Ranger Raptor on Anza Borrego Trail

[Ranger Dave]

We are regular off-road enthusiasts with many trips to desert trails in California, including King of the Hammers events with Bronco Nation in our 22 Bronco Badlands, but this was our first adventure in our 24 Ranger Raptor.

Compared to our 22 Bronco, which is an incredible vehicle, the Raptor took on the trails like a pro with the ride being noticeably smoother on rough roads, due to the longer wheelbase and better shocks I assume. On paved roads the Ranger Raptor rode like a heavy, high-powered sports car - stable, responsive but you can till you are not in a Porsche.

A few photos from the trip. Due to the high temps during the day, we had the Fish Creek portion of the Anza Borrego Park to ourselves and did not see a living soul for two days.

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[gdub]

That is amazing that no one else was there. It is usually crawling with many vehicles. I don't go there anymore because of that. Apparently, it was too hot for the normal crowd that goes there.

Glad your RRapter performed as it should.

 

[Peter949]

Wow, nice. I'm near by in oc. I gotta try this later after I get my RR next week.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

We are regular off-road enthusiasts with many trips to desert trails in California, including King of the Hammers events with Bronco Nation in our 22 Bronco Badlands, but this was our first adventure in our 24 Ranger Raptor.

Compared to our 22 Bronco, which is an incredible vehicle, the Raptor took on the trails like a pro with the ride being noticeably smoother on rough roads, due to the longer wheelbase and better shocks I assume. On paved roads the Ranger Raptor rode like a heavy, high-powered sports car - stable, responsive but you can till you are not in a Porsche.

A few photos from the trip. Due to the high temps during the day, we had the Fish Creek portion of the Anza Borrego Park to ourselves and did not see a living soul for two days.

Amazing shots, thanks for sharing!

 

[Ranger Dave]

Deserted would be an accurate description of the Park, and the City of Borrego Springs, which is typical this time of the year. Since we timed our arrival for late afternoon the temps were fine. Sleeping in our tent was challenging, the air temps were in the high 70s at night but the ground was still warm, however watching shooting stars and enjoying the moon light by ourselves was amazing. In the morning, while it was still cool, we had all the incredible trails around the Fish Creek area to ourselves. If you do try this solo be sure to bring approprate protection and communication devices.

 

[Vel0ci]

great pictures, did you have any issues with the ground clearance?

 

[Ranger Dave]

No issues with ground clearance except at the rock obstacle in the photo as I slightly nicked the bottom edge of the driver’s side running board on a rock - very minor cosmetic damage and easily repaired. I was surprised that there was zero scratches on undercarriage, not even a rock chip from gravel, when we got home. One advantage our 22 Bronco has over the RRaptor is a shorter wheel base which would have made portions of this trail easier. To be fair my wife was spotting me on the tight portions of the trail.

 

[J.Dub]

Time to replace the running board with rock sliders.

 

[Ranger Dave]

I thought about switching out to rock rails, like those installed on our 22 Bronco, but I think the RRaptor running boards are why we have gotten zero rock chips on the sides of the truck after 3000 miles. Besides, not getting any rock chips, nobody dings my doors in parking lots ? with the factory running boards.

 

[G L Rockwell]

I thought about switching out to rock rails, like those installed on our 22 Bronco, but I think the RRaptor running boards are why we have gotten zero rock chips on the sides of the truck after 3000 miles. Besides, not getting any rock chips, nobody dings my doors in parking lots ? with the factory running boards.

Enough reason to keep them, inconsiderate people that disregard other's property deserve the karma.

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