TriShield

Is the Raptor too weak to play in the desert as advertised?




Justin Hyde —When a group of 14 Ford Raptor owners took to the desert for an off-road run in the spirit of what has become the quintessential hot-rod pickup, ten came back with bent frames. Is the Raptor too weak to play in the desert as advertised?

The $42,000 Ford SVT Raptor has won plaudits from enthusiasts across the spectrum for offering the excitement of a desert race-ready truck in a factory-built, dealer-warrantied vehicle. Nearly four years after its debut, its only true competition comes from a bolt-on kit Dodge sells for $19,000 on top of the price of a Ram pickup.

But last month, experienced owners complained on the RaptorForumz.com that a Nevada desert run had left a majority of their trucks with a frame bent in exactly the same location. The owners all had the same diagnosis: a rear frame and bed tilted a few degrees upward, due to a poor location for a "bump stop" — the rubber cushion that prevents the suspension from crashing into the frame. While Ford advertises the Raptor as having 12.1 inches of rear suspension travel, Raptor owners say at speed on a road, the suspension has only four or five inches of space before it hits the bump stop.

Full sizeWhen the original poster took his Raptor in for service, Ford engineers examined his truck and took photos of its underside. After much back-and-forth, Ford ruled the damage was due to "extensive customer abuse," and denied a warranty claim for the $765 estimate to put the frame straight. Other Raptor owners with bent frames received similar verdicts from Ford, leaving some outraged:

14 Raptor owners on an outing drive fast down a gravel road and 10 come back with bent frames.... no other damage - no broken axles, no flat tires, no leaf spring problems, no smashed body panels or skid plates, no wheel bearing problems, etc... That is a design flaw - bottoming out your truck should NOT bend the frame and leave no other damage unless the frame is very delicate.

But how fast is too fast?

Performance car and truck enthusiasts generally know what to expect from their vehicles — and what goes beyond the limits of their warranties. Jeep owners have decades of experience with off-roading, enough to suggest that those who want to speed through water need to install an engine snorkel before tackling waves. Just last week, Ford triggered another dustup with Mustang owners after warning dealers to be on the lookout for go-fast mods to new V8 engines that would void the warranty. In each case, there's a well-stocked pool of enthusiasts who've been tinkering with their cars for years and generally understand the boundaries of what a dealer and automaker will fix.

But the Raptor is so pioneering there isn't a huge user base, and there's never been a vehicle meant for high-speed desert travel -- the most destructive form of auto racing -- with an automaker's warranty. When video finally emerged of the Nevada run showing the bump that bent the Raptors (the last in the video here) many owners sided with Ford's call -- including one of the drivers in the group of 14 who didn't suffer a bent frame:

If Ford fixes these, I will be surprised. Why? The trucks were driven past what they are capable of. You do not buy a GT500 and expect it to drive like a race car, why would you buy a Raptor and expect it to handle and take the abuse of a trophy truck?...While it was not a challenging route we took, we caught quite a bit of air, jumped the road, hit numerous G-Outs at faster than anything sensible, hit speeds off road in excess of 125mph (I did) and had a **** load of fun doing so. How were most of the bent frames caused? inherent weakness in the frame and over driving the truck. Is there mods to fix this for those of you who are scared? Yes. Drive slower in the desert and know the road you are driving.

Mike Levine, editor of PickupTrucks.com, says while the owners have responsibilities for knowing what their off-roading courses hold, Ford should have provided driving classes or some other kind of training to give Raptor owners a better sense of their vehicle's limits. "For Raptor owners trying to figure out what the capabilities are, this would be a lot better than going out in groups and finding out what the design limits are in the real world. I can't fault these guys for getting upset."

For those who wish to attempt a similar run, the company that set up the first one has another round scheduled for later this month, advertising speeds of "110+ mph." They should explore one of the several firms offering to reinforce the rear frames of SVT Raptors for hardcore use, and maybe chip in for the $785 tuition in hard-earned lessons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eK-1...layer_embedded

TriShield

To get an inkling of how Ford promotes this model check out the videos below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8iJX...layer_embedded

Matt Farah and a Ford rep driving the truck at a Ford press event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxyzT...layer_embedded

And Ford driver and 2010 Formula Drift champion Vaughn Gittin Jr. driving the Raptor at another Ford event.

