Just Announced: The Bronco Off-Roadeo Raptor Experience!

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SOMETHING THRILLING IS COMING SOON FOR BRONCO RAPTOR!​

Owners of the all-new Ford Bronco® Raptor™, designed and engineered by Ford Performance, will be able to experience the ultimate desert conquering, rock-crawling and Built Wild™ off-road adventure. This exciting owner experience will be breaking ground on Mt. Potosi, the home of Bronco Off-Roadeo Nevada.

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[Johnny Rebel]

All I can say is WOW! This is a MUST DO if you have the opportunity. We had an absolute blast today!

 

[Apache 8]

All I can say is WOW! This is a MUST DO if you have the opportunity. We had an absolute blast today!

It sounds like they take a group picture of each driving group, do they take photos for you of your jump or anything else?

 

[JMCBraptor]

I have to agree! Every part of the Raptor Off Rodeo was an incredible experience!
Across the board the entire staff was amazing! The only bad part was that the day had to end! I was nice meeting my fellow forum friends! A day like this will
Never be forgotten! Ford really went out of their way to make me love my Bronco Raptor even more!!!

 

[Johnny Rebel]

It sounds like they take a group picture of each driving group, do they take photos for you of your jump or anything else?

They did a group photo and we got a photo with a special guest, but no photos of our jumps.

 

[Johnny Rebel]

I have to agree! Every part of the Raptor Off Rodeo was an incredible experience!
Across the board the entire staff was amazing! The only bad part was that the day had to end! I was nice meeting my fellow forum friends! A day like this will
Never be forgotten! Ford really went out of their way to make me love my Bronco Raptor even more!!!
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I have to agree! Every part of the Raptor Off Rodeo was an incredible experience!
Across the board the entire staff was amazing! The only bad part was that the day had to end! I was nice meeting my fellow forum friends! A day like this will
Never be forgotten! Ford really went out of their way to make me love my Bronco Raptor even more!!!
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View attachment 8963View attachment 8964

I could not agree more! After going through this, I completely understand why the passenger expense is so much more than the standard OffRoadeo. This is a completely different experience!

Were you in the 9:00 group? We were in the 8:00 group and never really got the chance to see anyone from the later group.

 

[ChiliPepper]

It sounds like they take a group picture of each driving group, do they take photos for you of your jump or anything else?

Yep. We had a special guest visit (ultra4 course designer) and super hot ride with said guest. Can you pick him out in the photo? Pro tip: when asked what your "appetite is" on a scale of 1-10, say 12+ and you'll get full throttle.

Can you say Hangtime!



Photos of our jump will be available at a later date via email.

I'll have to sift through 8 hours of video and make a short clip like @JMCBraptor.

FYI, the crew got all eight BRs washed up and pretty for Day 2.

Highest temperature noted yesterday was 119F; however, that was not an issue with the BR a/c. Drink lots of water and use sun block.

 

[ChiliPepper]

Well that's a bummer. None of my video after lunch was recorded. No horses, no double or triple back on the road to Raptor Valley, no desert course, no ultra4 course, no rock course.

 

[Johnny Rebel]

Well that's a bummer. None of my video after lunch was recorded. No horses, no double or triple back on the road to Sand Valley, no desert corse, no ultra4 course, no rock course.

That sucks, but man at least you got to experience it! Damn that was a good time today! Sorry we were in different groups, but I did see your glorious steed in the parking lot

 

[Tor148]

Well that's a bummer. None of my video after lunch was recorded. No horses, no double or triple back on the road to Sand Valley, no desert corse, no ultra4 course, no rock course.

Call them up and tell them. Mark Hunter said we would get a refund if it didn't record. I know its not same, i would much rather have the video!
Can't check mine until i get home, but i am not that hopeful....

 

[ChiliPepper]

Call them up and tell them. Mark Hunter said we would get a refund if it didn't record. I know its not same, i would much rather have the video!
Can't check mine until i get home, but i am not that hopeful....

Copy. It was great meeting you Tor.

 

[Tor148]

Copy. It was great meeting you Tor.

Same here Ken.
Any time your in my necks of the woods, give a shout.

 

[onthelookout]

Based on these initial notes of the experience, my August date cannot come soon enough. Appreciate the insights you all are providing from your time there.

