2021 Ford Raptor

Moreover, could you imagine the look on the face of the driver / owner of an OEM F150 Raptor getting surprisingly embarrassed on pavement or off-road? It would be both hilarious and somewhat priceless to see it.
Don't forget that V8 growl as well!
 
Yes they are......and the best part is, one of these trucks.....a used F150 5.0L V8 in excellent condition could be built for much less $$,$$$.$$ than buying a new OEM F150 Raptor.

Moreover, could you imagine the look on the face of the driver / owner of an OEM F150 Raptor getting surprisingly embarrassed on pavement or off-road? It would be both hilarious and somewhat priceless to see it.

Thing is, that’s like going to the race track & racing a stock class up against a pro stock & then laughing when the pro stock wins

The Raptor is so much more than a motor, that’s only one part & while you can build any F150 into a fake Raptor, it will not have the same frame or drive modes & might be “better” in some ways, it’s never going to be a Raptor
 
I needed a 6ft bed, do a lot of camping and hope to get a slide in or travel trailer. But honestly, if the raptor had a bed I could sleep in (> 6ft) I might have got one and put a camper shell on it and called it a day

Problem is, like it’s mentioned here, the Raptor is not designed to have much weight in the bed & the springs will go flat if you out much weight in/on the bed

Deaver replacement springs are great, but then you need to upgrade the front coils & depending on how hard you run the Raptor the shocks will need to be rebuilt & that’s expensive and takes it out of service unless you have 2 sets of shocks

You are spot on about the bed, it’s not designed to be “useful” & at the same time the extra width of the Raptor is a negative if you take it off road
 
As long as your fun and adventure requires less payload than a minivan, then I think your plan sounds solid. :D

My understanding is that Raptors are rated for less than 1000 pounds of payload capacity, so that will be chewed up pretty quickly by almost anything.

Yep, very true

The new Raptor has a coil spring rear suspension, will be interesting to see how it holds up to extra weight in the bed & then you can get the Raptor 37 with factory 37 inch tires instead of 35’s
 
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Hummmm, wonder what a Tremor with a Carli pintop suspension, headers & straight pipes with a full set of Raptor decals would look like
 
Thing is, that’s like going to the race track & racing a stock class up against a pro stock & then laughing when the pro stock wins

The Raptor is so much more than a motor, that’s only one part & while you can build any F150 into a fake Raptor, it will not have the same frame or drive modes & might be “better” in some ways, it’s never going to be a Raptor
I still think it would be FUN to have a high performance incognito 4WD off-road truck! I would gladly give up the extra drive mode(s) to have the V8 engine and additional performance (HP) to smoke the OEM Raptor and to compete with the Dodge (Ram) TRX......all for less money than an OEM Raptor.

You are correct about the frame. Since 2015, Ford builds F150 trucks with three different frames (different thickness) based on application. Only the Raptor...and trucks equipped with the Heavy Duty Payload Package (HDPP) have the thick frames. I know the HDPP was available on XL and XLT trucks...not certain about Lariats...but, was not available on the higher KR, Platinum and LTD trim levels.

Still possible to build such a truck with the thick F150 frame.....just need two trucks.....and swap the body with higher trim level VIN onto an XL or XLT truck equipped with the HDPP option, but certainly more financially feasible to find a "hail damaged" F150 with HDPP in a salvage yard.
 
I am not a fan of twin turbocharged V6 engines. Yes...great power and good fuel economy compared to 'most' N/A V8 engines. However, there have been too many reliability and durability issues and problems with the Direct Injection turbocharged applications. Furthermore, the newer technology of combining Port Injection (to reduce / eliminate carbon deposits on the back side of intake valves) with Direct Injection just adds more components and parts for inevitable failure.

A Ford F150 5.0L V8 with Super 8.8 inch rear axle assembly can be custom built by Pax Power into a full blown "Raptor Style" truck with 770 HP including all of the OEM Raptor suspension and OEM Raptor body parts.....OR .....built with only the OEM Raptor suspension and Bushwacker fender flares. The later being a bona fide OEM F150 Raptor challenger incognito.

According to Ben at Pax Power, the only OEM F150 Raptor component not included in the build is the Ford 9.75 inch rear axle assembly. However, he said they could acquire an OEM Raptor (width) 9.75 and include it in the build. The other option available on either of the two builds is the aftermarket ICON Stage 4 suspension system specifically designed for the F150 Raptor. In 2019, Ben told me their cost on either the OEM Raptor suspension OR the ICON Stage 4 was around $7500.00...and the body parts were the expensive components of the build.

IMO...the F150 5.0L V8 INCOGNITO version with 9.75 inch rear axle assembly would be a absolute blast......run circles around an OEM F150 Raptor on pavement and off-road.

