New Tow Rig

[DAI]

A step the wrong direction for towing, but since the family no longer has the lake house 4+ hours away, and my longest tow is 30 min on county highways, decided to get something a little more fun.  Serves as my daily driver also.  Special order with everything I wanted, and more importantly, what I did not want - like ~$2,000 stickers.

 

[Nitrousbird]

I hear they tow great if you add air bags.  I really wanted one when I bought my truck; the 25k price difference for similar options stopped that quickly.  Love the color too.

[surfdude]

Nobody makes an airbag to fit, last time I checked. Not a great tow vehicle but will work for short distances. I put up with mine,  cause I don’t think there is anything in the truck market like it for the other 8-9 months.

[Nitrousbird]

3 hours ago, surfdude said:

Nobody makes an airbag to fit, last time I checked. Not a great tow vehicle but will work for short distances. I put up with mine,  cause I don’t think there is anything in the truck market like it for the other 8-9 months.

https://www.cjponyparts.com/timbren-ses-suspension-upgrade-rear-f-150-raptor-2010-2019/p/FR1504R/

https://timbren.com/blog/2017/10/20/new-timbren-ses-ford-raptor-2017/

It's not even expensive. 

[surfdude]

Wow, haven’t looked in a while, gonna order some. my raptor handles like crap with my 19 22 lsv. Was afraid to get the 23 cause it weighs close to 1000k more than my 15 lsv. The 22 weighs 400 lbs more.

[surfdude]

Just placed the order, gotta long trip coming up. Tired of white knuckling it!

[bamaboy]

2018 Raptor with 2019 G23.  Zero issues towing and zero sag. Added some sumo springs but honestly they are not necessary

 

I think you guys are bad drivers.

 

https://imgur.com/tsTF6rn

Edited July 3, 2019 by bamaboy

[surfdude]

Must be flat where you live. Try going down a hill on the interstate at 80😬😬. My 2 gen 1 raptors towed way better. I actually think the shorter 22 with the Malibu trailer tows worse than my 15. The Raptor has 6 ply stock tires, which prolly don’t help. Also the 19 sags the truck way more than my old boat.

Edited July 3, 2019 by surfdude

[DAI]

Only driven it 60 miles but a love the way this truck drives.  Can't believe how different compared to my 2015 F150 Platinum.  

Not planning, at this time, on doing anything for towing.  Short distances with minor hills.

[surfdude]

22 minutes ago, bamaboy said:

2018 Raptor with 2019 G23.  Zero issues towing and zero sag. Added some sumo springs but honestly they are not necessary

 

I think you guys are bad drivers.

 

https://imgur.com/tsTF6rn

If you didn’t add those springs, that rear bumper would be touching the ground 😂

[oldjeep]

48 minutes ago, surfdude said:

Wow, haven’t looked in a while, gonna order some. my raptor handles like crap with my 19 22 lsv. Was afraid to get the 23 cause it weighs close to 1000k more than my 15 lsv. The 22 weighs 400 lbs more.

Yeah, a raptor is not really designed to be a tow vehicle.  Guy in the jeep club owned one briefly and it was lighting up the sky with its headlights.  Squishy, long travel suspension is built for pre running, not load carrying.

Edited July 3, 2019 by oldjeep

[surfdude]

Not only that, Bamaboy is prolly 2k over the towing limit of the truck, when that G23 is loaded with gas and gear. But hey, you guys live in the flatlands.

[RyanB]

That is the ONLY Raptor I've ever seen towing anything that wasn't dragging butt.  

[jjackkrash]

Boy did I go a different direction than bamaboy.

[RyanB]

2 hours ago, jjackkrash said:

Boy did I go a different direction than bamaboy.

Pretty sketchy with that current load.  Me thinks you should have gone bigger......

[Pnwrider]

2 hours ago, jjackkrash said:

Boy did I go a different direction than bamaboy.

Meh, needs a wdh for sure. 

[DAI]

8 hours ago, jjackkrash said:

Boy did I go a different direction than bamaboy.

First person I've seen that can say "can't even tell the trailer is back there" and pass the red face test.

[DAI]

With a 2014 23 LSV, looks like slightly less than a 3 inch drop in the hitch with the trailer connected.  My platinum was 2 inches.  I'm sure there will be more bounce though.

[surfdude]

Get rid of that aluminum drop hitch, they have too much flop in them. It makes the bouncing worse! I had the same hitch. I think the boatmate trailer of that era was better balanced, with less tongue weight.

