06HAOLE 2014 Ford Raptor "Blancita"

I sold my 2016 4-Runner a few weeks ago and pulled the trigger on a 2014 Ford Raptor with 36k miles. After two weeks, I love this truck. The power is insane and I got used to driving such a big truck in LA traffic.

Current Mods:
-@Baja Designs XL 80 on a-pillars
-@Baja Designs Squadron Pros on fog light brackets
-Switch Pros for light management
-King 3.0” coilovers
-RPG frame brace and King 2.5" bumps
-Deaver 2" lift springs
-MBRP catback exhaust
-37” BFG KO2’s
-AFE Stage 2 CAI
-5 Star tunes. 91 Performance tune

Future Mods:
-King 3.0” rear bypasses

Truck as of 23 June 2017

 

I sold my Tacoma and went the same route!

That's a good looking truck!

 

Thanks

 

Nice truck. I liked your 4runner though.

 

Thanks. I liked it a lot too but it just wasn't much of a desert truck with all of the KDSS and all of the other "Offroad" gizmos. My previous 2nd Gen Tacomas with same mid travel suspension was much more controlled than the 4-Runner.

I'm not really into the Overland thing which it excels at.

 

Picked up an AFE Stage 2 intake and 5 Star tunes package yesterday.

Parts going on over the long weekend. Ready to see what power gains I can bring out of the 6.2.

 

Was there dealer reflash option not available then? It's $69 now to have 5 Star redo all of your tunes when the dealer does a reflash.

 

Great info. I have never used tuners before since all of my previous trucks for the past 15 years have been Toyotas. Thanks

 

Decided to add a Switch Pros setup to easily wire up my lights.

SDHQ even made a sweet bolt in bracket to mount the Switch Pros brain to the firewall under the ECU and they modified my stock switch panel to fit their control panel.

Can't say enough awesome things about SDHQ!!! @SDHQ OFFROAD

 

Finally got a quick desert camping trip in the books now that it is cooling down. Had a blast in the truck and learned a little bit about what it can do in the dirt after about 50 miles in the Mojave National Preserve. Here is my feedback.

My first big takeaway was how stable it was at speed. It's a 6000lbs truck so no major surprises there. You just pick your lines and steer with the throttle. The sound and torque in this thing is ridiculous. It had zero problems holding a line in the sand or on windy two track.

When driving through small whoops and washouts it is way more controlled and smooth than my previous mid travel 2016 4-Runner. The 4-Runner also had a hard time in the sand and the traction control features would go nuts even when everything was turned off. The 4-Runner also drifted a lot between 35-55 mph and had a hard time holding a line. You had to really work the steering wheel to maintain your line. My 4-Runner had KDSS and I think that might have contributed a lot to the steering quirks I experienced.

Offroad capability wise, I wouldn't compare it to my previous long travel 2006 double cab Tacoma. The Tacoma had 13" front/16" rear travel and weighed 2000lbs less so it soaked up the bigger stuff with ease with a lot less drama. Again no major surprises there.

It is important to mention that the Raptor drives like a much smaller truck than it is. My crew cab Raptor is two feet longer than my previous second gen double cab Tacoma and takes up the entire trail. However, during this trip I was surprised at how easily it climbed a steep sandy hill to get to our campsite. It went right up it in 4 wheel high and a quick blip of the throttle. I was expecting more drama due to the school bus like wheelbase.

In my opinion, it's way too big and heavy to really thrash in the desert without throwing a ton of mod $$ in it. You would be in at least $20k just for long travel suspension and big boy shocks without upgrading anything steering/cooling wise on the truck. Steering/cooling issues come up quick when thrashing a 6000lbs truck around the desert so that has to be planned for as part of the build sheet. For a lot less $$, you can buy a long travel 1st Gen Tacoma pre-runner and trailer it out to the desert.

Overall, it's a great desert camping/exploring rig and tow pig for my future 1st Gen Tacoma play truck.

For those of you who are considering a first generation Raptor (2010-2014) that's my feedback.

 

Found some 3.0” King coilovers with clickers and finned resis for a smoking deal on Offer-Up.

 

Got a bumper put on this truck this morning.

 

Put some 37” BFG KO2s on the truck yesterday. It should have come like this from the factory. It handles better with the bigger tires. The brakes not so much.