Ford Raptors

philofab

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Joined
Sep 7, 2023
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189
Location
Mohave Valley
I'm thinking of buying a Gen1 Raptor. Nice private party trucks are ~25k and at auction some are as low as 10k.

I'm getting old and also tired of working on stuff, and I've always loved driving/riding in my buddy Pat's Raptors. The gen 2 and 3 are much better but I really dig the simplicity of the 1st gen & how bulletproof the 6.2 is.

I'm tempted to go Gen2 but I'm afraid of the 3.5 ecoboost and getting it over 200k. Mostly cam phasers and timing chain issues.

I can't use my X plan on gen 3 and I refuse to pay market value adjustments so that's out.

That being said, am I dumb to want a Gen1 for light towing, daily driving, and a light duty off road vehicle. I don't plan to mod it other than a set of Fox 3.0s, 37s, and Deavers. Maybe a rear axle upgrade if the stock one ever fails.

The raptor is rated for 8k towing and I can't imagine it being worse than me
l towing with my 1500 Sierra. I remember towing with Pat's and although it's not a superduty, it did fine.

Also, if you want to sell your gen 1 6.2 in Race Red or Oxford White hit me up.
 

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I absolutely love my 2012 Gen 1. I paid 28k bone stock. I haven’t towed a vehicle on a trailer but I’ve towed my travel trailer out to the desert quite a few times, went out and played all weekend and pulled the trailer home with no issues. I have the ICON rear leaf packs and I use a weight distribution hitch.

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Would the deavers affect the towing over the stock leafs?

It may squat but I normally use a WD hitch. I don't care if it squats. Here's my old Dodge towing Ms Piggy with a ton of tongue weight with a Deaver race pack.

I can gurantee a Raptor has more up travel towing than my lowered GMC does.
 

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long travel airbags. I didnt do enough research to see if they are a direct fit on a Raptor.
 
long travel airbags. I didnt do enough research to see if they are a direct fit on a Raptor.
Back when I was a Tunrda guy, a lot of those dude were using daystar airbag cradles so it didn't matter how much down travel the airbags had.

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the Gen 1 is the way to go! A friend of mine just upgraded his with the fox 3.0s with the big coolers and he was super happy with the upgrade. That and 37s and some rear springs and you will be dialed!
 
The cradles are good option too, I install a lot of those. The only time I dont recommend them is on coil sprung rear axles with a rear track bar.
Is this because it makes it hard for the Cradle to line up when it's articulating?
 
Is this because it makes it hard for the Cradle to line up when it's articulating?
Yes, for street trucks with leaf springs, the axle moves forward and back a little.
But With coil sprung rears, they are moving forward and back, and side to side.
 
Yes, for street trucks with leaf springs, the axle moves forward and back a little.
But With coil sprung rears, they are moving forward and back, and side to side.
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Congrats man, you'll love it.

I have some damn near brand new Eibach front coils for the OEM Fox's if you're interested.
 
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