stopping for an unseen animal, bike, UTV at 70 takes time. One has to really pay attention with blind corners and cut the speed way back to remain safe. The truck stepped out predictably and I had no issues with the rear suspension at all. I found the mud flaps when I bottomed once in a dip, so they are longer than they probably should be but they sure did keep the truck clean compared to the Tacoma! The shocks like to be pushed hard and worked well with the tires at 30 psi. The gen 2 KOs don't chip nearly as bad as the first gen ones and they are my favorite tire for this type of terrain. I have tried many other tires and I have always come back to these. I know there is someone on FRF that managed to destroy a set but I think they must have driven on razor blades! I had a set of Gen 1 KOs that were close but that is still an amazing feat.
For a mostly stock truck, the truck worked quite well. I think my dream truck for this type of trip is still a regular cab Tacoma with long travel and a well built turbo charged 4 banger but it can't haul the family or do much work. So there is some honest feedback on the Gen 2 and here are some pictures from the trip and proof that Raptors can work too.
I scaled the truck at the dump before and after to see what the load was and I had 900 lbs with about 4.5" of bump travel remaining. Considering I raised the front 1.5" the stance isn't bad with the load or with the trailer. The trailer pulled great and I think the truck is going to make a great tow truck despite all the negative comments on FRF about towing. That was a short haul with a borrowed trailer, so no weight distribution hitch.
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Bark beetle
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We were on the other side of Powell. Up Montezuma Canyon from the Hatch trading post to Monticello (dirt), along the north end of Twin Peaks, past Newspaper Rock (both pavement), up Beef Basin Road and around Beef Basin Loop (and spurs, all dirt), down FR93, across Gooseberry Rd through the Causeway to Blanding (almsot all dirt), back up Cottonwood Canyon Rd to Gooseberry Rd, down Gooseberry Rd to HY275, pavement to Butler Wash Rd to Bluff, Bluff to Valley of the Gods, Moki Dugway (end of dirt), Gooseneck of the San Juan, Monument Valley, then home. We weren't exactly keeping track of mileage but we know it was at least 250 in the dirt. Fuel at Farmington, Monticello, Blanding, Bluff and Kayenta (I think, or somewhere on the Nation).
Escalante and the whole west side of Powell up through the San Rafael Swell is excellent. You will have a great time.
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Escalante and the whole west side of Powell up through the San Rafael Swell is excellent. You will have a great time.
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Thanks for the info! indeed we'll be a few hundred miles to the west. I've been through that I-163 / Monument valley corridor but haven't done any good offroading. Area is really pretty! Someday I'll have to head up there in the raptor. Moab is pretty cool too.
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Bark beetle
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After a very long and dangerous drive home with my new custom aluminum toyhauler, I have to sell the Raptor. My trailer came out 1000 lbs heavier than the estimate they provided to me at the time of my deposit and more importantly, the tongue load is around 25%, not 10-15% of the trailer weight. Raptors can tow great within their specifications but unfortunately the trailer I got doesn't fall within them so the Raptor is going to be replaced with a 3/4 ton diesel because I can't afford two trucks right now. After 7 years of wondering how well the Raptors work, I was finally able to determine it for myself and all those thoughts are in this post. If anyone here is interested send me a PM because I don't see a dedicated for sale section and I don't want to break any forum rules.
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Jake17
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