Opinions on using your trail control?

[Oldfart]

I tried it in 4L on a steep hill with lots of loose rock. It surged annoyingly on the way up, so I turned it off. I tried it again on the way down and it surged again, braking and releasing. I felt like the little dog in the rear window with my head bobbing up and down. I turned it off, totally unimpressed. I'm sure I'll try it again at Raptor Assault. It probably works OK when traction is good. If they do some fancy brake work, it might even be really good for crawling. I'll ask. If not, I'm thinking it's a gimmick. A solution in search of a problem. Something else to break. Just put it in manual mode and drive the damn thing.

That's what mine did, it was surging like someone was playing a joke on me! I had tried it on flat and it was fine.

Try it in 4lo. I would think anything steep enough for it to even be desirable would be 4lo territory.

I'll have to try that. As it was, within a few seconds it was way past the WTF stage and I turned it off.

 

[KAJRIP]

I’ve used mine on up and downhill sections and it’s been pretty smooth with no issues.

I do tend to use it more on long downhill grades to maintain a set speed instead of being on and off of the brake pedal.

 

[Donmatteo]

Never used it and off road all the time

 

[PlainJane]

I have used mine a number of times,maybe as much as 20 miles total, all in 4L. Its OK going uphill at speeds above 3-4 MPH but I prefer to use my foot to control the speed. Its great going down hill, plus if you apply the brakes, it resets to the new speed or 0.5-1.0 if you stop. At RA they pointed out that it would surge, but just let it find its own speed.

 

[Oldfart]

I have used mine a number of times,maybe as much as 20 miles total, all in 4L. Its OK going uphill at speeds above 3-4 MPH but I prefer to use my foot to control the speed. Its great going down hill, plus if you apply the brakes, it resets to the new speed or 0.5-1.0 if you stop. At RA they pointed out that it would surge, but just let it find its own speed.

Thanks, I'll have to play with it some more. Where I tested it was a steep hill with a tight left curve to it. The surging level would have gotten me stuck.

 

[Deleted member 12951]

I used it in the Raptor Assault and agree it surges. Then they had you do left foot braking with even amount of gas. Then the rest of the uphill course, they let you choose what you wanted to do. It works fine uphill that is smooth but when rocky terrain, I didn’t like it. I had better control with left foot braking since I was able to see and feel the terrain. The trail control just feels the stop resistance and then slowly applies gas and when it finally gives, the surging. I didn’t find it surging when going down hills but then again the terrain going down wasn’t as rocky on their course. Even our instructor said he preferred left foot braking, hence why they teach you both.

I would be interested to see how it works when you are stuck in sand.

 

[jzweedyk]

Real men learn how to drive off road without nanny's. I have never used mine and probably never will. If I need it, I probably need to give up going off road.

Going up a rocky hill is best when you use left foot braking so the torque of the engine will control bouncing, and right foot accelerator, to control speed. Have fun!

 

[Oldfart]

Real men learn how to drive off road without nanny's. I have never used mine and probably never will. If I need it, I probably need to give up going off road.

Going up a rocky hill is best when you use left foot braking so the torque of the engine will control bouncing, and right foot accelerator, to control speed. Have fun!

I was just playing with it. It's kind of cool, I think, testing out all the electronics to see what they are capable of. The first time I tried it was at a large range where it's a 5 mph speed limit and it was nice to use it there instead of driving myself so slow. It worked great on the flat.

 

[BroncoAZ]

Real men learn how to drive off road without nanny's. I have never used mine and probably never will. If I need it, I probably need to give up going off road.

Going up a rocky hill is best when you use left foot braking so the torque of the engine will control bouncing, and right foot accelerator, to control speed. Have fun!

Real men drive manual transmission trucks offroad, I have been for the last 30 years in my Bronco and other vehicles. Fitting a hand throttle for rock crawling adds another level of skill into the equation with the manual. The Raptor is my first automatic that I will use offroad.

There’s nothing wrong with using what the truck came with. I can’t see much use for the trail control, but I’m sure it helps some.

 

[Stilldoggy]

I have not used it in an off road sense but I have used it, in 2H to set a 5MPH limit as we drove through a wildlife preserve. It let me enjoy the surroundings while maintaining a slow and steady pace.