RR003 – Great Trucks, Great People, and One Very Long Shortcut!

Our RR003 adventure started long before we arrived in Lake Havasu. A bunch of us convoyed down from Washington State, and naturally, we couldn't resist stopping at a dry lake bed along the way. Let's just say some shenanigans ensued, and we'll leave it at that! We stayed at The Nautical Beachfront Resort, which turned out to be a great choice. Good value, fantastic location, and a perfect base for the weekend. The RR003 event itself was really well organized. We scored a great spot, finally got to meet Hanna in person, and had an awesome experience all around. Getting to interact directly with Ford through the workshops, interviews, and other activities was a real highlight. It's not often you get that kind of access, and we really appreciated it. A special shoutout to Hanna! Thank you for all the time, effort, and hard work that went into organizing RR003 and making it such a great experience for everyone. We know events like this don't just magically come together, and dealing with a large group of Raptor owners must be a bit like herding cats... except the cats have 700 horsepower, questionable impulse control, and a tendency to disappear into the desert! 😂 Seriously, Hanna, your dedication and involvement didn't go unnoticed, and we really appreciate everything you did to make the event happen. And then came Saturday afternoon... A few of us decided to head out for a trail ride and, in a moment of questionable judgment, chose the black route. The plan was a nice, easy 90-minute drive. Nine hours later... Somewhere along the way, we apparently decided the marked trails were more of a suggestion than an actual route. We ended up exploring some rather questionable side-by-side trails in full-size Raptors. Turns out, just because a SXS fits doesn't mean an F-150 will. Who knew? What followed was an unplanned masterclass in rock stacking, spotting, creative navigation, and teamwork. There were definitely moments when we questioned our life choices, but those are usually the adventures you remember most. A huge shoutout to Mike and Luke, who were back at the hotel helping navigate us out of the pickle we'd managed to get ourselves into. Nothing like having a remote rescue team while you're out there trying to convince a full-size truck it's actually a Polaris! The best part? Despite nine hours of unintended off-roading, the post-adventure damage assessment was surprisingly uneventful. A few complimentary custom pinstripe jobs courtesy of the desert vegetation, but no breakdowns, no punctures, and no mechanical failures. Pretty impressive considering where we'd taken these trucks! All jokes aside, RR003 was a fantastic experience. Great organization, great people, and some seriously good memories. The event was brilliant, but that unexpected nine-hour adventure is the story we'll probably still be telling years from now. Would we do it again? Absolutely. Would we take the same route? Let's not get carried away. 😂 #RR003 #RaptorRun #RaptorJunkies #FordRaptor #OffroadAdventures