 

[JMCBraptor]

I could not agree more! After going through this, I completely understand why the passenger expense is so much more than the standard OffRoadeo. This is a completely different experience!

Were you in the 9:00 group? We were in the 8:00 group and never really got the chance to see anyone from the later group.

yes 9am group..

 

[OFP]

Thanks everyone for sharing. Aug 5 can’t come soon enough!

 

[JohnGalt]

Can any recent attendee give a recap of the driving portions of the day? What were the different driving activities? How much time behind wheel doing those did you spend? What did you learn that made you a better driver? What was (in your opinion) the best thing you did?

I’m still trying to figure out if it’s worth it for me to go down there if my wife doesn’t want my seat.

if most the time is spent putting in a caravan to and from base camp on gravel roads and sitting around waiting for your turn to drive, it doesn't seem worth the effort, despite the opportunity to hoon someone else’s Braptor in the desert.

Launching off that jump looks like a lot fun and getting a couple gos at it would be even better. folks we’re definitely getting more air and a better landing than my jumps on trail yesterday (seriously used up all my front end travel on the biggest one…..)

TIA

 

[Johnny Rebel]

Can any recent attendee give a recap of the driving portions of the day? What were the different driving activities? How much time behind wheel doing those did you spend? What was (in your opinion) the best thing you did?

I’m still trying to figure out if it’s worth it for me to go down there if my wife doesn’t want my seat.

if most the time is spent putting in a caravan to and from base camp on gravel roads and sitting around waiting for your turn to drive, it doesn't seem worth the effort, despite the opportunity to hoon someone else’s Braptor in the desert.

Launching off that jump looks like a lot fun and getting a couple gos at it would be even better. folks we’re definitely getting more air and a better landing than my jumps on trail yesterday (seriously used up all my front end travel on the biggest one…..)

TIA

I know this isn't particularly helpful and doesn't answer your questions, but just go. You won't regret it. It's worth it.

 

[Tor148]

Copy. It was great meeting you Tor.

Well, mine did not record as well past lunch. Really sucks becuase the video that did record was great especially with the telemetry. I replied to the email with my receipt yesterday saying it did not full record and I got a credit today. So i have to give them that for customer service. Although I would have much rather had the video.

 

[Johnny Rebel]

For those that have asked, here's a recap I originally posted on TBN yesterday.

TLDR: If you have the opportunity, just go. It was a great experience for us!

The following recap isn't exhaustive and I didn't take many pics or any notes, so times and distances are just estimates. There are surely details that I missed. Also, I'm getting old and my memory just isn't what it used to be, so I may be remembering some of the details completely wrong. For others that have participated (@ChiliPepper @Tor148 @Blairwarlock @JMCBraptor to name a few), please add your experiences to this thread and correct me where I'm wrong.

Since we were the first group of "clients" to go through, things may change slightly by the time others get to experience it. Either way, it was VERY well organized and executed, so major kudos to the men and women who put this program together. They did a FANTASTIC job of keeping things moving along on schedule with absolutely no hiccups at all.

The first 60-90 minutes was geared toward showcasing the capabilities of the truck and there wasn't much driving. It was essentially an interactive orientation, discussion, and Q&A designed to ease everyone into the experience. One of the participants was chosen (or voluntold ) to drive a Raptor through a short terrain course between the Basecamp and the parking lot where all of the Raptors were staged. The professional coaches assigned to the group guided & highlighted the features and unique capabilities of the Raptor while the other participants walked alongside to observe.

Once we made it to the parking lot, we were given our assigned Raptor for the day and it was all seat time from there. My wife and I were assigned a pristine Code Orange Raptor with a whopping 275 miles on it! Our group had 6 Raptors (2 of us also had wives with us, so 8 participants total) that were split into 2 smaller groups of 3 each. Each group had a dedicated instructor riding shotgun in the lead truck to guide the activities and all trucks had 2 way radios for comms/instructions. I heard a rumor that a couple of trucks were even wired up with video, but thankfully ours was not.

The first driving event was a short, low speed trail loop in the area around Basecamp that was primarily mild rock crawling and obstacles. When necessary, the Coach would exit the lead truck and help guide the following drivers so that we all successfully navigated the terrain. This event concluded with a quick lunch at Basecamp before heading out to Raptor Valley for the afternoon.

