Big50
Adventurer
Most recent pic:
Hey Everyone,
I've be on Expedition Portal for a while and I've found myself surfing through all the build pages from everything from the Full Sizes, Toyota's, and Jeeps. I really enjoy seeing others transform their trucks into what best meets their needs. I've found a lot of cool idea which have been helpful in my plans for my truck. As such, I thought I should start my own build thread.
Most of the offroading I've been doing over the last year has pretty much been 2-3 day trips which usually cover 250-600 miles. I wish I had the time to take week long trips like so many trip reports I see. However, I have 2 year old so I can't take off to leave my wife to fend for herself for long periods of time. Plus, the Raptor was designed to cover ground at a higher speeds. While I do have a led foot, you'll also find me at the back of the group I run with since I'm always trying to snap pictures of the beautiful outdoors.
Pretty much every mod I've done has been been to increase the performance and functionality of my truck while offroad.
Engine:
-Volant CAI
-5 Star tune
I've been very pleased with both. The Volant is closed off to most of the engine compartment which helps with the amount of dust you encounter on the trails. The 5 star tune is amazing. Went with the performance tow tune and it strait hauls. I previously had a Livernois tune on my 2011 and there's a noticeable different.
Suspension:
-Deavers +3 - you loose 2 inches from removing the factory block when installing deavers. I chose to go with the +3 to account for the 500lbs I carry in the bed for trips.
-Outlaw bumpstop kit
-Outlaw upper control arms
-Icon 3.0 shocks
-Outlaw spindle gussets
-Customer Truck Shop upper shock mount gussets (yet to be installed)
I started with deavers and a bump kit which is a great improvement over stock. The +3's ride smoother than stock on the road imo and are way better offroad. I was really happy with this setup and is probably the ideal setup for 95% of Raptor owners. IMO Icon's or any 3.0 for that matter, allow you to drive almost to fast for what is safe for a truck without a cage. The trick is to have the self control to drive within a safe speed for the conditions and you will have a much smoother ride.
While I'm very happy with the Icon's, I wish I would have enjoyed the truck a little longer before I made the upgrade. After dropping nearly 30k on my 05 mustang, I learned to try and enjoy each stage of the "modding" process. There's always going to be something improve/add so try to enjoy the journey as your truck/car progresses. Unfortunately, I was laid off and had 2 months off doing nothing but spend to much time looking at mods for the truck. By the time I landed my new gig I was so worked up about modding my truck that I went a little crazy and ordered up the Icon's along with RPG front and rear raceline bumpers lol.
Exterior:
-Lex Mega front bumper
[/url] IMG_2572 by Big5050, on Flickr[/IMG]
-RPG raceline rear bumper & dovetailed rear end
[/url] IMG_2574 by Big5050, on Flickr[/IMG]
-LEX Chase Rack
[/url] IMG_2567 by Big5050, on Flickr[/IMG]
-LEX 40" light bar
-Vision X Light Cannons
-Alternative Offroad hood mounts
After bashing in my skid plate at Pismo, I knew I'd eventually replace my stock bumper. However, when I started to do my research I noticed pretty much most of the guys running aftermarket bumpers were still bashing up their skids when offroading. I decided to stay stock until I went on a Death Valley run and saw another Raptor with a bumper that had a great approach angle. Only down side is you much cut a good chunk off the front frame horns. Despite that, I knew I'd be dovetailing my truck and going with his setup. While I didn't exactly like the idea of cutting my frame horns, I also didn't see the point of spending $1500 on a bumper that I would more than likely damage just like my stocker.
I originally went with the RPG front bumper but when ordering up a chase rack from LEX I spent to much time on their site and really started to dig the Mega Bumper. Luckily, my buddy was more than happy to take the front RPG bumper off my hands and I ordered up the Mega.
Electronics:
-Icom F5021
-Ipad with Motion X
-Lowrance & LGE mount
Untitled by Big5050, on Flickr
Untitled by Big5050, on Flickr
Wheels & Tires:
-37x12.5-17 Falken Wildpeaks
-Method DS
Like most I'd rather have a big aggressive MT on the truck. However, after running BFG MT's on my 11 and the tread being less than 50% after only 10,000 miles (of which 1200 of those being offroad miles) I realized I should look for a tire that would last longer. I'd heard nothing but great things about the Wildpeaks from one of my buddies. He'd ran them through 7 or so runs (Probably close to 5000 offroad miles) without one flat. They also looked to be in great shape when I last saw them at Huckfest. The other thing I considered was the price. BFG's run around $450/tire while the Falken's run around $300/tire. Being that the Falkens would last me longer and cost less I was able to get passed the loss of the mean "look" of the MT's.
I will try to document any future mods within this thread. For now here are a few thread which document some of the mods I've done.
How to fit 37's with stock fenders:
http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f25/additional-info-running-37s-stock-fenders-28733/
I run a y strap for my spare for DD use since the rear has been dovetailed.
http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f25/securing-spare-tire-y-strap-28790/
Pics of LEX Mega and Chase Rack:
http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f11/lex-mega-bumper-chase-rack-29263/
Recent run from Barstow to Vegas via the Mojave Road and Powerline roads.
