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Raptor vs f250


clemsondds

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8 hours ago, clemsondds said:

Anyone switch from a raptor to a f250? Or vice versa. Have a raptor and thinking about trading it in and getting the new f250. I tow but not crazy amounts.  Just curious about the pros/cons. Thanks 

You are in luck.  I did exactly that in Oct 2021. I traded my Gen2 Raptor for a 22 F250 crew 7.3l I had ordered with the intent of lifting it.  I drove the truck for two weeks and had discussions with a couple of different lift shops and decided the ride quality would never meet my expectations (nor my wife’s, lol) without significant investment, and decided to order another Raptor instead.  
 

Another annoyance to me is the F250’s steering is much less precise than the Raptor, and requires more concentration to drive.  Perhaps the 23 is better regarding the aforementioned observations, but I suspect it is just inherent in heavy duty trucks.  
 

With the lift, tires, etc it was going to be $8k plus pending on lift setup, and they advised it would be better but it still wouldn’t ride like a Raptor.  The Carli lifts are probably about as close as you are going to get to a Raptor ride and the cost would have easily exceeded $10k and I just didn’t think the value was there for me.  
 

I have a tandem axle trailer rated at 7000lbs that I periodically use, which the F250 pulls great, but my old Raptor pulled it fine for the distances I am using it, with some squat of course.  
 

With that said, I still don’t have the Raptor after all this time. I’m sure you are aware of the difficulties of acquiring a Raptor these days.  After waiting on allocation for so long it went into production on 08/16/22.  Apparently there were missing parts and it sat around for a long time because it finally shipped on 01/17/23.   It will hopefully be at the dealer any day now.  
 

Ford makes it difficult to get excited about a new vehicle these days with all the uncertainty surrounding their ability to deliver, but I’m glad it will be here soon.  

It boils down to what the most important characteristics of the truck are to you.  For me it ended up being the ride and driving dynamics for daily use.  


If you have any specific questions let me know.  

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I have had a Raptor and an XLT F150 and now have an F250.  There is a huge difference in ride comfort between any half ton and a Super Duty.  I do a lot of towing and although both F150’s (XLT and Raptor) had the power and comfort, the towing experience was so squirrelly that it was actually physically exhausting.  Not so with the Super Duty and that is as intended, it's a heavy duty truck.  

 

So if you want a squishy ride, excellent off road capability and only tow a smaller trailer or tow infrequently over short distances, sticking with the Raptor sounds like a good fit for you.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/29/2023 at 5:20 PM, tbone said:

You are in luck.  I did exactly that in Oct 2021. I traded my Gen2 Raptor for a 22 F250 crew 7.3l I had ordered with the intent of lifting it.  I drove the truck for two weeks and had discussions with a couple of different lift shops and decided the ride quality would never meet my expectations (nor my wife’s, lol) without significant investment, and decided to order another Raptor instead.  
 

Another annoyance to me is the F250’s steering is much less precise than the Raptor, and requires more concentration to drive.  Perhaps the 23 is better regarding the aforementioned observations, but I suspect it is just inherent in heavy duty trucks.  
 

With the lift, tires, etc it was going to be $8k plus pending on lift setup, and they advised it would be better but it still wouldn’t ride like a Raptor.  The Carli lifts are probably about as close as you are going to get to a Raptor ride and the cost would have easily exceeded $10k and I just didn’t think the value was there for me.  
 

I have a tandem axle trailer rated at 7000lbs that I periodically use, which the F250 pulls great, but my old Raptor pulled it fine for the distances I am using it, with some squat of course.  
 

With that said, I still don’t have the Raptor after all this time. I’m sure you are aware of the difficulties of acquiring a Raptor these days.  After waiting on allocation for so long it went into production on 08/16/22.  Apparently there were missing parts and it sat around for a long time because it finally shipped on 01/17/23.   It will hopefully be at the dealer any day now.  
 

Ford makes it difficult to get excited about a new vehicle these days with all the uncertainty surrounding their ability to deliver, but I’m glad it will be here soon.  

It boils down to what the most important characteristics of the truck are to you.  For me it ended up being the ride and driving dynamics for daily use.  


If you have any specific questions let me know.  

You got double whammy’d with that trade. The Raptor traditionally has softer suspension than regular half tons, and you went from that to a super duty which is always going to ride rougher than a half ton. It’s set up to handle more weight. Your F-250 won’t feel buttery smooth until it’s loaded up with real weight in the bed. The best you can do is add a steering stabilizer, progressively valved coilovers, and softer shocks in the rear. After that, it is what it is. 

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On 2/15/2023 at 9:45 AM, le engineer said:

You got double whammy’d with that trade. The Raptor traditionally has softer suspension than regular half tons, and you went from that to a super duty which is always going to ride rougher than a half ton. It’s set up to handle more weight. Your F-250 won’t feel buttery smooth until it’s loaded up with real weight in the bed. The best you can do is add a steering stabilizer, progressively valved coilovers, and softer shocks in the rear. After that, it is what it is. 

The best I can do now is trade the F250 for the Raptor this Friday since it finally came in.  The expense of lifting the F250 and putting coilovers under it just wasn’t worth it to me.  
 

It was nice to have the F250 for the year since I was towing more than usual so it did have its benefits, but I’m glad to be going back to the Raptor.  

Edited by tbone
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On 2/21/2023 at 8:05 PM, ScottK1 said:

There's no comparison between any F150 and a Super Duty for towing.  Get the SD Tremor if you want some off-road capability, and lower the tire pressure when not towing.  

2020 F250 6.7 here…this is exactly what I do…55lbs in the front and only 40 in the back when gooseneck isn’t in use…rides 100% better…handles better in the rain too…

Edited by Maddux
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  • 2 weeks later...
11 hours ago, clemsondds said:

Hey just checking in…anyone get their f250 or test drive one yet? Just curious if they ride any better. Or is the raptor still a much better ride? 

There will be no comparison between the two.  The Raptor will be significantly better, whether it’s a 22 or 23 Superduty.   

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6 hours ago, clemsondds said:

Oh ok thanks. I thought inread that the ‘23 will have improved ride quality. 

Well to be clear, I have not driven a 23, but I wasn’t able to identify any major suspension changes for the 23 so I made the assumption it will be close to the 22.  It’s still a solid axle so there aren’t a lot of ways to significantly improve it.  You can double check with some of the 23 owners in that forum to get a comparison between 22 and 23, but I suspect it will be the same or similar.   
 

Your best bet for a Superduty is a Carli lift kit if you want to try to get close to a Raptor ride, but it will cost you.  

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