New Truck Time - Testing and Sorting

[Addicting]

F150 for Big Fin

@Big Fin

The details on AutoTrader are not clear but I am betting this has everything you need. The engines on this site are listed wrong at a 3.3l. I would make sure that it has the 3.5l Eco Boost before going out to see it. Don’t waste your money on the 2.7l. It also has the 6’ box for that extra storage you need. Ask if it has equipment group 302a. It should at that price. Plus you will need the inverter option.

 

[Elkmagnet]

1. Comfort of ride in the back seat. They spend days back there, over the course of a season.

2. Size of the cab, including legroom and headroom. Dan and Dale are both about an inch taller than me.

3. Cargo space in the bed, so I am not always ragging on them for bringing too much stuff.

4. How many power outlets for charging their gear and editing/capturing footage while we are traveling. This is actually huge, as they spends hours and hours capturing footage from cards to hard drives. If they can have it running while we are traversing the country, it saves them a lot of time when we get home.

Then it was a mix of things I couldn't care about; stereo system, heated seats, carpet floors, leather.......

Not any comment from them about budgets. Kind of like when they order camera gear. It's the boss' money.

I was surprised with Marcus, being he is the most frugal of the entire crew. He has friends with Raptors or has some experience with Raptors. He thinks the Raptor is beyond any of the others, by a large margin. Given his frugality, I was expecting him to suggest we soup up some 200K mile Tacoma and beat the hell out of it until it finally dies, making it work regardless of the discomforts and lack of space.

With about 50% more usable suspension travel than the rest of the trucks and sprung for a lighter payload the raptor is ridiculously smooth on rutted out blm two tracks.
With a rear locker and the optional front torsion diff it is very good at finding traction in really bad spots.
Just hire a body shop to heat and remove all of the graphics.
I don't know anyone who has driven one on a desert ywo track and thinks its just an f150 with a lift and a locker. Its a totally different truck built off of the same frame/motor.
Wish I could justify owning one but I cannot.

 

[rjthehunter]

Air filters need changed?

My 2018 gets an average of 15.6 mpg when I factor in town, gravel and freeway. Not bad, but not a whole lot better than any other V8 half ton. All maintenance is done right on schedule.

If I factor in idle time in the morning when I let it warm up for 15 mins then it drops it down to about 14.5. But that shouldn't count. Do you have the AFM enabled? Where it cuts from 8 down to 4 cylinders on the highway? You should be able to get 20 on the highway and at least 16 or so in town...

 

[Addicting]

I don't know anyone who has driven one on a desert ywo track and thinks its just an f150 with a lift and a locker. Its a totally different truck built off of the same frame/motor.

It would be nice to test a Raptor side by side with the Ford 150 sporting the 2” Fox Shocks and the same ply tires.
The program in the computer would be different so there would still be a difference in power. But, I bet the suspension part would be very close to the same.

 

[Elkmagnet]

If I factor in idle time in the morning when I let it warm up for 15 mins then it drops it down to about 14.5. But that shouldn't count. Do you have the AFM enabled? Where it cuts from 8 down to 4 cylinders on the highway? You should be able to get 20 on the highway and at least 16 or so in town...

At what elevation and over what topography?

 

[rjthehunter]

At what elevation and over what topography?

Lol, well around Fargo here, we're at about 800 ft and it's mostly flat with a few rolling hills where I go to fish. Definitely not mountains. That has a lot to do with why I can get such good gas mileage. What kills mine from time to time is the 30 mph winds that like to blow.

 

[tzone]

F150 for Big Fin

@Big Fin

The details on AutoTrader are not clear but I am betting this has everything you need. The engines on this site are listed wrong at a 3.3l. I would make sure that it has the 3.5l Eco Boost before going out to see it. Don’t waste your money on the 2.7l. It also has the 6’ box for that extra storage you need. Ask if it has equipment group 302a. It should at that price. Plus you will need the inverter option.

I gotta be completely honest...I tried to hate the 2.7. motor and I can't. It has way way more power than my 5.4l's ever did. It would blow the doors off of a 5.4 in a drag race and it gets 5-6 more mpg than I ever did with the 5.4's I've had. 6.5' box for sure. This truck has the smaller 5.5' box and it's always full.

 

[Elkmagnet]

It would be nice to test a Raptor side by side with the Ford 150 sporting the 2” Fox Shocks and the same ply tires.
The program in the computer would be different so there would still be a difference in power. But, I bet the suspension part would be very close to the same.

Other than the wider track width, longer a arms, lighter sway bars, lighter spring rates, increased suspension travel, increased sag and different alignment specs.
Its not a suspension bolted on an f150 its an baja race truck built off of an existing platform to make it somewhat affordable. Well for a race truck.

 

[Addicting]

Other than the wider track width, longer a arms, lighter sway bars, lighter spring rates, increased suspension travel, increased sag and different alignment specs.
Its not a suspension bolted on an f150 its an baja race truck built off of an existing platform to make it somewhat affordable. Well for a race truck.