[IXFE]

I’ll never understand all the hate for the Raptor as an occasional tow rig (some of the comments in this thread are pure drama). Everybody LOVES the F-150 3.5L Ecoboost as a wakeboat tug. Shoot, I had a ‘13 Eco and it was the best 1/2 ton tow rig I’ve every experienced.

I love how @oldjeep seems to take such pleasure coming into these threads stating the obvious, “The Raptor wasn’t designed to tow.”  No s***, Sherlock. We’ve all read the sales brochure too and seen the commercials. It’s for Baja racing... we get it. But honestly, your shallow posts disappoint me. You seem like a smart guy, and I’d like to think you’re capable of thinking a little deeper than a tv ad, so humor me for a moment... How about we dig a little deeper and actually analyze the truck on its merits. 

 

In relation to the ubiquitous and beloved F-150 SCREW 3.5L Eco...

* Engine - Raptor has even more torque at every rpm due to unique turbo charger, turbo housing, electric waste gate, crank shaft, pistons, compression ratio, bearings, etc. 

* Brakes - Same on both trucks 

* Transmission - Same 10-speed on both trucks, incl tow/haul mode  

* Cooling - Raptor has beefed up radiator and charge air cooler

* Frame - Raptor has stronger, upgraded chassis (using more high strength steel) over regular F-150. 

Wheelbase - Same on both (assuming most common configuration of SCREW + 5.5’ box)

* Suspension - obviously this is the ONE area where the Raptor isn’t set up for max towing, but as @bamaboy pointed out that’s an easy and inexpensive fix (his pic reposted below). 

 

As for Phil somehow having the ONLY Raptor to not exhibit sag, I’m calling BS on that too. Second pic below is from my own camera... not bad considering that’s about the heaviest wakeboat on the planet! 

[surfdude]

Depends on how the trailer distributes the weight. 1) that truck weighs 6300lbs! The boat?? Stopping or slowing down in Montana with our 80 mph speed limits would be frightening! 2) who would order that boat with the double axel trailer, unless they just used it to go a few miles to put their boat on a lift. I was always a Chevy guy, until the Raptor came out. Waiting for someone else to up there game!!

[IXFE]

@DAI congrats on the new rig; she’s gorgeous. Welcome to the Ford Performance family!  

You’ve done enough seat time to buy whaterthefuq you like. I totally understand why you’d make this choice, don’t pay any attention to the drama queens. What they fail to recognize is...

 

1) Some people don’t tow 100% of the time. More like 1-2% in your case so choosing a truck that is ideal for the other 98% - 99% is actually quite practical.  I’ve said it before I’ll say it again, the Raptor is the IDEAL daily driver truck.  It’s like an urban assault vehicle, soaking up whatever the nasty, uneven pavement throws at it  

2) $200 makes it a decent tow rig, certainly no worse than any other F-150  

3) No better truck on the planet for resale value

 

Not everybody wants or needs an HD truck, especially for a daily driver. I own one and definitely see the flip side of the coin, daily use on bad roads gets to be a chore. I know a few  guys, including @bamaboy who have made the conscious choice to give up their HD’s for a Raptor. 

[surfdude]

Bama and I had a discussion before he bought the truck. He doesn’t have to tow very far, and he did the right thing with the rear springs! He may have lost some off-road plushness, but I’m sure it works great for him.

[shawndoggy]

11 minutes ago, surfdude said:

Depends on how the trailer distributes the weight. 1) that truck weighs 6300lbs! The boat?? Stopping or slowing down in Montana with our 80 mph speed limits would be frightening! 2) who would order that boat with the double axel trailer, unless they just used it to go a few miles to put their boat on a lift. I was always a Chevy guy, until the Raptor came out. Waiting for someone else to up there game!!

Really tho, 80 mph tow performance?  That seems like HD (and maybe even dually) territory right there.

My F150 does fine towing at 70ish, but at 80 I'm well into single digit MPG.  I resent CA's 55 mph speed limit for towing but realistically I can't justify running faster than 70 safely.  

[surfdude]

In Montucky, if you’re not going 80 on the interstate, your holding up traffic! Farmers write off their gas, so I don’t care. I don’t tow over 80, but still don’t like how the truck feels towing. Miss the days of the illusion tower where you could leave the Bimini up and roll down the highway at 80, no problem.