The Trip to Raptor Valley was 20-25 miles of desert trail driving, again with the instructor riding shotgun in the lead truck while calling out various hazards that deserved attention and offering suggestions of how to best approach & maneuver over/around/through them. Each truck was given enough space and distance for the driver to operate at a comfortable pace, but our Coach did a great job of keeping the group together. In retrospect, each of the drivers, though Raptor owners, was somewhat timid with the terrain and were obviously concerned with the possibility that we might break something on our precious, fragile trucks. And then we were introduced to Raptor Valley.

Everyone staged in the pit area at Raptor Valley to put on our helmets and grab a cold box of water (yes, box) before, as the kids say, "things got real". As we were preparing to make our way back to our trucks, the lead Coach gathered us together and said "Hey, we've got a surprise for you!" At that moment, a white Raptor came sliding sideways into the pits (at a safe distance) in a cloud of dust-filled glory, and the face of Vaughn Gittin, Jr. appeared! He jumped out of the Raptor, offered a quick welcome and a rundown of what Raptor Valley is all about, then trotted over to our group and was high-fiving, dusting knuckles, and shaking hands. Then my wife turned to me and said, "Who was that? He seems nice!" I don't know if he'll be there to do that for every group, but I can't unsee it. And it was AWESOME!

There were 3 different driving activities at Raptor Valley: a rock crawling trail, the Baja-inspired Raptor Run course, and the Ultra4 course.

My group started with the rock crawling trail which included rock gardens, 25-30* inclines/declines, and a rock waterfall with a couple of 4-5' rock ledges to drop down. For the first part of this, we used the Bronco Trail Control feature. Although we own two 6th gen Broncos and have taken them off-road several times, this is the first time I've actually used this feature. In this scenario, it was fantastic! Just set your speed and steer; the Bronco does all the heavy lifting. It's that simple.

For the race courses, each truck staged and waited in sequence for a Coach-driven hot lap. Each driver moved to the passenger seat and anxiously waited on the Coach to hop in and show us what kind of beating these Raptors can really take. After the hot lap, it was our turn. The Coach swapped seats with us and guided us as we drove 2 laps at-speed on each course. When I say the courses were rough, I mean they were ROUGH! They were full of rocks, ruts, dips, hard edges, etc..., and we plowed through them all! TWICE on each course! As many have asked, there was indeed a tabletop jump on the Ultra 4 course, and we aired it out! I don't mean just a 1 foot bunny hop to say we caught air. It was a proper full-throttle, Saturn V moonshot launch (if you had the nerve for it)! As if that wasn't enough excitement, when the entire group had completed the Ultra4 course, Mr. Gittin, Jr. was standing-by to offer a ride-along hot lap for any takers. One of the ladies in our group was pretty apprehensive about it, but the first thing she said when she hopped out of the truck afterward was "I wish I had asked him to go faster!" The enthusiastic smile on her face was pure gold!

Once we finished our time at Raptor Valley, we headed back to Raptor Basecamp on a different 15-20 mile desert trail. In discussing this with a group member afterwards, we both agreed that whatever notions we previously held regarding the internet-inspired perceived fragility of the Bronco were long gone. Instead of worrying about what might break, we just enjoyed the ride while letting the Warthog do what it was designed to do: eat whatever terrain was in front of it and leave a trail of pure joy in it's wake.

To end the day, we pulled into Basecamp and surrendered our beasts to their caretakers to be prepared for the next day's lucky participants while we, a newly-minted group of Bronco Raptor apostles, were treated to a sunset meal in the Bronco Pavilion before being dispatched on our separate ways to extoll the previously unimaginable virtues of our beloved Bronco Raptors to the unwashed masses in Sin City and beyond.

The staff was outstanding! The facility was fantastic! The participants shared our love of the Bronco Experience! The scenery could not have been more beautiful!

For my wife and I, it was truly THE Bronco experience of a lifetime and we're grateful to have been a part of it.

 

[JohnGalt]

For those that have asked, here's a recap I originally posted on TBN yesterday.

Thank you, this answered most of my questions. I hope my wife takes the opportunity, if she doesn’t I think I’ll drive down for it. Excellent write-up!

 

[Johnny Rebel]

Thank you, this answered most of my questions. I hope my wife takes the opportunity, if she doesn’t I think I’ll drive down for it. Excellent write-up!

Thank you, sir! I tried to hit most of your questions, but finally got tired of writing