did i mess up? bought a RAPTOR 'cuz it was COOL... now what the hell do i do with it??

[BlueWhale]

Now if I could only find a dealer in UT or close by with Raptor for sale, i can fly over do the course and drive home with new baby. Checked out the site, looks like it runs March to November. Any dealers out there with gen3 35's ???

 

[BB427]

As mentioned already, Badlands Off Road Park in Attica, Indiana is only 2.5 hours south of downtown Chicago. Lots of options including sand, mud, water, hills, rocks, and trails. Go easy the first time out. As you grow your experience, feel free to push your comfort zone a bit.
Purchase a few essentials like a snatch strap, traction boards, shackles, tire pressure gauge, etc. Bring a friend to help with navigation and recovery. Oh, and Weathertech Floor Liners are a must.

 

[KOK JR]

Silver Lake ORV Park in Mears MI
600 acres of sand dunes. Not too far from Chicago
The people at Dune Land have been very helpful to me
October is, I think, the best time to go. Weekdays are not crowded at all. The park closes at the end of October
We are going next week or the week after
Have been there for the last three years in our '18 SCAB.

 

[RubyDaCherry]

No wonder... you’re a ND fan...

 

[GordoJay]

The best thing I did was attend the Raptor Assault class that they provide you for free when you buy a new raptor. They will show you the limits of what this truck can do and get your blood pumping foe more, all while using their trucks so you don’t have to sacrifice your new one to learn. Enjoy! It’s a great machine.

Yes and no. Definitely go. It's totally worth it. But they won't show you the limits, but rather what it can do with a fair amount of safety margin. Trying to show newbie drivers the true limits would get really expensive, really quickly.

 

[amREADY]

Nice. Take your time. You can go deep on things to plan for/think about, or just hit the basics and still have a great, safe time and not beat up the truck.

Local raptor and offroad groups will be your friend. Take all advice with a grain of salt until you can triangulate on those that seem to provide balanced, solid ideas every time.

Don't expect the jeep crowd to understand full-size (+) limitations or benefits either.

The truck is both very forgiving of inexperienced drivers and very punishing too. It handles so much bone stock, but you can overdrive your abilities in a hot second too.

Enjoy.

 

[leadfoot37]

Raptor Assault

www.raptorassault.com

This course won't tell you where you can go offroading, but it will tell you what your truck is capable of doing.

Guys I never heard of that assault class... free to buyers? Cool! You'd think the dealer would have told me!

 

[leadfoot37]

What are those two plastic caps on top of the truck?

Don't know. Came that way.

 

[leadfoot37]

At least spend a few hours and scrub the tire shine off, you don’t want to look like some reformed bmw driver ;-)
#OneLessprius

Dude! I spray new shine each weekend!! Never occurred to me to ungloss them. Thanks for the tip!!

 

[leadfoot37]

As mentioned already, Badlands Off Road Park in Attica, Indiana is only 2.5 hours south of downtown Chicago. Lots of options including sand, mud, water, hills, rocks, and trails. Go easy the first time out. As you grow your experience, feel free to push your comfort zone a bit.
Purchase a few essentials like a snatch strap, traction boards, shackles, tire pressure gauge, etc. Bring a friend to help with navigation and recovery. Oh, and Weathertech Floor Liners are a must.

All great advice. Thanks for the details