Raptor deployed as a street machine

Ruger said:

I have 75K miles on my 2011 GEN1, and have used it to move 2,000 miles cross country. Here is what I've learned.
- Everyday Handling: Excellent. The wider track makes it handle like a sports car. There is a small diameter traffic circle near my home and I blow through it faster than anyone else can manage. Stopping power is excellent - you can't tell it weighs 3 tons.
- Mileage: I get between 16.0 and 16.5 mpg. Considering the capability of the vehicle, the size of the engine, and the weight of the total package, that's very respectable.
- Hauling: I transport a half-ton of pellets for my pellet stove on a very regular basis up over a ridge and over the other side. It rides better if the load is positioned as far forward in the bed as possible, but no problems even if it isn't.
- Towing: I moved from northern Alabama to northern Nevada and used the Raptor to do it. I have towed all three sizes of U-Haul trailers, twice with a motorcycle in the bed of the truck. No problems, except that my gas mileage was poor when towing the largest tandem wheel trailer.
- Reliability: There was a recall on the drive shaft. I had that done, and have had no reliability issues ever. I would advise all Raptor owners to change the fluids in the front and rear differentials, transfer case, and transmission. Cheap insurance. But no problems. None.
- Overall: The finest vehicle I have owned or driven in my 63 years. I would buy a GEN1 Raptor again without reservation based upon my 75,000 miles of experience with my truck. Ford really did have a better idea.

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big said:

Couldn't get the forum search to work. This may be a duplicate. My apologies.

Interested in the Raptor for the engine and those Macho good looks. Unlikely it will ever be used off road much.

Seeking opinions re: on road driveability. In particular the impact of the extra width and on-road ride quality.

Some of the off road trucks (Tacoma TRD for example) I've been in have a harsh on-road ride. I don't require a Cadillac smooth ride, but don't want to knock my kidneys loose every time I go over a bump either.

And the Raptor is 6 inches wider than the already wide F-150. But its hard to tell where that's measured. And what is really wider. Certainly the wheel track, but not the mirrors. Lots of places on the web report it is a wide beast. It will be used for picking up stuff at The Home Depot (narrow, straight in parking) and I don't want a big parking hassle.

I'm sure this will elicit a variety of opinions. I'd like to hear them.

big

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Ruger said:

^^^I don't know what that is supposed to mean.

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smoothie said:

It's a wide beast to park with little room on either side of the white lives.

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Ruger said:

@WhatExit? raises quite a valid drawback to the Raptor: PARKING. You won't enjoy trying to park in parking structures, and if you manage to get a Raptor into a parking structure you may not get it out as easily.

All last year I had to make regular runs to Salt Lake City for medical check-ups, and vertical clearance in the parking structure prohibited taking the Raptor. I could have had the valets park it outside, but there's something about handing the keys of an expensive supertruck to a pimply-faced 18 year old kid. (Not that I have anything against pimples or kids.) Those were the two options. There was no provision for parking your own vehicle outside of the structure. So I took my wife's car when I'd rather take the Raptor, and I trusted her with my supertruck.

It's a tall vehicle. Sometimes it's a disadvantage.

Oh, and if you intend to park your Raptor in your garage at home, get out your trusty tape measure and make sure it'll fit. I had to rearrange my whole shop to accommodate the Raptor, and my table saw wound up in the basement. You sure as hell don't want to park a truck like this out on the street or even in your driveway. Many are the sad horror stories that go along with that.

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