ULTIMATEORANGESS

iTrader: (4)

someone brought this up in the racers lounge.


members on raptor forumz i think its called have claimed dealers have no idea what to do to fix them yet.

TransAmWS.6

Sort of like I said in the Racers Lounge, everything has it's limits. Those guys who own the trucks who claimed to have bent their frames on the same exact day over the same type of terrain were pushing it. Even though the Raptor is indeed a purpose built "off-road" vehicle, you still really shouldn't go out there and beat on it like it's some kind of top-dollar Baja built truck, which they are not. People have to use proper judgement and some common sense sometimes. You can probably go out on the type of terrain they were on with almost any type of vehicle pretty much and drive at the speeds they were driving at, and I still think you would be pretty lucky if you didn't break anything in some way or another.

Spoolin

iTrader: (8)

I'm on the fence about this. Having ridden in purpose built pre-runners and baja trucks, I'm not surprised in the least bit that this happened. Pushing things out there will always always lead to weak links in any vehicle, purpose built or not.
But the owners weren't pushing it past what Ford said it would do. What to do, what to do...

Wnts2Go10O

iTrader: (12)

repair and revise the design

7998

iTrader: (1)

So the Raptor is just a pretty show truck for posing. IDK I think Ford is dropping the ball lately. That would be like Z06's becoming airborne at 120mph and GM blaming the drivers for over driving it.

BTW didn't Toby Keith tell us how tough the frame is? Toby Keith lied.

TransAmWS.6

It's called advertising

There's a fine line between driving a vehicle to it's capabilities and driving a vehicle beyond it's capabilities, these guys crossed that line and the damages to the trucks show that. Like I said, EVERYTHING has it's limits. Going out and ripping on them like they're sand rails like these guys were doing that have the bent frames is just completely idiotic.

qwikz28

iTrader: (12)

Part of being a professional driver is also knowing how to properly negotiate the terrain while minimalizing the blow to the car. These guys were obviously amateurs. Ford advertises that the cars can be driven hard, but they never said where the line was or that it was indestructible. These guys learned a very valuable lesson.

That being said, I read on thecarlounge that the bend in the frame happened right above the rear shocks where Ford hollowed out the frame to allow for a wrench to fit in. A strengthening there or some better bump stops could likely be a cheap fix for current Raptor owners who haven't yet suffered a similar fate.

killagt

iTrader: (3)

**** I though ford have the best frame when it come to truck, they say that on tv lol

DiscerningZ32

Two things:

1) The truck was clearly driven too hard.

2) It's an 800 dollar bill. Pay it, learn your lesson, move on.

Cole Train

iTrader: (30)

i love Raptors That is all....

BanditTA

iTrader: (3)

An 800 dollar frame pull is not the way to fix that. Those trucks need the frames replaced, they steel has yielded.... period.

Jon5212

iTrader: (2)

^^^ I'm with you on that... I think they need to add a zero to that repair bill.

Cool28

iTrader: (2)

Damn Chinese steel

gocartone

iTrader: (4)

I really doubt that video is showing how they bent the frame; there have been some pretty wicked videos of those Raptors doing much worse stuff and not bending the frame. If I was in Ford's shoes I wouldn't cover it either.

Wnts2Go10O

iTrader: (12)

then dont advertise your truck to the press as the offroad king with jumps and 75-80 cross desert.. its really that simple.

Wnts2Go10O

iTrader: (12)

essentially, that goes right along with "use launch control we install and we void your warranty"

$750 L98

iTrader: (7)

How is it the driver's fault Ford used a regular 1/4 ton frame on a purpose built off road vehicle. Not to mention you guys are telling me the suspension can handle the abuse, but the frame can't? That sounds poorly thought out.

TransAmWS.6

These individuals with bent frames were at higher speeds than 75-80 mph, more like 100+ from what I've read, and these trucks were modified with softer springs which doesn't help their cause. There is absolutely no reason for Ford to cover this under warranty, it just plain isn't their fault. It's those individuals who were out there on that day jumping the trucks at super high speeds driving them like a purpose built top-dollar race-truck, which they are not. It's their fault they screwed them up and now they're upset about it.