2012 raptor - a big disappointment. Not for desert trail.

[Al Bastaki]

I disagree with everyone!
You sound like someone that is looking for an excuse to badmouth this truck!
The mod that you need is a different vehicle; live the Raptor for someone that appreciates it!

propdr.. take a look at the video above. look at the bumps on the Plastic front bumpers of the patrols.... i'll head down right now and take a shot at the bump thats in my raptor's steel skid plate.

 

[Al Bastaki]

PropDr...

I'm not a liar.

the video is getting vimeod as i type this.

[VIMEO]https://vimeo.com/49973174[/VIMEO]

 

[PropDr]

propdr.. take a look at the video above. look at the bumps on the Plastic front bumpers of the patrols.... i'll head down right now and take a shot at the bump thats in my raptor's steel skid plate.

The video chows something similar the Glamis sand dunes, and the running very mild off-roading.
With exception of possible cooling issues, the Raptor can handle it as well or better.

I would never call you a liar; I’m just saying that this truck is not a little Nissan.

 

[Al Bastaki]

i've been to glamis, this truck, in its stock shape, will break in glamis.

as in if you take it from one corner of glamis.. to the other corner of glamis... running atop and accross a series of consequent dunes. not just the nice little dune that everyone likes to get on top of.

 

[Rapt]

Hey Al Bastaki, I also in the UAE and agree that the standard setup is horrible, but once you upgrade (I have RPG stage 4+) the performance is unparalleled..

Police wont stop you for frame supports, bump stops, and Fox 3.0's... I also run after market fenders and 37's,, havent been pulled over once so far (been 6 weeks already)

As for driving in the dunes, you have to remember that this truck was built as a high speed desert racer and not as a dune basher. For the dunes an FJ or a swb Patrol are far better mainly coz of the weight (plays a huuuge role) and coz of the shorter wheel base.

I was in Sweihan yesterday, my transmission and engine temperature were so high that my dashboard lit up with all warning lights and had to stop and to make things worst while cresting a dune my side airbags deployed!!!

What im trying to say is that this truck is amazing at what it was meant to do and not at we want it to do. Try driving from Awir to al Fayah on the tracks and thru the whoops, bet u nothing will keep up...

 

[Al Bastaki]

Hey Al Bastaki, I also in the UAE and agree that the standard setup is horrible, but once you upgrade (I have RPG stage 4+) the performance is unparalleled..

Police wont stop you for frame supports, bump stops, and Fox 3.0's... I also run after market fenders and 37's,, havent been pulled over once so far (been 6 weeks already)

As for driving in the dunes, you have to remember that this truck was built as a high speed desert racer and not as a dune basher. For the dunes an FJ or a swb Patrol are far better mainly coz of the weight (plays a huuuge role) and coz of the shorter wheel base.

I was in Sweihan yesterday, my transmission and engine temperature were so high that my dashboard lit up with all warning lights and had to stop and to make things worst while cresting a dune my side airbags deployed!!!

What im trying to say is that this truck is amazing at what it was meant to do and not at we want it to do. Try driving from Awir to al Fayah on the tracks and thru the whoops, bet u nothing will keep up...

That's exactly what happened to me yesterday. i live in abu dhabi.. and in AD and Alain.. the popos are tough man.. in dubai.. you can fit a winchbar.. and mod all you want.. no one will tell you anything.

i wanted to run this truck in sweihan, especially sweihan and al yahar and liwa.. thats where the real fun is.. the bloody thing's dash lit up like a christmas tree on a newbie track.

btw, where did you get your mods done. i have a villa in jumeira.. im thinking of doing mods and keeping my car in the dubai garage... but the problem is.. i dont want to put the car on a recovery truck everytime i need to send it to sweihan... and do you know a way to switch off the airbags? i hate those things anyway. ive been rolled over countless of times.. and its safer without them, and esp. they do more harm in the desert than anywhere else.

 

[Hockster]

Ya cant please everyone all the time... Sell it and get something you will be happy with...

 

[Aaron]

Something doesn't add up, 30km/h - 50km/h in the sand and you're bending stuff? You were either A) going way faster than that and don't want to admit it, or B) going through some terrain that was way worse than what you imply by "novice trail".

The Raptor is a solid truck provided you don't decide it's a Trophy Truck and blow past its limits. The rear has 11-12" of travel and at ride height that equates to about 5" of up travel before it hits the bumps. What that means for you is at any given time when you're driving along, a 5" bump can eat up the compression travel you have available. Anything bigger than that and you'll be all up in the bumpstop.

From reading your post, this is your fault, not the truck's fault. Just another case of overly high expectations.

I've beat the snot out of my truck...(bent frame and blown rear shock to prove it) and honestly my experience has been nothing like yours. The stuff that damaged my truck was WAY above and beyond what the Raptor can handle stock. That being said, the bump that did it was probably only 8-10" tall, but I hit it at about 60mph and it donkey kicked the rear something fierce. Simple case of running out of travel because I exceeded the limits of the truck.

 

[Mike Hammer]

Could you get us better pictures and more of them.

 

[PropDr]

i've been to glamis, this truck, in its stock shape, will break in glamis.

as in if you take it from one corner of glamis.. to the other corner of glamis... running atop and accross a series of consequent dunes. not just the nice little dune that everyone likes to get on top of.

I have 18 seasons experience in Glamis and Anza Borrego; I know that the stock Raptor will make it easily from the north end on Glamis through the dunes all the way in to Mexico and back. But you have to drive it like a Truck that is about 1000lbs heavier compared to the top of the line Nissan Patrol and has a soft suspension system designed for high speed off road travel.
If the truck breaks, it is you doing the breaking.

The skit plate looks like a nose dive in to soft sand.