Raptor for extended Road Trip

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Traveller66

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Hello,
I am a new member from Switzerland. I have the opportunity to take off from my job for six months and decided to go for an extended road trip through the USA and Canada (up to 35k miles). When I figured out, that I cannot take rental cars to roads like Denali Highway or Dempster highway - I decided to buy an appropriate vehicle - a Raptor.
The last view weeks I extensively read this forum with a lot of helpful information - and contacted several dealers. The car buying experience is really different to what I am used to in Switzerland ;-)
My ideal Raptor is a SCREW, Leadfoot with 802A package - rest is not so important. As most dealers are hesitant to come up with (real) offers - I will fly in by the end of January and buy one.
As an addition I intend to put a Leer 100XQ Sport (new) topper on it to put all the camping gear in. Not sure, if I should wrap the Raptor (e.g. XPEL) - as long offload trips could harm the paint.

Looking forward to take part in the discussions here.
 

Trick.Raptor

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Welcome to FRF! Looks like you got a epic road trip in the works and the Raptor will do just fine.

I took my Raptor on a 6400+ road trip from California over to Chicago, IL then cruised the entire Route 66 back to CA a couple of years ago.

Looking forward to seeing your pics :)
 

RaptorMaryland

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Hello,
I am a new member from Switzerland. I have the opportunity to take off from my job for six months and decided to go for an extended road trip through the USA and Canada (up to 35k miles). When I figured out, that I cannot take rental cars to roads like Denali Highway or Dempster highway - I decided to buy an appropriate vehicle - a Raptor.
The last view weeks I extensively read this forum with a lot of helpful information - and contacted several dealers. The car buying experience is really different to what I am used to in Switzerland ;-)
My ideal Raptor is a SCREW, Leadfoot with 802A package - rest is not so important. As most dealers are hesitant to come up with (real) offers - I will fly in by the end of January and buy one.
As an addition I intend to put a Leer 100XQ Sport (new) topper on it to put all the camping gear in. Not sure, if I should wrap the Raptor (e.g. XPEL) - as long offload trips could harm the paint.

Looking forward to take part in the discussions here.
.

There are 6 raptors at the norfolk va ford dealer for sale. All loaded, so just pick your color. He is like 2 to 3 k above MSRP. But they are sitting there, so negociate. Look at the ford web site and search for raptors in that area. Norfolk is 3hrs south of DC.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Guest
Hello,
I am a new member from Switzerland. I have the opportunity to take off from my job for six months and decided to go for an extended road trip through the USA and Canada (up to 35k miles). When I figured out, that I cannot take rental cars to roads like Denali Highway or Dempster highway - I decided to buy an appropriate vehicle - a Raptor.
The last view weeks I extensively read this forum with a lot of helpful information - and contacted several dealers. The car buying experience is really different to what I am used to in Switzerland ;-)
My ideal Raptor is a SCREW, Leadfoot with 802A package - rest is not so important. As most dealers are hesitant to come up with (real) offers - I will fly in by the end of January and buy one.
As an addition I intend to put a Leer 100XQ Sport (new) topper on it to put all the camping gear in. Not sure, if I should wrap the Raptor (e.g. XPEL)
- as long offload trips could harm the paint.

Looking forward to take part in the discussions here.

The Raptor is the perfect overland vehicle for your trip. I took mine two and half years ago and did the Dempster and Dalton highways. Lol the trip was a piece of cake in the Raptor :)

Do not waste your time with XPEL. I purchased that and had my Terrain Raptor wrapped. I have still had rocks penetrate the film and damage the paint. XPEL works great to prevent hand scratches from washes or road damage from good maintained roads; however, it will not suffice for off-road use. The Dempster and Dalton highway shredded my rocker panels. Both roads would be nearly two thousand miles (round trip) on tough washed out gravel terrain. The Raptor will handle it with no problem, but you will be slinging rocks all over the place!

Also, I highly recommend putting the Raptor on a ferry and going to the islands off the coast of Alaska. Kodiak island was one of my favorite places. Also, Salmon glacier (southern Alaska on the coast) is a gem. Depending on the time of the year, you can have the place to yourself.

Lol I do not know how familiar you are with Canada, but you CANNOT pass on Jasper, and Banff national park. You must add those to your list!

Hotels and camping spots fill up months in advance at the places noted above, so I would map out what you are going to do and have a plan. A roof top tent might be a good purchase. Also, some of those places are not fully open until June. For instance, the ferry crossing at Fort McPherson (Northwest Territories) is not open in May. If I recall, it opens the second week of June (unless it has changed). So you cannot complete the Dempster highway until the crossing is fully open. Snow fall and weather dictates the openings of other places, so just food for thought.
 

Ruger

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In general the Raptor is a supremely competent vehicle on and off road, and is an ideal selection for your intended travels in North America. I have driven my 2011 across country four times and had it up above 12,000 feet in elevation with not one single problem.

However in particular, the 2017 model is extremely problem prone with waste gate failures, leaks from the oil pan and transmission pan, rough idle, failure to start, and so forth. I don't know whether the 2018 model is more reliable, but it is the same basic design. Do some more reading here with an emphasis on GEN2 model trouble/failures. I think you will be glad that you did.
 
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Traveller66

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Thank you for the comments.
Buying the truck: I intend to buy the truck in Wisconsin or one of the surrounding states. As I do not have a US driving license, SSN and credit history - I will use some relatives address to register and insure the car. But as mentioned before - it is still a challenge to get MSRP.

Route: Thanks for the tips - also about XPEL. I will take that into consideration. Would mud flaps be of any help to prevent offload damage?

Problems with the 2017 model: I will get a 2018. In all forums (also Dodge Ram, Chevy) etc one can find issues. What would be the alternative?

Thanks again for your warm welcome and have a nice day.
 

LFGen2

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wow sounds like an amazing opportunity. good luck with everything and hope to see pictures / updates
 

adeerchaser

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Howdy and Welcome! Sounds like a awesome trip you have planned. First, here on the FRF, folks are hard on their trucks! Both in use and critiques, just so ya know. Just my 1 cent. The Gen 2 is having some problems, sad to say, but some of them major or not are taking Ford a while to fix (some folks truck in shop for weeks waiting on parts). It would be terrible to trash a great trip like yours for that. Not saying a Gen 1 won't break too, but have you looked for a good one? There are many out there and if you are gonna sell after trip and ding it up from rocks and etc as folks above say, may be less of a loss. The Gen 1 prolly will have the bugs worked outta it. Have fun and good luck on purchase
 
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