Instead of taking main road, Raptor owner makes their own out of snowy side path. Orange you glad?
There are huge differences between driving a car and a truck. There are the obvious ones you’d see if you parked them side by side, such as the size and looks. But then there are the more subtle differences. When you’re behind the wheel of a big pickup, you think differently. You daydream about driving over and through things that you’d have to completely avoid in a sedan. And in a truck like the Ford F-150 Raptor, you can make some of those fantasies into reality.
The person driving this cool orange second-generation Raptor obviously wanted to do what we’ve pictured doing multiple times: veering off the main road and making one out of the unpaved surface to the side of it. In stock form, the Raptor is perfectly capable of making rough trails smoother. This one has some aftermarket hardware on it that makes doing that even easier. We found the video on the Midwest Offroad Expeditions (aka bad_rap_gen2) Instagram page. According to them, this particular Raptor belongs to a man named Dan Dunn (who goes by the screen name fancypants.dan) and “is highly modded with midtravel front and rear suspension and a lot more.”
Dunn uses his upgraded suspension to make a straight-ahead drive on a wintry road a lot more entertaining. Shortly after the footage starts, he turns the wheel and heads into the untouched snow to the right of the pavement. It’s hard to tell how fast Dunn is going, but he doesn’t seem to be concerned with his speedometer reading because he doesn’t tap the brakes before leaving the road. Dunn charges down and up the shallow valley that runs through the middle of the grass and onto the widest part of the snowy ground and keeps his right foot down.
Dunn mixes things up even more by crisscrossing his way over his road-for-one. He keeps his speed steady as the Raptor’s enhanced suspension eats up the valley and keeps his tires planted. Occasionally, the back end slips out a little and sends up a huge spray of cold powder.
It must’ve been a helluva ride for Dunn. It certainly was an unforgettable viewing experience for us. We’ve never seen someone use a Raptor as a snowboard before.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