[/url]
Untitled by Big5050, on Flickr[/IMG]
[/url]
IMG_2639 by Big5050, on Flickr[/IMG]
[/url]
IMG_2631 by Big5050, on Flickr[/IMG]
Few pics from Death Valley:
[/url] 984006_558190240900206_651585850_n by Big5050, on Flickr[/IMG]
[/url] 581909_558190284233535_1417879948_n by Big5050, on Flickr[/IMG]
[/url] 382461_558190394233524_1383355314_n by Big5050, on Flickr[/IMG]
[/url] 941859_558190384233525_149698152_n by Big5050, on Flickr[/IMG]
[/url] 252246_558190357566861_1978182696_n by Big5050, on Flickr[/IMG]
[/url] 382461_558190394233524_1383355314_n by Big5050, on Flickr[/IMG]
Hey Everyone,
I've be on Expedition Portal for a while and I've found myself surfing through all the build pages from everything from the Full Sizes, Toyota's, and Jeeps. I really enjoy seeing others transform their trucks into what best meets their needs. I've found a lot of cool idea which have been helpful in my plans for my truck. As such, I thought I should start my own build thread.
Most of the offroading I've been doing over the last year has pretty much been 2-3 day trips which usually cover 250-600 miles. I wish I had the time to take week long trips like so many trip reports I see. However, I have 2 year old so I can't take off to leave my wife to fend for herself for long periods of time. Plus, the Raptor was designed to cover ground at a higher speeds. While I do have a led foot, you'll also find me at the back of the group I run with since I'm always trying to snap pictures of the beautiful outdoors.
Pretty much every mod I've done has been been to increase the performance and functionality of my truck while offroad.
Engine:
-Volant CAI
-5 Star tune
I've been very pleased with both. The Volant is closed off to most of the engine compartment which helps with the amount of dust you encounter on the trails. The 5 star tune is amazing. Went with the performance tow tune and it strait hauls. I previously had a Livernois tune on my 2011 and there's a noticeable different.
Suspension:
-Deavers +3 - you loose 2 inches from removing the factory block when installing deavers. I chose to go with the +3 to account for the 500lbs I carry in the bed for trips.
-Outlaw bumpstop kit
-Outlaw upper control arms
-Icon 3.0 shocks
-Outlaw spindle gussets
-Customer Truck Shop upper shock mount gussets (yet to be installed)
I started with deavers and a bump kit which is a great improvement over stock. The +3's ride smoother than stock on the road imo and are way better offroad. I was really happy with this setup and is probably the ideal setup for 95% of Raptor owners. IMO Icon's or any 3.0 for that matter, allow you to drive almost to fast for what is safe for a truck without a cage. The trick is to have the self control to drive within a safe speed for the conditions and you will have a much smoother ride.
While I'm very happy with the Icon's, I wish I would have enjoyed the truck a little longer before I made the upgrade. After dropping nearly 30k on my 05 mustang, I learned to try and enjoy each stage of the "modding" process. There's always going to be something improve/add so try to enjoy the journey as your truck/car progresses. Unfortunately, I was laid off and had 2 months off doing nothing but spend to much time looking at mods for the truck. By the time I landed my new gig I was so worked up about modding my truck that I went a little crazy and ordered up the Icon's along with RPG front and rear raceline bumpers lol.
Exterior:
-Lex Mega front bumper
-RPG raceline rear bumper & dovetailed rear end
-LEX Chase Rack
-LEX 40" light bar
-Vision X Light Cannons
-Alternative Offroad hood mounts
After bashing in my skid plate at Pismo, I knew I'd eventually replace my stock bumper. However, when I started to do my research I noticed pretty much most of the guys running aftermarket bumpers were still bashing up their skids when offroading. I decided to stay stock until I went on a Death Valley run and saw another Raptor with a bumper that had a great approach angle. Only down side is you much cut a good chunk off the front frame horns. Despite that, I knew I'd be dovetailing my truck and going with his setup. While I didn't exactly like the idea of cutting my frame horns, I also didn't see the point of spending $1500 on a bumper that I would more than likely damage just like my stocker.
I originally went with the RPG front bumper but when ordering up a chase rack from LEX I spent to much time on their site and really started to dig the Mega Bumper. Luckily, my buddy was more than happy to take the front RPG bumper off my hands and I ordered up the Mega.
Electronics:
-Icom F5021
-Ipad with Motion X
-Lowrance & LGE mount
Untitled by Big5050, on Flickr
Untitled by Big5050, on Flickr
Wheels & Tires:
-37x12.5-17 Falken Wildpeaks
-Method DS
Like most I'd rather have a big aggressive MT on the truck. However, after running BFG MT's on my 11 and the tread being less than 50% after only 10,000 miles (of which 1200 of those being offroad miles) I realized I should look for a tire that would last longer. I'd heard nothing but great things about the Wildpeaks from one of my buddies. He'd ran them through 7 or so runs (Probably close to 5000 offroad miles) without one flat. They also looked to be in great shape when I last saw them at Huckfest. The other thing I considered was the price. BFG's run around $450/tire while the Falken's run around $300/tire. Being that the Falkens would last me longer and cost less I was able to get passed the loss of the mean "look" of the MT's.
I will try to document any future mods within this thread. For now here are a few thread which document some of the mods I've done.
How to fit 37's with stock fenders:
http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f25/additional-info-running-37s-stock-fenders-28733/
I run a y strap for my spare for DD use since the rear has been dovetailed.
http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f25/securing-spare-tire-y-strap-28790/
Pics of LEX Mega and Chase Rack:
http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f11/lex-mega-bumper-chase-rack-29263/
Recent run from Barstow to Vegas via the Mojave Road and Powerline roads.
Untitled by Big5050, on Flickr[/IMG]
IMG_2639 by Big5050, on Flickr[/IMG]
IMG_2631 by Big5050, on Flickr[/IMG]
Few pics from Death Valley:
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