Support/Chase truck planning questions.

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Laguna

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My local offroad club is planning a 10-15 day expedition excursion type event, offroad point-to-point with camping out of the rigs, very little on-road, etc.

I have been thinking about joining the trip as the 'just in case' medic and support/chase type rig, and I've been thinking of using my Raptor for said task.

I know some basic stuff to take. Aside from my medic gear, tools for swapping out tires and broken parts, recovery gear, fluids, and jacks Im also planning on bringing a car trailer in case of any casualties. Im assuming a Raptor could handle towing a Jeep on a car trailer? The club is almost entirely made up of Jeeps and smaller daily driver dual purpose weekend wheeler machines, so its not like I'll be trying to chase down Ultimate Adventure machines. Also, the vast majority of members have their own recovery gear, spare tires, fluids, etc.

Any prep suggestions, recommendations, etc? This will be my first time in a situation like this with the Raptor, but I do have somewhat similar support truck experience taking care of long-distance motorcycle/atv excursions.

If it helps any, my Raptor is a 6.2 supercab, 100% bone stock currently.
 

Yukon Joe

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Sounds like a neat trip. You might want to consider mid perch to give you a bit more ground clearance.

What is the group using for trail communication? You'll want a radio same as support trucks.

Know the hospitals in the area and where they are located. Have an idea of who in the group you can count on to send for help if required.

Since you are the only raptor, I'd take two spare tires. Or at least a good tire plug kit. Spare tie rod. Spare IWE.

Where are you heading and what kind of terrain will it be?
Be sure to share some pictures of this great sounding trip.


Donate to Avery and be entered into a raffle for an awesome prize for your Raptor

http://www.fordraptorforum.com/showthread.php?p=791793
 

SilentShooter

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Just remember the raptor is normally a lot wider than the guys running jeeps and such so make sure you have clearance to run the same trails. A trailer would probably be a bad idea just as far as it not having any clearance so it would not work well off road.

I would make sure you have a spare serpentine belt.
 

Mil T

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Ditto on 2 spares if you have the room after packing. If you going with a bunch of experieced jeepers then they will probably have everything you would need that is ordinarily needed like a compressor. If you are just pulling a trailer because of anticipating a catastrophic failure on the trail then you will probably be pulling an empty trailer around most of the time if these are experienced off roaders. Especially if it is not an extreme or hardcore rock crawling adventure. Tow Straps work pretty well when in a pinch.
Good luck with your adventure. I've done a lot of chase support for off road motorcycle groups here in Az. It's fun and you feel good that you can help.
 
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Laguna

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The majority of the group is JK's and TJ's on 33's-35's, all daily drivers. The whole trip is basically highway/dirt roads to different trail spots. Most of the trail spots are rated in the 3-5 difficulty factory.

Most of the trip will be me following them around on the basic dirt roads/highways and then stopping and riding along as a passenger in the challenging parts, leaving the Raptor out of it.

Comm. wise they're all running basic CB setups, and I have a brand new Cobra 19 DX IV I can install.

I've been thinking of building a basic in-bed rack to hold a couple spares, boxes full of JK/TJ U-joints, wheel bearings, starter, alternator, belts, etc etc. Also thinking of mounting a Viair on-board air system on the mini-rack for airing tires back up and running an impact if needed.

At the most recent get together for the group it sounded like bringing a flat-deck trailer might be a little overkill. Apparently most of the trail sections will be Raptor friendly.
 

Yukon Joe

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Yup IWE. Integrated Wheel End. Part of the four wheel drive components in the hub that can wear / break. Leaving your four wheel drive useless. With the experienced off-roaders you are going with, a trail side repair shouldn't be too bad.


Donate to Avery and be entered into a raffle for an awesome prize for your Raptor

http://www.fordraptorforum.com/showthread.php?p=791793
 
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Laguna

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Whoops, yeah I meant the Deavers that get rid of the block and get about an inch over, to match the mid perch.

So IWE is basically a fancy term for the wheel bearing hub assembly? Im from the Duramax world so Im no stranger to changing hubs. Been thinking of carrying a CV axle and a starter also.

One of the stops is going to be the Morrison Jeep Trail. I'm thinking there no level of prep I can do to make my Raptor handle that, but the two and from sections between trail spots should be fine for me as a support rig.
 
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