Second-Generation Raptor Climbs Through Hell’s Gate in Moab

Raptor’s claws are sharp enough to keep it from becoming another statistic on one of Moab’s treacherous off-road trails.

The Ford F-150 Raptor was made to handle extreme conditions. It can zoom across 100-degree desert sands at sports car speeds. It’s able to jump over massive sand dunes and land without snapping its frame into two pieces or rocketing its shocks through its aluminum bodywork. So it’s no surprise that the owner of a second-generation Raptor took one through a tough stretch of land in Moab, Utah, the natural habitat of highly modified Jeep Wranglers.

The folks at the YouTube channel To The Floor! captured footage of the owner of a white Ford Raptor crawling through a challenging rock formation known as “Hell’s Gate.” According to Off-Road.com, “Hell’s Gate is a section of Hell’s Revenge (wow, sounds like fun), a high-pucker slickrock jaunt through Grand County (Moab), revered by crawlers and trail dogs for its variable terrain, unending opportunities for death, and countless playground offshoots.” It sounds terrifying, but then again, so does a mechanized carnivorous dinosaur.

These days, the abilities of many vehicles far exceed the skills and/or comfort levels of the people that drive them. But Moab demands the most out of both man and machine. Luckily, the driver of this Raptor has strong enough nerves to keep their rig shiny-side-up. Following their spotter’s directions, they keep straight at the beginning and go over a deep V in the rock formation. A more extreme angle in the land requires all four of the Raptor’s tires to scrape the sides for grip.

At one point, the rear passenger-side wheel fully compresses up into its wheel well as the front end tries to pull the entire truck forward. Then it’s time for a bumpy upward left turn to the end of the challenge. Even after the crowd erupts in cheers of victory, Hell’s Gate continues to mush and drop the Raptor’s suspension. The Blue Oval beast goes on unscathed.

It almost looks too easy for the Raptor. We can’t say we’re surprised, though. In fact, we can relate. A few years ago, we took a SuperCab Raptor out to an off-highway vehicle park and went wheeling with several Jeep Wrangler owners. There was one point in the trail where we were going to have to descend into a shallow pit, then immediately climb uphill. One of our spotters told us there was going to be a “pucker” moment since we were in a full-size truck. That moment never came. The land only grazed the skid plate protecting the Raptor’s belly. We kept going as if nothing happened…because nothing did happen. The Raptor performed so well that that potentially nerve-racking section of the trail was anticlimactic. That rough Texas terrain was nothing for the Raptor. And, as this video shows, neither was going into Hell.

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Derek Shiekhi

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.

In addition to writing for a variety of Internet Brands sites, including JK Forum and Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Derek also contributes to other outlets. He started There Will Be Cars on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube to get even more automotive content out to fellow enthusiasts.

He can be reached at autoeditors@internetbrands.com.

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