First New Vehicle Purchase and 1/2 Ton Truck Review

[D_Eclipse9916]

Great reviews and pictures, lots of hood scoops.
I'm going to ask a dumb question, how are these trucks only rated for a 1/2 ton? We are talking about payload capacity right? ONE thousand lbs? The payload capacity of my farm use '97 Tacoma? 1 motorcycle and 2 fat guys? HALF the capacity of my 4cyl Metris? 
I don't understand. The truck is overweight with 4 people and nominal trailer tongue weight.

It’s a nomenclature. Every single one has different payload ratings, but we are stuck saying 1/2 tons.

Assault school is out in Nevada. That said there are raptor chapters that go out jumping stuff. One is pretty close so hoping to see what she is made of. This will be *mostly* a mall crawler, but fire roads should be a hell of a lot of fun on the way to ride bikes.

[CaptainHenreh]

Nice, DJ! 

A good friend of mine just bought one, and there's THREE in my work parking lot, they are such sharp trucks. A+

[.RJ]

where the fuck are the sweet jumps?

[V1GiLaNtE]

where the fuck are the sweet jumps?

The mall and lane divides.

[BLINGMW]

It’s a nomenclature. Every single one has different payload ratings, but we are stuck saying 1/2 tons.

I just don't quite understand your choice. With them softening up the Raptor so much that the payload capacity is 1200 lbs (almost down to a Toyota Camry payload capacity!), if your tongue weight is supposed to be 10% of the total, then aren't you using up half of the capacity with your trailer? So I assume you're either not near that tongue weight or you just don't expect to have much in the truck when you go to/from the track?

[JPolen01]

You're behind. He bought a Miata and an RV.

[BLINGMW]

You're behind. He bought a Miata and an RV.

I look forward to being old enough that no-one will judge me if that's all I own

[D_Eclipse9916]

You're behind. He bought a Miata and an RV.

I look forward to being old enough that no-one will judge me if that's all I own

You forgot the tan golf kart [emoji23]

Yup this is mostly for mountain biking/kids/Lowe’s trip and 4-5 times a year towing locally (rv for actual trips). Plus Miata is 2200lbs and a 1500lb trailer isn’t going to be taxed..

[Sijray21]

What exterior color did you order?

I know you like Red and i saw a Red Raptor at the beach this year. It looked delicious.

[WRXtranceformed]

Can't hide money!

Congrats dude, I'm definitely jelly! I've had Raptors on my radar since back when people were like "why do you need a truck like that?"

[D_Eclipse9916]

What exterior color did you order?

I know you like Red and i saw a Red Raptor at the beach this year. It looked delicious.

White, color me boring but I just like the simplicity.

[JPolen01]

White will be nice, but Performance Blue is where it’s at.

[ScottyB]

any color without the bro graphics is better than with (OG raptor gets a pass).

[.RJ]

White will be nice, but Performance Blue is where it’s at.

you forgot where DJ lives.  The dealer will install 38" tires and urban camo just so he doesnt get laffed at when he pulls into bass pro shops.

[JPolen01]

I’ve seen a really cool looking olive green on a truck in my area. Looks like it’s no longer an option as it’s not listed on the configurator.

[D_Eclipse9916]

I’ve seen a really cool looking olive green on a truck in my area. Looks like it’s no longer an option as it’s not listed on the configurator.

If the avalanche gray had been available on the 19+ I would have actually taken the plunge. Really cool color. The blue is good looking just not me.

This thing is remaining mostly stock under warranty. I want to rip it hard and just shove it back to the dealer when it breaks.

[Sijray21]

If the avalanche gray had been available on the 19+ I would have actually taken the plunge. Really cool color.

A neighbor recently got one. I get to see it almost every day.

Also, don't you dislike silver cars?

[D_Eclipse9916]

If the avalanche gray had been available on the 19+ I would have actually taken the plunge. Really cool color.

A neighbor recently got one. I get to see it almost every day.

Also, don't you dislike silver cars?

Gray is not silver; but I did worry Iight not like it long term.

[Jake]

Congrats, I'm excited for you! Agreed on the Gladiator interior feeling pretty narrow, I guess that speaks to how wide modern "full size" trucks are now.

The blue interior against white paint is going to look hawt and the EcoBoost 3.5L pulls like a freight train in "normal" guise, I'm eager to see how the High Output variant in the Raptor does. Will comment back shortly ;-)

[Jake]

This thing is remaining mostly stock under warranty. I want to rip it hard and just shove it back to the dealer when it breaks.

You better rip on it the second you get it home. I have had so much fun with this blue Raptor. Took it up Flagpole Knob yesterday, which is mostly a wide, dirt-and-gravel fire road. There are some straight sections where you can see what's coming for a little ways. So I put it in Baja mode, transmission in "M" with my fingers on the paddle shifters, and went for it. In Baja mode, the shocks firm up, and if the truck leaves the ground completely, they go to "full firm" to help catch the landing. I do not think we got it in the air 100%, but there were moments of lots of boost and lots of suspension droop to verify the shocks are really damn good. 

And then we pulled into a little side area and thrashed around in the mud for a bit. Spent 25 minutes at Miracle Wash later in the afternoon, had to then hose down the wash bay, and I'm taking it over lunch to a car wash in Bethesda for a final round of cleaning. Totally worth it.

DJ, you are going to love yours. The seats and shocks make it way better than a standard F-150. The exhaust note is lame, the exhaust sound played over the speakers is super lame and should be disabled in Forscan immediately, and the tire noise gets tiresome on the highway. Highway MPG is ~18 versus ~24 for a normal 3.5 EcoBoost Lariat or whatever, but a Lariat can't catch itself if you take it off some sweet jumps.