Driving down the highway, ever pass a trailer full of brand new cars and trucks? While scenes from the Fast and the Furious may flicker through your mind – there’s some very real logistic difficulties to getting these brand new vehicles to the dealership. Heck, sometimes it’s difficult to just get them on the darn trailer! You can find a great example of that below.
You’ll see just how not to unload a new Ford Raptor. Truth. If it’s not hard enough to get the vehicles to the dealership in one piece, there’s plenty of hazard in offloading and loading! These transport systems were designed to get newer model cars to and from various dealerships and suppliers with minimal chance of damage. Each vehicle is insured against damages – but often times that doesn’t stop the stress levels from hitting an all time high when things go wrong.
Insurance only covers just so many things. Events like catastrophic explosions mean that any mishap becomes very costly – very quickly. And dealers can get especially nervous because the vehicle is technically theirs once it hits the ground. So, when offloading vehicles dealership owners can get stressed out very quickly. To make matters worse, the Ford Raptor is a very powerful truck. (more…)
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With power ratings of 365 horsepower @ 5,000 rpm and 420 lb./ft. of torque @ 2,500 rpm â this beast is an extremely powerful and efficient vehicle. But that comes with it’s
With power ratings of 365 horsepower @ 5,000 rpm and 420 lb./ft. of torque @ 2,500 rpm – this beast is an extremely powerful and efficient vehicle. But that comes with it’s own problems. Sleek, aesthetically pleasing, and powerful – it invites plenty of failure by overconfident drivers. This has proven to be a challenge enough for the less experienced and even more so for the professionals. So when it comes to offloading a brand new one of these straight from the car carrier……yes, plenty can go wrong. Driving off a 7,400 lb behemoth is a feat unto itself. And so these mistakes are pretty minor in comparison.
Overinflating a Problem
Now, in this YouTube universe we live in – is anyone at a lack to see what real vehicular destruction looks like? Below we see the Raptor slip off the treads and slide a wheel off the track. This undoubtedly results in some amount of superficial damage to the underbelly. But what we’re honestly talking about is superficial – not structural. These trucks are equipped with a track of around 145 inches. That’s much wider than the typical Toyota Corollas getting packed into the back of a car carrier. And with a 4 wheel drive powertrain, it’s not like the Raptor can’t just slide on off. What we’re ultimately looking at is a dealer trying to assess his losses and how much he can cover up the scratches before it goes on the lot. If skipping a tread coming off a car trailer is enough to take out a Ford Raptor – I think Ford has bigger problems on their hands.
What’s the Take Away?
Well, the obvious is keep the wheels straight when backing up off a car carrier. Pending that, maybe this lesson is more of a call for checking beneath more than just the hood when visiting a dealership. These newer model cars are at a very high price point – why take chances? Who knows, maybe your diligent examination will yield a nice discount at the checkout. Additionally, check the inside of the wheel wells. This is where damage often goes unnoticed. The Raptor is as close to a military machine as you can buy from a dealer but – it’s only as good as the wheels that bear its weight. So, next time you’re cruising a dealership looking at bringing a behemoth to your driveway – remember this and check the inside wheel wells and undercarriage. Superficial scratches or not, that’s your prerogative.
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