Being that I have owned all Raptor platforms over the years, 9 in total - (5) Gen1’s; (1) Gen 2; (1) Gen 3 37 package a MY23 Raptor R, and now a MY24 Raptor R along with also owning a handful of SD’s over the years I thought to comment on this thread.
Raptors since conception have obviously progressed overtime, some good progressions and some topics that can obviously be argued/debated. Nonetheless if you’re a true Raptor enthusiast or SD enthusiast you can appreciate all of the generations for what they are and know that we all will have our personal favorites and hopefully respect others for theirs.
For Raptors, I personally have driven and owned every Raptor that has been made from a 2010 5.4, to the R and everything in between with the exception of a Gen3 35 package. I’ve done extensive builds on (3) different Gen 1’s, from just doing upper control arms and 3.0 swaps to a fully caged linked Gen 1 with over 700HP. And my soon to be upgraded MY24 Raptor R that will be delivering 975HP when the new SC gets installed. My point being is I can appreciate them all for what they are, and I enjoyed all of them, some obviously more than others.
The same goes for SD’s. I’ve had multiple SD’s over the years, some I’ve left stock and others like my current MY22 F-250 SCAB that I have thrown the entire Carli eVenture catalog at and then some for suspension as well as deleted and basically rebuilt the engine with all SPE and Banks parts. My plan for this SD was to get it as close to a Raptor as possible but also have the versatility to tow which is ultimately what SD’s are made for, which I believe I achieved with this build.
With that being said, even though I’ve literally thrown the entire Carli catalog at this SD build, and it rides and operates smoother than any other SD I’ve ever been in or driven, the ride quality and responsiveness doesn’t even come close to my 24MY Raptor R. They’re just two completely different trucks that are designed for two completely different purposes.
My point being is that as much as one would love to have a “Swiss Army knife truck” a one truck that does everything the best truck, it simply doesn’t exist. Can you have a truck that can do both ya, the F-250 with a Carli eVenture, but is that F-250 with a Carli eVenture or Carli Pintop or Dominator going to ride Offroad like a Raptor R is going to, not even close! And conversely is the Raptor R going to hold up Offroad to a fully caged 4-linked PreRunner, absolutely not!
For myself, I’m fortunate enough to be in a position to own both, along with a MY22 Ford Lightning Pro as my daily, which works best for me as a daily driver around the city to my jobsites. When I want to go on long weekend trips or tow something, I take my F-250, for that truck kills it towing or on long trips up grades. And of course for my weekend truck or truck that I typically take out with friends to the desert, I drive my Raptor R now that I sold the PreRunner.
However, with all of that being said, if I was in the position to only be able to own one, and I still wanted to tow something, but also wanted a very capable truck that could overland or Offroad, I would without a doubt choose my F-250 SCAB with the Carli eVenture. I will say the F-250 SCAB short bed’s turning radius is better than the Raptor SCREW or F-250 SCREW. But understand that most will be need the space of a SCREW for their families, it’s only me and my lady on the long trips, so the SCAB is perfect for us.
That’s just my two cents, take it for what it is. Hopefully we all can see the silver lining in it all and remember that we are all here on this platform because of one thing, our mutual love and passion for trucks and the community it brings.
Here’s a shot of my current truck lineup and a link to the YouTube video that CJC Off-road did on my recent 22 super duty that I mentioned above:
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) you can really help to free up that front end with their progressive coil and torsion sway bar. Out back, the progressive rear leaf does wonders to get the dumptruck/bucking bronco discomfort away. 
