Four Wheeler: 10 reasons Raptor better than TRX

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Russ103

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I know I’m gonna take shit for saying this but I get over 20MPG Highway. The TRX will definitely not do this.

This is my result as I just drove my Raptor (stopping only for lunch, fuel, and bathroom breaks) from Maryland to Naples Florida. Granted, I had 3 passengers and a bed full of stuff, and was pushing 90+mph at least half of those miles.

Let me just say though, the Raptor is a perfect vehicle for a road trip with passengers! Zero complaints about anything with this truck. I absolutely love it!

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GordoJay

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Either way I would never swap for the trx but still a little competition only makes things get better.

I agree in general, but as I think about this I realize that if Ford decides to compromise other aspects of the Raptor to get more horsepower than RAM, or to make it bigger than the RAM, the truck won't be better. Any design is a set of trade offs. You can't optimize one specification without compromising others. A good design has a optimal balance of features. The only reason that the RAM might be OK is that they started with a Raptor spec sheet and tried to incrementally "beat" all of the specs one at a time, no matter how silly it would look and how it would affect performance. Other than the horsepower, I call what they did totally lame.

V8 with massive hp? Check.
100lb more towing capacity? Check
A few percent more payload? Check
A couple tenths of an inch more ground clearance? Check
Bigger - wider, taller, longer - an inch or two in every dimension? Check
Bigger wheels? Check
Slightly bigger tires? Check

Seriously - does anyone except the autistic kid in the back of the room care about most of this stuff? Making the truck bigger and heavier will not improve off road performance. I'll argue that 700hp will not be usable off road without replacing the entire suspension. The hit to range is a huge loss when you go far off pavement. So RAM took a well balanced design and unbalanced it by throwing a blown V8 in it. Another thing that bugs me is that the TRX doesn't stand apart from the rest of the product line. That costs money and RAM seems to be trying to do this on the cheap. That's not a good sign. I'll bet they don't spend the money to actually race it off road and find the weaknesses either.
 

DINOZR

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I agree in general, but as I think about this I realize that if Ford decides to compromise other aspects of the Raptor to get more horsepower than RAM, or to make it bigger than the RAM, the truck won't be better. Any design is a set of trade offs. You can't optimize one specification without compromising others. A good design has a optimal balance of features. The only reason that the RAM might be OK is that they started with a Raptor spec sheet and tried to incrementally "beat" all of the specs one at a time, no matter how silly it would look and how it would affect performance. Other than the horsepower, I call what they did totally lame.
...

Good perspective. It does appear they started with Raptor stats as a bogey and were tasked with beating each one. I don't consider it lame, because that's the nature of innovation. If someone has a successful template, then you're a fool to not at least use parts of it. But I also agree the TRX seems (on paper) to lack the nuanced design balances of the Raptor.

All that said, would I love my truck even more with a 700hp blown 5.2 under the hood? Yes. Yes I would.
 

Badgertits

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I think the extra ride height is a benefit not a detractor- I wish I could just throw springs on this thing and get my +2” ride height but nooooo gotta blow my wallet buying deavers bump stops etc

so I like the extra ride height personally

dislike the lack of standard locking rear diff & the smaller 2.5” shocks despite the +700 lbs weight (probably will be even more) also dislike (and very surprised it seems it wasn’t mentioned) no 2wd mode!

I do like the nicer interior & the blown hemi

At the end of the day I’m sitting on sidelines for a few years see what the next gen Raptor is like & see how the TRX holds up, don’t want to be a guinea pig for an auto manufacturer, especially when the test subjects are $70-$100k trucks
 

TurboTJ

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This is my result as I just drove my Raptor (stopping only for lunch, fuel, and bathroom breaks) from Maryland to Naples Florida. Granted, I had 3 passengers and a bed full of stuff, and was pushing 90+mph at least half of those miles.

Let me just say though, the Raptor is a perfect vehicle for a road trip with passengers! Zero complaints about anything with this truck. I absolutely love it!

View attachment 154168

I’ve noticed that too. If you drive in boost, your fuel economy plummets. I drive on lots of mountain roads where the speed limit is 65 tops. If I go around there, I’m in the low 20’s but what’s the fun in that??

I just got back from a road trip with a roof top tent and about 900lbs in the bed. Over the entire trip I averaged 17.5MPG including off-roading.

Most don’t care about MPG’s and that’s fine. For me, it’s the icing on the cake. It means that I don’t feel like I’m throwing as much money away by daily driving it.
 

Kaz109

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Same for me. The local Dodge dealer owner is a friend of mine and offered to sell me a TRX at his cost. I declined. I just don't want a 4 door truck. I too just bought a 2020 Scab. In fact it is suppose to be delivered today. My 3rd Raptor and all have been Scabs.


Correct me if I am wrong but arent you the same guy that said you bought a 19 and sold it because of the V6 and if the trx comes with a hellcat motor you would get it? You WILL NOT buy another truck unless it's a V8 etc etc etc?
 

kenb

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Correct me if I am wrong but arent you the same guy that said you bought a 19 and sold it because of the V6 and if the trx comes with a hellcat motor you would get it? You WILL NOT buy another truck unless it's a V8 etc etc etc?

Actually I had a 2018 and sold it. I would buy a TRX if they made it in a Supercab and not a 4 door version. I will not buy a 4 door truck. I went ahead and bought another Raptor because I could get a Supercab. The word here is that Ford will drop that version in 2021 and beyond. If by chance Ford does offer a V8 Supercab version I will simply trade this one in.

Nice to know you are still following everything I write.
 

Kaz109

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Correct me if I am wrong but arent you the same guy that said you bought a 19 and sold it because of the V6 and if the trx comes with a hellcat motor you would get it? You WILL NOT buy another truck unless it's a V8 etc etc etc?

Actually I had a 2018 and sold it. I would buy a TRX if they made it in a Supercab and not a 4 door version. I will not buy a 4 door truck. I went ahead and bought another Raptor because I could get a Supercab. The word here is that Ford will drop that version in 2021 and beyond. If by chance Ford does offer a V8 Supercab version I will simply trade this one in.

Nice to know you are still following everything I write.


Direct quote from you.......



"I loved the way the Gen2 Raptor looks. Like I said, best looking truck ever. But I know I am an old **** and I will never buy another truck that does not have a V8. So if Ford ever wants my business again they had better listen to a large section of buyers. Doubtful. "




Soooooooo your 2020 raptor has a V8 then I'm assuming ?
 
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