Broc
Member
Good morning fellow Raptor enthusiasts. Just got back from the Raptor Assault and wanted to share my thoughts/experiences and general feedback that might help future participants.
Lodging - the 'recommended' place is the Comfort Inn in Tooele. For being the preferred spot - it's a decent hotel, super friendly staff, but it's a 20min drive door to door and the location, frankly sucks. If you love being isolated from society with the only 'walkable' dining options of a ****-head infested truck stop Denny's, an Arby's (didn't know they were still in business) or a McDonalds while listening to the rhythmic soothing sounds of highway traffic all night this is the spot for you. If you want to experience the small town vibes of Tooele, I'd recommend the Holiday Inn in town - walkable to a bowling alley and brewery (Bonneville) that serves pretty good food and 6min drive to the Raptor School, or staying in SLC (40min drive from downtown).
Reception Dinner - nice way to connect with fellow participants, ended up sitting at a table with 2 other guys from Houston (Scott & Paul) - the dinner conversation turned into a 'how long did you wait for your Raptor' or 'what was the highest ADM'. Food was great, beef tenderloin, salad etc. Note - no booze at dinner. For the 20min trip I'd still say it's worth it.
Breakfast & Classroom - breakfast is a few granola bars and trail mix - definitely eat before you arrive. Classroom was good, got to know the instructors, a smidgeon of theory and a couple of videos hyping the trucks. Not super helpful but informative.
Driving the trucks (angle and small track) - good exposure to the driving modes (normal, offroad, baja) and the side angle and ascent and decent. 32degrees at an angle is crazy. Physics vs engineering... very cool to experience something I'd never try on my own.
Trip to/from the off-road trails - about 20min through town, just keep it in Sport and thrash it.. the gas is pre-payed. Note the 37's feel a little smoother than my 35's. All the trucks have the recaros which are absolutely worth it in my opinion. These guys definitely know how to make you want the top of the line package.
Off-road trails - lots of fun, turn on the chase lights and keep close to the guy infront of you. Lots of changing between modes depending on terrain. Trail assist cruise and one pedal are awesome. Again, something I'd never consider tackling without seeing what the truck is capable of doing. Really awesome.
Lunch at the top - standard fare, sandwich, chips, cold soda/water. Please make the comment 'there's not enough beer in that cooler'... they've never heard that one before /sarcasm.
Rock crawling - a little more slow pace than the ride up to the lunch spot. Really cool to see what the trucks can do at lower speeds.
Baja course and 'jump' - after a 30min ride back to the course (where you started off in the morning) you do 2 laps each at the baja course with guided instruction from one of the guys who is helping you brake/accelerate. Pretty fun to really rip into the course. The 'jump' is a standing start where you hit about 35-40mph. It's not a Duke's of Hazard level jump but if you can get the truck to hook up then you can get some air. They're not going to wreck these trucks for the sake of this course. People complained about it but understand these are $80k trucks that do this every week, they can't let us go totally wild and launch them. Pretty cool for this guy, your mileage may vary.
Ride along - this was a 'new' feature where you pile into a truck with one of the instructors to take you down the baja course at full throttle. Gives you a new appreciation for what the truck can do with a professional behind the wheel.
Graduation - back to the classroom, grab your shirt, ask a few questions and be on your way. Exchange numbers with guys in other trucks who took pictures. Browse the retail one more time.
Conclusion - So was it 'worth' it for flight/rental/hotel for a 'free' course? To me it was absolutely worth the $750 price tag on the weekend. Learned tons about the truck, feeling the difference between the drive modes on various terrains and understanding what terrain the Raptor can conquer. If you've done a ton of off-roading before then you're likely not going to learn a ton as the focus is about 70% on what the truck can do and 30% what you can do. I was really impressed with the instructors, the facilities and the general 'put togetherness' of the program. Very well done.
Lodging - the 'recommended' place is the Comfort Inn in Tooele. For being the preferred spot - it's a decent hotel, super friendly staff, but it's a 20min drive door to door and the location, frankly sucks. If you love being isolated from society with the only 'walkable' dining options of a ****-head infested truck stop Denny's, an Arby's (didn't know they were still in business) or a McDonalds while listening to the rhythmic soothing sounds of highway traffic all night this is the spot for you. If you want to experience the small town vibes of Tooele, I'd recommend the Holiday Inn in town - walkable to a bowling alley and brewery (Bonneville) that serves pretty good food and 6min drive to the Raptor School, or staying in SLC (40min drive from downtown).
Reception Dinner - nice way to connect with fellow participants, ended up sitting at a table with 2 other guys from Houston (Scott & Paul) - the dinner conversation turned into a 'how long did you wait for your Raptor' or 'what was the highest ADM'. Food was great, beef tenderloin, salad etc. Note - no booze at dinner. For the 20min trip I'd still say it's worth it.
Breakfast & Classroom - breakfast is a few granola bars and trail mix - definitely eat before you arrive. Classroom was good, got to know the instructors, a smidgeon of theory and a couple of videos hyping the trucks. Not super helpful but informative.
Driving the trucks (angle and small track) - good exposure to the driving modes (normal, offroad, baja) and the side angle and ascent and decent. 32degrees at an angle is crazy. Physics vs engineering... very cool to experience something I'd never try on my own.
Trip to/from the off-road trails - about 20min through town, just keep it in Sport and thrash it.. the gas is pre-payed. Note the 37's feel a little smoother than my 35's. All the trucks have the recaros which are absolutely worth it in my opinion. These guys definitely know how to make you want the top of the line package.
Off-road trails - lots of fun, turn on the chase lights and keep close to the guy infront of you. Lots of changing between modes depending on terrain. Trail assist cruise and one pedal are awesome. Again, something I'd never consider tackling without seeing what the truck is capable of doing. Really awesome.
Lunch at the top - standard fare, sandwich, chips, cold soda/water. Please make the comment 'there's not enough beer in that cooler'... they've never heard that one before /sarcasm.
Rock crawling - a little more slow pace than the ride up to the lunch spot. Really cool to see what the trucks can do at lower speeds.
Baja course and 'jump' - after a 30min ride back to the course (where you started off in the morning) you do 2 laps each at the baja course with guided instruction from one of the guys who is helping you brake/accelerate. Pretty fun to really rip into the course. The 'jump' is a standing start where you hit about 35-40mph. It's not a Duke's of Hazard level jump but if you can get the truck to hook up then you can get some air. They're not going to wreck these trucks for the sake of this course. People complained about it but understand these are $80k trucks that do this every week, they can't let us go totally wild and launch them. Pretty cool for this guy, your mileage may vary.
Ride along - this was a 'new' feature where you pile into a truck with one of the instructors to take you down the baja course at full throttle. Gives you a new appreciation for what the truck can do with a professional behind the wheel.
Graduation - back to the classroom, grab your shirt, ask a few questions and be on your way. Exchange numbers with guys in other trucks who took pictures. Browse the retail one more time.
Conclusion - So was it 'worth' it for flight/rental/hotel for a 'free' course? To me it was absolutely worth the $750 price tag on the weekend. Learned tons about the truck, feeling the difference between the drive modes on various terrains and understanding what terrain the Raptor can conquer. If you've done a ton of off-roading before then you're likely not going to learn a ton as the focus is about 70% on what the truck can do and 30% what you can do. I was really impressed with the instructors, the facilities and the general 'put togetherness' of the program. Very well done.
