Raptor Assault was AWESOME!

[PlainJane]

see how incredible Utah is....but I didn't realize how much I hadn't seen,

You have just scratched the surface on how incredible it is in Utah. Head south next time

 

[Delacado]

I got back yesterday from Raptor Assault. What a great trip it was. Perfect weather the whole week. The school is really well run, by some very nice people (hey, they put up with me!). Some good, fun, trail running through some amazingly scenic areas, they also have some nice track set ups. The side hilling exercise I would have assumed would roll the truck, pretty freaky thing to do. It was nice to learn all the fine points, advantages/disadvantages, of the different modes in the truck. We had John and Nate Williams as instructors. Really knowledgeable professionals, they give you a lot of information and training, and keep the fun in it at the same time. It kind of reminded me of a good firearms training course, have fun, learn stuff, but you still need discipline, and don't be a ********. The trucks are nice, really well maintained. and pretty much look new.

I got there 2 days early so I could take a day and go up to Alta and Snowbird, than the next day I went out to the Bonneville Salt Flats. The Salt Flats are a must see, if you have time. One of the most impressive things I've ever seen, after seeing it in movies and pictures my whole life. I got my Corolla rental up to 112 on the salt. It had no more! I was really surprised that I was the only one out there not driving around at 30-40 mph. There was maybe a dozen vehicles stretched out along the lake bed. Everyone but me had all-wheel/4 wheel drive, they don't know what a great off road vehicle a Corolla rental is! I took a while to get the lay of it and figure out where the course was and it's condition, and then started doing runs. I'd really like to go back there sometime with something with a lot more balls.

Obligatory jump picture included. Big thank you to everyone at Raptor Assault.

Did you get to drive Gen3?

 

[Oldfart]

Did you get to drive Gen3?

No, they talked about it a little bit, but that was it. They had some really nice Gen 2 race trucks on display, and the '20's that they use for the school.

 

[2slo4u]

You have just scratched the surface on how incredible it is in Utah. Head south next time

^^^This ^^^. I’ve put 12k miles on my Raptor since I bought it in Oct. Most of those miles are all Utah miles.

 

[Oldfart]

^^^This ^^^. I’ve put 12k miles on my Raptor since I bought it in Oct. Most of those miles are all Utah miles.

I was really surprised how much open federal land there is, almost zero litter, and almost no billboards. I wanted to take a swim in the Great Salt Lake while I was there, but the water was about a mile out and it was windy as hell, coming inshore. When I was driving closer it looked like fog blowing in, than I realized it was salt dust blowing in. I guess the water level is super low right now.

 

[Bracamonte]

What degree angle can you get up to when side-hilling the Raptor?

 

[Oldfart]

What degree angle can you get up to when side-hilling the Raptor?

I think they said it's 30 degrees, and they said the built in inclinometers on the trucks overestimate your angle by several degrees.

 

[smurfslayer]

Have they finally added the prius crush to the course? I asked about it when I was there and all the instructors nodded with approval. My thought was to implement instead of the side hill.

add a small ramp to the front of the prius and just drive over it at a slow pace. I think this would really *make* the program.

 

[TulsaRaptor]

That explains the motorized scooter on the back of a Raptor photo from the school someone posted.

 

[Oldfart]

Have they finally added the prius crush to the course? I asked about it when I was there and all the instructors nodded with approval. My thought was to implement instead of the side hill.

add a small ramp to the front of the prius and just drive over it at a slow pace. I think this would really *make* the program.

I would vote for that one!