F150 V8 Raptor Style --------> https://www.paxpower.com/raptor/

F150 V8 Incognito Style -----> https://www.paxpower.com/f150/

ICON Stage 4 Suspension --->

I've seen Paxpowers truck. They do an amazing job and I did consider sending my F150 to them.
Such gorgeous trucks.
 
I came from a gen2 Raptor only to be able to tow. Towing with the raptor really sucks. If you can swing a new Raptor and an xl duty, that is not a bad decision.
The only reason why we didn’t keep both was the new bronco. Bought the tremor and traded the raptor on the bronco. Raptors are really badass, even with urban Baja (no slowing down for speed bumps or those shitty roundabouts 😉)
Only thing to consider is the ability of playing around in the woods with the tow vehicle. Tremor mostly meets the needs to haul the camper and still play around a bit off road.
 
I still think it would be FUN to have a high performance incognito 4WD off-road truck! I would gladly give up the extra drive mode(s) to have the V8 engine and additional performance (HP) to smoke the OEM Raptor and to compete with the Dodge (Ram) TRX......all for less money than an OEM Raptor.

You are correct about the frame. Since 2015, Ford builds F150 trucks with three different frames (different thickness) based on application. Only the Raptor...and trucks equipped with the Heavy Duty Payload Package (HDPP) have the thick frames. I know the HDPP was available on XL and XLT trucks...not certain about Lariats...but, was not available on the higher KR, Platinum and LTD trim levels.

Still possible to build such a truck with the thick F150 frame.....just need two trucks.....and swap the body with higher trim level VIN onto an XL or XLT truck equipped with the HDPP option, but certainly more financially feasible to find a "hail damaged" F150 with HDPP in a salvage yard.

Guess I’m old and boring, don’t see anything wrong with going really fast off road in a sleeper truck, I’d just pull over & wave as you blasted past & smile as you leave me in your dust

The TRX can not keep up with the Raptor off road, it’s just to heavy & the suspension is not as well designed, will be interesting to see how the Raptor R with 37’s stacks up to the TRX
 
as someone who lives and plays out where they these Raptors purport to be made for… I never fucking see them. That nor the TRX.

I’m getting a Tremor to get the real off-road toys to the trailhead. You don’t drive it hard if you gotta drive it home. This whole 90k poser Baja truck thing cracks me up.
 
I watched this video on the new Raptor the other day and was really impressed, then stopped at a dealer to check out one on the lot (wasn't able to drive it.)

WOW 🤩 The fit and finish on this thing makes it feel like it's 20 years newer and $100k pricier than my Tremor.

Made me wonder if I should be looking at a Raptor for fun and adventure, and just get an XL Super Duty for a tow pig. (Note I'm not an RV guy so towing in luxury isn't a real priority.)

For you guys that came from Raptors (I've never looked at them seriously before), why did you decide to go with the Tremor?

Dealers here are marking them up 40k, so by the time you add that on to the 85k price tag,,,, they may be 100k pricier 🤣🤣🤣.

Raptor is cool, but in reality… 99 percent of the people out there will never use them for what they were built to do. The downfall to me is the 8500 tow rating. My 2009 5.4 150 could tow 3000 pounds more lol. Deal breaker
 
as someone who lives and plays out where they these Raptors purport to be made for… I never fucking see them. That nor the TRX.

I’m getting a Tremor to get the real off-road toys to the trailhead. You don’t drive it hard if you gotta drive it home. This whole 90k poser Baja truck thing cracks me up.
My thoughts exactly… Tremor is a grown man truck. Raptor is for the 50 year old guy trying to be 30, or the 30 year old guy trying to show off his money.
 
as someone who lives and plays out where they these Raptors purport to be made for… I never fucking see them. That nor the TRX.

I’m getting a Tremor to get the real off-road toys to the trailhead. You don’t drive it hard if you gotta drive it home. This whole 90k poser Baja truck thing cracks me up.
I mostly agree. However, The F150 Raptor is considerably more off-road capable than any other F150...especially if equipped with a Torsen traction device in the front differential. Ford offers the Torsen as an option in the F150 Tremor too. So much would have to be done to an OEM Raptor to make it a true "high speed" jumping off-road truck. The OEM axles would not hold up very long.....be a quick call to RCV Performance (or other aftermarket source) to obtain some Ultimate CV axles.

I simply would prefer to have a F150 5.0L V8 and have Pax Power equip it with Raptor or ICON Stage 4 suspension......an incognito bad ass off-road truck. Specifically, I like "flying under the radar" verses "advertising a status symbol". I do not necessarily dislike the OEM Raptor...actually like the 'concept'.....but Ford could do so very well by building and offering a 6.5L V8 high performance "Baby Godzilla" engine.

Probably the main reason you never see an F150 Raptor out in the desert is because the Raptor $90K "poser Baja truck" (ha!) is mainly an "urban status symbol". I almost bought a GEN 1 Raptor back in 2014, but decided to spend the money on guns and horses instead. If I had......for certain I would have removed all the cartoon looking decals (status symbol advertising).....which trash up the looks of the truck.
 