Didn’t realize that there was that much difference. From what I’ve done with mine I cannot imagine Randy going in worse places. I would like to have the extra 2” in clearance. Also, I don’t want to be rolling around on the wide 35” tires the Raptor runs in the snow. A Big tire in the snow might as well be ski when it comes time to stop. I like tall narrow tires for snow and ice. With the thick chains I bought this year for the rear if I’m getting stuck in the snow it’s some place I should of never attempted to go.

 

[justinch]

I don't have a horse in this race but something to consider when adding spacers (leveling kits) and off-roading. I've had spacers on two trucks, heard alot of clunking when messing around off road. Switched to adjustable Bilstein shocks and haven't experienced it since.

Lifted Shocks and Leveling Struts vs. Strut Spacers - Pros, Cons, and Risks

Pros and Cons of Strut Spacers There are pros and cons to each option, the biggest factor for people going with a spacer is perceived cost vs a new set of struts that may do the same. Spacers are also very popular amongst new truck owners who just want to level the vehicle without replacing...

www.shocksurplus.com

Just something to consider if going the upgrade route.

 

[ignorethefringes]

Other than the wider track width, longer a arms, lighter sway bars, lighter spring rates, increased suspension travel, increased sag and different alignment specs.
Its not a suspension bolted on an f150 its an baja race truck built off of an existing platform to make it somewhat affordable. Well for a race truck.

Precisely why I think it's a waste of money for Randy.

 

[Elkmagnet]

Didn’t realize that there was that much difference. From what I’ve done with mine I cannot imagine Randy going in worse places. I would like to have the extra 2” in clearance. Also, I don’t want to be rolling around on the wide 35” tires the Raptor runs in the snow. A Big tire in the snow might as well be ski when it comes time to stop. I like tall narrow tires for snow and ice. With the thick chains I bought this year for the rear if I’m getting stuck in the snow it’s some place I should of never attempted to go.

First would problems I know.
Everything is definitely a trade off.
The track width is very stable and smooth riding but will be tight in thentrees and brush.
If the 34" tires bother you the tire store will buy them from you and throw on some 285 75s.

 

[Addicting]

I gotta be completely honest...I tried to hate the 2.7. motor and I can't. It has way way more power than my 5.4l's ever did. It would blow the doors off of a 5.4 in a drag race and it gets 5-6 more mpg than I ever did with the 5.4's I've had. 6.5' box for sure. This truck has the smaller 5.5' box and it's always full.

How does it tow? My 4500lbs trailer drops my V8 down to 11mpg and is constant trying to find a gear between 3 and 4th once we start hitting hills. Near the Wyoming line headed west you would think the truck is going to explode. I need to buy a programmer chip to resolve it. Supposedly the 3.5l and 10 speed transmission doesn’t have the same issues. I wish I wouldn’t of been afraid of the turbo rumors when I ordered mine. Live and learn

 

[Elkmagnet]

Precisely why I think it's a waste of money for Randy.

Perhaps but I can tell you I have a slightly lifted F150, A 2014 lifted Nissan frontier With the nicest suspension Available for it lockers winch everything I want and If it comes down to just banging around blm two tracks all day I would much rather ride in my buddies raptor.

 

[Ben Lamb]

9 pages and nobody has the correct answer.

 

[tzone]

How does it tow? My 4500lbs trailer drops my V8 down to 11mpg and is constant trying to find a gear between 3 and 4th once we start hitting hills. Near the Wyoming line headed west you would think the truck is going to explode. I need to buy a programmer chip to resolve it. Supposedly the 3.5l and 10 speed transmission doesn’t have the same issues. I wish I wouldn’t of been afraid of the turbo rumors when I ordered mine. Live and learn

It tows pretty well. I'm not sure what style your trailer is, but if it's an enclosed trailer, it's going to buck a lot of wind. I'm either towing a trailer with 2 wheelers on it or a boat that loaded, weighs about 3k with everything. It will drop to 16mpg with those two. Pulls nice and smooth and I will say it tows better than my Ram did with the same weight/loads. Neither truck was sweating either load. My truck is a 16 so it still has the 6 speed trans. My 14 F-150 was one of the transmissions that would "clunk" hard on the downshifts at stop signs. LOVED the 8-speed Ram trans. This one is normal so far with 83K on the odo.

 

[Woodrow F Call]

The Raptor is an off road hot rod. I don't really see it as a hunting rig.

 

[Addicting]

9 pages and nobody has the correct answer.



View attachment 129094

This one has tons of space!

 

[Ben Lamb]

@Addicting there's not enough clearance nor would that withstand the charge of an angry rhino.

C'mon man. Think of the crew's safety!

 

[Addicting]

@Addicting there's not enough clearance nor would that withstand the charge of an angry rhino.

C'mon man. Think of the crew's safety!

My Bad! For the low price of $199,000 the crews safety is the highest priority.