roybot
Member
I'm a long time troller but this is my second post ever. Have had my truck since July 2014.
I finally got to take my truck offroad on a trail (not just dunes... I thought I would have had a lot more offroad miles logged by now but a two young'uns sort of threw a wet blanket on that).
I don't have much real offroad experience (just messing around with my Ford Ranger previously) so took a 2 day class with Tom Severin of Badlands Offroad Adventures. Spent first day in Hungry Valley SVRA and second day in El Paso Mountains. Long story short, it was an AWESOME time and I learned a ton about what I am capable of and what my truck is capable of (and what it isn't). Also learned so much about getting out of and, more importantly, avoiding bad situations, picking lines, recovery, etc.
I was surprised how well the Raptor did on the rocks but I also quickly realized that stuff that I was bumping and scraping on was no problem for a mildly outfitted Jeep. She was a beast on hill climbing and descents using compression braking...and I think that the extra length of the Supercrew may have made the ups and downs a lot more stable.
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So to prepare for the trip I knew that there was going to be a lot of pinstriping on the second day because of all the bushes so I elected to go with a full body ******. I know that a lot of people may flame me for this but all I can say is to each their own. I want my truck pretty on the street (as I am in a professional job and this is my daily driver) but just as willing to eat up the dirt. Funny thing is that I am especially perfectionist about paint...I don't mind dings in the bumper or on the rims...but I hate imperfections in the paint...which is why I have PPF on the front clip and rocker panels and I have had the whole care Opticoated
Taking the suggestion of other posts on other forums I covered the sides of the truck in vinyl magnetic sheeting which I taped down with 3M Blue tape. Drove an hour and a half up and back up to 90mph and the tape held up and I didn't lose any panels.
Mag Vinyl Sheeting attached before applying tape:
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After Tape:
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I applied the rest of the tape to cover the front fenders at the trailhead since I didn't want it peeling up in the wind while driving.
The aftermath of my trip:
-NO pinstriping...heard a lot of branches squealing across the side of my truck but they didn't damage the paint because it was covered...thank God!
-Bent my exhaust tips...I'll be chopping them back behind the rear wheel as others have done.
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-A rock gouged the vinyl sheet on passenger side rocker panel in front of the rear wheel...My heart skipped a beat as I took off the magnetic sheet but all I found underneath was a scuff mark on the PPF...phew!
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-My front passenger fender was not so lucky. I must have rolled over a rock and the rock punched the undersurface of the fender behind the front wheel. The back of the fender flare popped off and the fender is cracked...I can see the fiberglass. I can also tell that the fender has shifted upwards and is overriding where it meets the bottom of the A-pillar. Not sure how badly cracked the fender is since I haven't taken it off yet. I am guessing that the attachment points in the rear are also bent. Anyone know if the fender can be fixed...I know people will say just buy some Glasswerks or Boatecs but I like the stock fenders. Can they be repaired at any glass shop...how much will it cost me? Can I just glass it on the inside myself using the same glass/resin they use for surfboards?
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-Also must have landed on the tip of my passenger side bumper at some point because the end of it is bent upwards and now touches the undersurface of that piece under the headlight.
LESSONS LEARNED:
-Blindspots on this truck are huge and I don't think it is a coincidence that all the damage was on the passenger front where I have the least visibility.
-Rockrails...I need them...my side steps were sort of filling in but not in a good way...sure they protected my rocker panels but they were so wide that they would catch on things and the brackets underneath hang down too low. Anyone have any experience with Randy Ellis rock rails? They are attached to the sheet metal instead of the frame...I don't like how long the attachment points are for frame mounted rock rails are...there is too much torque on them and I worry about them torquing the frame rails or bashing into the rocker panels. Also, if the rails extended to protect the undersurface of the front fender behind the wheel, that would have prevented my fiberglass damage.
-Midperch...I should do this as a cheap mod that will give me more front end clearance.
-37" tires...well this won't help performance when it comes to running in the desert but I can see how a little bit bigger tire would help tremendously as far as getting just that bit more clearance...was happy with my 35" before but if I want to do more trails, I would definitely consider upsizing.
-Race bumper (with frame horn chop) and Dovetailing the rear...both would just help wth clearance and would also be helpful for just going fast in the dirt. These are both "must do" mods for me.
-Stock front camera just doesn't have the resolution to really help as much as it could when crawling around in tight spaces. A much bigger screen and higher resolution camera would be awesome.