My comment was basically made on the points that you just outlined. Of course it’s better than an F-150, the question is if it’s better than an 18k dollar side by side off-road. It’s not. Even the F-250 tremor has an LSD in the front. Torsen is just another word for their marketing department to hammer on, like Fox.

They took a truck and put some pretty nice hardware on it, but it’s still based on that truck. It’s not going to get to the 18+ inches of suspension travel you need to do what it claims (not out loud, but through imagery and reputation) to do, much less that amount of travel you need for a 6000+ pound street legal pickup truck.

People are out there in a cage, 5 point harness and full face helmet doing this stuff. The raptor is a (very) fancy F-150. It’s not a great comparison, and it’s not THAT capable.
 
I mostly agree. However, The F150 Raptor is considerably more off-road capable than any other F150...especially if equipped with a Torsen traction device in the front differential. Ford offers the Torsen as an option in the F150 Tremor too. So much would have to be done to an OEM Raptor to make it a true "high speed" jumping off-road truck. The OEM axles would not hold up very long.....be a quick call to RCV Performance (or other aftermarket source) to obtain some Ultimate CV axles.

I simply would prefer to have a F150 5.0L V8 and have Pax Power equip it with Raptor or ICON Stage 4 suspension......an incognito bad ass off-road truck. Specifically, I like "flying under the radar" verses "advertising a status symbol". I do not necessarily dislike the OEM Raptor...actually like the 'concept'.....but Ford could do so very well by building and offering a 6.5L V8 high performance "Baby Godzilla" engine.

Probably the main reason you never see an F150 Raptor out in the desert is because the Raptor $90K "poser Baja truck" (ha!) is mainly an "urban status symbol". I almost bought a GEN 1 Raptor back in 2014, but decided to spend the money on guns and horses instead. If I had......for certain I would have removed all the cartoon looking decals (status symbol advertising).....which trash up the looks of the truck.

If you look you see raptors out in the desert, just have to pay attention to the Raptor groups that partake in such things, sure lots of them never go off road other then to Starbucks

In Aug of 2020 a Raptor group had a Wyoming Raptor run & one of them rolled out in the middle of nowhere & the closest hospital was Lander WY and the driver ended up in a Denver area trauma hospital.

Colorado also has a Raptor group that does desert/pre running style runs and some guy in the SLC area is heavily involved in off road runs & some of them hit Baja every year, they are just more low key & not in your face aggressive with getting the word out
 
Really wanted a 1st gen raptor for a long time but the 5.5 ft bed is hard for me to look past. Had to convince myself I could live without an 8 ft bed to order the tremor.
Also I'd like to get a 5th wheel down the road so Raptor just wouldn't do it.
 
A lot of people dropped the Raptor when it dropped the v8. The $30k adm sucks on the gen 3 too.
Below is Vaughn Gittin Jr running the Bronco at high speeds. The Bronco Raptor should be ballsy too!
 
I had both a 18 and a 19 Raptor. I did do a lot of off-roading with some of it being high speed. I thought, at the time, that it was an amazing truck. I didnt tow but did the random trip to the dump from time to time...

But...

Both trucks about the 20k mile mark, developed pre-mature "old car" syndrome. The amount of things that either broke, or needed replacement or were heavy on the maintenance got more. That plus the cam phaser issue really turned me off from getting a Gen3. My 19 Raptor at trade in had the cam phaser issue, a rattling sun roof (3rd time) and a leaky rear shock and was recommended that I get all 4 rebuilt early (needed at 50K) at 23k. I was looking at it being in the shop for 2 weeks.

I've always loved the Super Duty so I made the jump to the Tremor after seeing the G3 in person. The fit and finish between the 21 Raptor and the 22 Tremor looked the same but I do think the Tremor is far better built than both my old 18 and 19 Raptors. For me at least, the noise of V6TT vs V8 is just that, noise. The V6 is the perfect engine for the raptor. It's lighter, more powerful and just flys. I do wish the Tremor had a console shift and not a column shift. That's my old beef.

I love the 22 tremor more because it's higher, stronger and a better truck in the traditional sense. I did have to swap out the Tremor boards for the FX4 boards so my wife could get into it. Once I added the Carli, I would never go back to the raptor. Especially with local So Cal dealers wanting 25-33% of sticker for ADM. It's a great truck, but it's a 20K truck with 50K of bolt ons and it's not worth the ADM they want for it. It's sticker at best. IMHO.
 
Raptors are no different than Corvettes, Mustangs, Challengers, or any of their special versions. All require very specific use cases to fully appreciate their function. They tend to be dominated by the "look at me" contingent with a minority actually truly exploiting their talents. That should not come as a surprise, it's marketing and occurs in all other aspects of retail as well. Don't even get me started on mobile phones...
 
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