"Raptor"ish on the cheap

[workerdrone]

Thinking about mildly building a full size truck soon for south of the border travel. I'm surprised how many Raptors I've seen in Mexico and South America, they're not cheap trucks. But must be great for fast travel with all the potholes and variety of massive speedbumps in the roads here.

Got me thinking, what if I wanted to quickly build a pickup for comfortable rough road travel, camper payload not an issue. Would just put a topper or hard bed cover on it and throw in some camping gear and luggage, maybe a fridge.

What's going to be comfortable to drive at all speeds up to maybe 80mph freeway, absorb some good hits in comfort, get decent mileage, not break the bank?

If I start with something like a gasser F150 at 100k plus miles (cheap), figure on some basic suspension mods, nice shocks, new tires, maybe some front driving lights, check it over and change all the fluids etc - what would you full size guys recommend? Basically a south-of-the-border daily driver, some mild offroading and beach driving, but lots of miles in comfort.

 

[workerdrone]

Doesn't have to be Ford, doesn't have to be 600hp, don't need to get airborne with it. But I just can't leave anything stock, just have to tailor my vehicles at least a bit for some specific purpose - in this case, high speed urban/rural all conditions comfortable driving :costumed-smiley-007

Considerations on wheelbase? (thinking shortbed for daily driving) Tire size / weight?

 

[Jimbo12]

You could do one of two things. You could find a Raptor owner that has changed everything out, and buy their stock take-offs. Or, buy a complete kit from Icon, RPG, SVC, Rogue Racing, etc.

 

[workerdrone]

So I've been doing mild 'wheeling for much of my life. Offroad I usually take it pretty slow and don't need a ton of flex or articulation.

On rough roads or fire roads, potholes and speed bumps, would the expensive long travel bits really be of much benefit? I picture that stuff being real nice at full extension soaking up the normal violence of grabbing a little air, but for my desired purpose?

This is probably a silly thread and the sensible thing to do is make sure the stock suspension is sorted and put some fresh quality shocks on the thing and go. But I'm curious what people think

 

[Jimbo12]

When I had my Raptor, the stock suspension would soak up all of what you're looking for. It was when I was on different runs that I wanted better components, as I was flogging the heck out of it. If you want more and plan on going down to Baja, look at the Icon RXT setup, pricier, but well worth the money.

 

[adam88]

If you want a truck that handles baja just buy a 3-4 year old Ford and pay the $10k to put a top notch Carli suspension on it.

 

[workerdrone]

What all does that include? That's probably more than I'll pay for the truck to start with but I like the idea of a sleeper ride - older, maybe some dings, dents, scratches but mechanically 110%

Or if I'm shopping Craigslist for trucks that have already been lifted, what do I stay away from

Haven't been to Baja yet I just don't want to sacrifice road manners since we'll be doing thousandses of road miles

 

[toastyjosh]

http://www.powerblocktv.com/episode/XT2012-08/half-price-raptor-part-1-jeep-tj-part-1#.VEbV5IvF-oc

 

[Bayou Boy]

Or if I'm shopping Craigslist for trucks that have already been lifted, what do I stay away from

Trucks that have been lifted.

Seriously, I would never buy a lifted truck that I didn't know the history of. You have no idea how things were installed or how it was beat on. Buy the most grandpa looking truck you can with street tires and mod it how you want.

 

[ferg101]

I would go the direction of getting an 11-14' 5.0 F150 in the wheelbase of your choice and build the suspension to your liking.
For reference, an 11' F150 (5.0/4x4) with 100,000 miles can be found for under $20,000 all day.


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[Buliwyf]

Never buy a lifted truck. Never buy a used Raptor. Get a simple grocery getter, and mod it yourself. The Raptors get abused badly. Raptor-ish fun requires a ton of TLC that 99% of Raptor owners aren't prepared to do.

If you're into the Raptor look. Get a used Tacoma and some prerunner fiberglass quarter panels. Adding the Raptor body to an F150 costs as much as a Raptor.

I'll echo the other guy, and also recommend researching a simple CC Ford Super Duty with any decent Carli 4" kit.

 

[workerdrone]

Under $20k I'd be looking for a low mileage turbodiesel since that's my real preference. But for this I'm thinking $5k for the truck and maybe another 5-10 in mods to get it all sorted the way I want. I'll plan on it getting wrecked or stolen on the trip and it probably won't. But plan for the worst... Thanks for the advice so far!

 

[Tex68w]

Well with your budget a Raptor, regardless of condition/age/price will be out of the question. I owned a Gen 1 and my father currently owns a Gen 2, while they are sweet trucks, they are much more cost efficient options for less than half the price. I'd be looking for a used 3/4-ton or possibly a Tacoma (if that size/space works for your needs) and a quality lift.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Under $20k I'd be looking for a low mileage turbodiesel since that's my real preference. But for this I'm thinking $5k for the truck and maybe another 5-10 in mods to get it all sorted the way I want. I'll plan on it getting wrecked or stolen on the trip and it probably won't. But plan for the worst... Thanks for the advice so far!

For that money you're best getting a few year old mid size and building it. I spent more on my Tacoma, but it was exceptionally low miles and a TRD Offroad, but assuming you could find something in your budget (perhaps an older Tacoma, Colorado, F150, Silverado) and just bolt on a mid travel suspension it would get you pretty far down the path. If you want to really build it go full long travel then you would be there performance wise.

FWIW, mid travel is basically optimizing the stock configuration (which is mainly determined by CV axle limitation), which for me was 2.5" FOX shocks and Camburg upper control arms. In the rear I stuck with a stock configuration with FOX shocks. This thing rides better over washboards than anything else I've ever owned. The advantage is being able to tune the shocks. It'll never be mistaken for a Raptor but its more truck than I'm willing to do to it. I do plan to do hydraulic bumpstops in the future, that's really where I think I'll gain the confidence to push it. Right now I'm concerned that even soft bump stops are too punishing and I can't risk destroying my truck.

The next step would be long travel, which has longer control arms (which increases your track so you need fiberglass fenders and longer CV axles). This takes a stock roughly 9" travel up to more like 12". In the back people usually change the geometry. This will blow your $10K budget, though. If only on coil overs and control arms. On Tacomas this usually means change from a spring over axle to sprung under on the rear, too. It's a huge money suck when you go down this path.

 

[ferg101]

5k?
2003 f150.
5.4 2v-very reliable, 03 has updated heads so no spark plug issues. Torquey engine. Good factory LS.
Affordable long travel kits. Tons of after market.


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