Thanks for reading and thanks for existing FRF!
I finally got to take my truck offroad on a trail (not just dunes... I thought I would have had a lot more offroad miles logged by now but a two young'uns sort of threw a wet blanket on that).
I don't have much real offroad experience (just messing around with my Ford Ranger previously) so took a 2 day class with Tom Severin of Badlands Offroad Adventures. Spent first day in Hungry Valley SVRA and second day in El Paso Mountains. Long story short, it was an AWESOME time and I learned a ton about what I am capable of and what my truck is capable of (and what it isn't). Also learned so much about getting out of and, more importantly, avoiding bad situations, picking lines, recovery, etc.
I was surprised how well the Raptor did on the rocks but I also quickly realized that stuff that I was bumping and scraping on was no problem for a mildly outfitted Jeep. She was a beast on hill climbing and descents using compression braking...and I think that the extra length of the Supercrew may have made the ups and downs a lot more stable.
So to prepare for the trip I knew that there was going to be a lot of pinstriping on the second day because of all the bushes so I elected to go with a full body ******. I know that a lot of people may flame me for this but all I can say is to each their own. I want my truck pretty on the street (as I am in a professional job and this is my daily driver) but just as willing to eat up the dirt. Funny thing is that I am especially perfectionist about paint...I don't mind dings in the bumper or on the rims...but I hate imperfections in the paint...which is why I have PPF on the front clip and rocker panels and I have had the whole care Opticoated
Taking the suggestion of other posts on other forums I covered the sides of the truck in vinyl magnetic sheeting which I taped down with 3M Blue tape. Drove an hour and a half up and back up to 90mph and the tape held up and I didn't lose any panels.
Mag Vinyl Sheeting attached before applying tape:
After Tape:
I applied the rest of the tape to cover the front fenders at the trailhead since I didn't want it peeling up in the wind while driving.
The aftermath of my trip:
-NO pinstriping...heard a lot of branches squealing across the side of my truck but they didn't damage the paint because it was covered...thank God!
-Bent my exhaust tips...I'll be chopping them back behind the rear wheel as others have done.
-A rock gouged the vinyl sheet on passenger side rocker panel in front of the rear wheel...My heart skipped a beat as I took off the magnetic sheet but all I found underneath was a scuff mark on the PPF...phew!
-My front passenger fender was not so lucky. I must have rolled over a rock and the rock punched the undersurface of the fender behind the front wheel. The back of the fender flare popped off and the fender is cracked...I can see the fiberglass. I can also tell that the fender has shifted upwards and is overriding where it meets the bottom of the A-pillar. Not sure how badly cracked the fender is since I haven't taken it off yet. I am guessing that the attachment points in the rear are also bent. Anyone know if the fender can be fixed...I know people will say just buy some Glasswerks or Boatecs but I like the stock fenders. Can they be repaired at any glass shop...how much will it cost me? Can I just glass it on the inside myself using the same glass/resin they use for surfboards?
-Also must have landed on the tip of my passenger side bumper at some point because the end of it is bent upwards and now touches the undersurface of that piece under the headlight.
LESSONS LEARNED:
-Blindspots on this truck are huge and I don't think it is a coincidence that all the damage was on the passenger front where I have the least visibility.
-Rockrails...I need them...my side steps were sort of filling in but not in a good way...sure they protected my rocker panels but they were so wide that they would catch on things and the brackets underneath hang down too low. Anyone have any experience with Randy Ellis rock rails? They are attached to the sheet metal instead of the frame...I don't like how long the attachment points are for frame mounted rock rails are...there is too much torque on them and I worry about them torquing the frame rails or bashing into the rocker panels. Also, if the rails extended to protect the undersurface of the front fender behind the wheel, that would have prevented my fiberglass damage.
-Midperch...I should do this as a cheap mod that will give me more front end clearance.
-37" tires...well this won't help performance when it comes to running in the desert but I can see how a little bit bigger tire would help tremendously as far as getting just that bit more clearance...was happy with my 35" before but if I want to do more trails, I would definitely consider upsizing.
-Race bumper (with frame horn chop) and Dovetailing the rear...both would just help wth clearance and would also be helpful for just going fast in the dirt. These are both "must do" mods for me.
-Stock front camera just doesn't have the resolution to really help as much as it could when crawling around in tight spaces. A much bigger screen and higher resolution camera would be awesome.
Thanks for reading and thanks for existing FRF!
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