Washboard Dirt Roads = Major Problems

VelociRap said:

Mine lasted 12k...

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Schizofilly said:

Worth noting in addition to the tire psi, the more you press that skinny pedal on the right the more it will smooth out. I run roads like you are talking about daily for work. Anything less than 45 mph and the suspension just doesn't shine. I know that speed isn't reasonable in all situations and some buzz kills will say you shouldn't go that fast on dirt that's not a closed course, but if I drove 5 mph on dirt I'd never have time to sleep.


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PDT905 said:

OK, so what's wrong with my truck (or the driver)? It's a brand new 2019 SCREW, less than 5,000 miles logged so far. I've had it all over Colorado, including on relatively steep offroad terrain, mountain passes, in some late season snow at elevation, heavy rain, highways at 100+ mph, Starbucks lines, you name it. But for the glitchy CarPlay interface and door locks, I've LOVED everything about this truck. Performance has been awesome.

Then came an impromptu Sunday morning fishing trip with my son and some friends. Until yesterday, I'd never run it on wide open washboard gravel roads. The experience was, well, a combination of pathetic and scary. The back end constantly broke loose. "Skittish" as some have described it is an understatement.

I tried every single drive mode combination I could think of. Nothing helped. Anything over 10-12 MPH was flat out dangerous, particularly around corners. Passengers were frightened. Driver B - who has owned and driven trucks and heavily modified offroad vehicles his entire life - took over and had the same result. Raptor is now off his list. We were getting passed by 1980-something Honda Civics, motorcycles, loaded down SUVs. No joke. The wifey doesn't want to be back in the truck "until it's fixed."

I did some angry research last night and came across several posts about wheel hop and axle wrap. Is it really possible that this "King of the Offroad" truck comes from the factory so deficient that you need thousands of dollars of modifications just to be able to safely traverse gravel backgrounds in dry conditions? As sad as it is to admit, my 2008 bone stock V6 4Runner with 210,000 miles would have absolutely crushed the Raptor yesterday.

I know these questions will be asked, so here's some background info:

• The tire pressure was a little high. I had it set at 38-39 front and back cold, which by the time we hit the road I'm sure had increased to 42 or so. It was a warm day. I see that most recommend running 38/34 for standard daily driving with weekend excursions stuff. I can and will make this adjustment. That said, I can't imagine losing 4 PSI in the rear tires is going to take this from pure shit to even acceptable.
• We had 4 people in the truck, one thirty-five pound 4 year old plus three adults. Minimal cargo in the bed, maybe a 100 pounds. Fishing poles and a cooler.
• We tried every single driving mode combination we could think of. 2wd, 4a, 4h. Normal mode, Sand/Mud, Baja, Deep Snow, even towing and whatever the other one is.
• No performance mods yet. Stock tires, stock wheels, stock suspension. I have plans to buy a Cobb Stage 2, upgrade the wheels, put on new tires, and do a bunch of other stuff, all of which is back-burnered pending this troubleshooting expedition.
• I'm not a professional race/baja/offroad driver and I'm light on Raptor street cred. I didn't own a Gen1, I don't have a million dollars worth of other vehicles in the garage, I'm not sponsored by RedBull. That said, I've spent plenty of time on trails and backroads in CO, WY, Utah, Montana without any issues, in deep snow, driving rain, bluebird sunshine, and everything between. No problems, no crashes, no scary experiences like yesterday.

One other possibly related thing to note is that the truck has never liked highways with segmented sections. Expansion joints, I believe. The ride quality is terrible and everyone looks forward to getting back on regular roads. (My 4 year old has a good time on them, truth be told, as he's realized that he can use the intense vibrations to make funny noises with his voice.)

So WTF is up here? Do I have some suspension issue? Tire problems? Am I the world's worst driver? In touting the amazing offroad performance of these engineering marvels, did everyone forget to mention that washboard gravel and light duty offroading are big no-nos? Are my options really limited to: (1) slow crawl aggressive terrain; (2) send it for some epic mid-flight picture; or (3) stay on pavement?

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Ricoman said:

I've been reading for several months now about how you have to air down when going off-road...My Raptor also does not handle the greatest off-road and understand how lowering the pressure will help...my question is,If you live say 50 miles from the start of a trail and air down when you get there,how are you suppose to air back up to drive home...I've read a lot about on board air compressors...so did all you guys spend another $1000 for a good system...?? Seems to me if the Raptor is suppose to be the best off road truck it would come with a system from the factory...cause it sounds like you have to do alot of airing down and back up for the Raptor to shine....

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Ricoman said:

I've been reading for several months now about how you have to air down when going off-road...My Raptor also does not handle the greatest off-road and understand how lowering the pressure will help...my question is,If you live say 50 miles from the start of a trail and air down when you get there,how are you suppose to air back up to drive home...I've read a lot about on board air compressors...so did all you guys spend another $1000 for a good system...?? Seems to me if the Raptor is suppose to be the best off road truck it would come with a system from the factory...cause it sounds like you have to do alot of airing down and back up for the Raptor to shine....

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zombiekiller said:

honestly, many people get way too focused on having to air up as soon as their tires touch pavement.

nothing like blasting down a desolate, remote highway in Baja doing 100mph on 25PSI warm and coming to the conclusion that you're catching more air from the whoops on the highway than you were on the trail you just came off.

pretty sure most people racing ultra4 and racing TTs are running 25PSI in their KR3s.

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