montypower
Adventure Time!
a 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor named "Dino"
Thanks to everyone who has followed along on our previous build projects. Incredible to see our 2020 Ford F250 posting with well over 100k views!
Our plans with this build is to change things up a bit. We've had several real estate projects consuming our life over the past couple years. Starting in 2025 our plan is to travel full time for a year (possibly longer)... Goal is to travel, map and review off road trails (everything). There are some big shoes for "Dino" the Bronco Raptor to fill.
Objectives:
1. Comfort. We've grown accustomed to the upright plush seating in the Super Duty. Being able to travel longer distances (as needed) in comfort is extremely important (must be getting old...).
>>> PASSED: We took a 471 mile road trip. My wife loves it.
2. eMTB Bike Hauling. We have expensive bikes and need to keep them protected. Fitting 2 full size eMTB bikes is more difficult than you think. There is a rather short list of "off road" capable vehicles with enough length/height.
>>> PASSED: We removed the rear seats and built a temporary platform.
3. Overland Camping. Roof tents look cool but they are expensive, ruin fuel mileage, poor in adverse weather and top heavy. Interior sleeping platform is the way to go. Although the Ursa Minor Roof is tempting.
>>> PARTIAL PASS: Measurements look good but haven't built or tested yet.
4. Range. This is a combination of mpg and fuel tank size. Having 400 mile minimum range is crucial for our travels. 500+ miles is ideal.
>>> FAIL: Our initial road trip resulted in 18.7mpg = max range 392 miles. We have aux fuel ideas and will need a good solution.
5. Towing. We will be using Dino for overland camping but want a comfy "home base" trailer for non-adventure days. Max tow rating is 4,500lbs which is easy to max out (weight management is key with light duty vehicles).
>>> PASSED: We test towed our enclosed tandem axle trailer. Will share a video on this. But it did surprisingly well.
6. Off Road Duty. We love off road trails and rock crawling. The Raptor is setup fairly well stock. 3" diameter Fox Reservoir shocks with electronic damping with 13" Front Travel and 14" Rear travel. 37" tires. 4.70 axle gears. 3.06:1 Tcase gears (67.8 crawl ratio). There are still plenty of improvement needed (for our use) but it a solid base.
>>> PARTIAL PASS: Testing required. Darn.
Thanks to everyone who has followed along on our previous build projects. Incredible to see our 2020 Ford F250 posting with well over 100k views!
Our plans with this build is to change things up a bit. We've had several real estate projects consuming our life over the past couple years. Starting in 2025 our plan is to travel full time for a year (possibly longer)... Goal is to travel, map and review off road trails (everything). There are some big shoes for "Dino" the Bronco Raptor to fill.
Objectives:
1. Comfort. We've grown accustomed to the upright plush seating in the Super Duty. Being able to travel longer distances (as needed) in comfort is extremely important (must be getting old...).
>>> PASSED: We took a 471 mile road trip. My wife loves it.
2. eMTB Bike Hauling. We have expensive bikes and need to keep them protected. Fitting 2 full size eMTB bikes is more difficult than you think. There is a rather short list of "off road" capable vehicles with enough length/height.
>>> PASSED: We removed the rear seats and built a temporary platform.
3. Overland Camping. Roof tents look cool but they are expensive, ruin fuel mileage, poor in adverse weather and top heavy. Interior sleeping platform is the way to go. Although the Ursa Minor Roof is tempting.
>>> PARTIAL PASS: Measurements look good but haven't built or tested yet.
4. Range. This is a combination of mpg and fuel tank size. Having 400 mile minimum range is crucial for our travels. 500+ miles is ideal.
>>> FAIL: Our initial road trip resulted in 18.7mpg = max range 392 miles. We have aux fuel ideas and will need a good solution.
5. Towing. We will be using Dino for overland camping but want a comfy "home base" trailer for non-adventure days. Max tow rating is 4,500lbs which is easy to max out (weight management is key with light duty vehicles).
>>> PASSED: We test towed our enclosed tandem axle trailer. Will share a video on this. But it did surprisingly well.
6. Off Road Duty. We love off road trails and rock crawling. The Raptor is setup fairly well stock. 3" diameter Fox Reservoir shocks with electronic damping with 13" Front Travel and 14" Rear travel. 37" tires. 4.70 axle gears. 3.06:1 Tcase gears (67.8 crawl ratio). There are still plenty of improvement needed (for our use) but it a solid base.
>>> PARTIAL PASS: Testing required. Darn.
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