Highly recommend stepping up to the EB. Have many friends that went this route and not a single one of them regret it. The package is such a huge leap forward in just about every aspect other than sound which you mentioned you don't care about.

 

Yes. If my first gen raptor was aluminum body I'd never sell it. Frames are easy to spray with rust inhibitors, and when they do rust, are easy to patch. Fixing rust on a body is rarely simple, especially when it's rusting from the inside out.

I'm an engineer for Ford and work in their dynamometer lab where we test prototype and development engines. I'm confident in saying I know more about the 3.5 EB than anyone who doesn't work in my building.

I don't know what your complaints are with your truck but my truck has creaky interior bits, some temperamental electronics sometimes and some other small annoyances but none of that truly bothers me.

I want a truck I can feel confident in owning long term and not be left with some crumbling turd after a decade or two. And in Michigan, which is nicknamed "the rust state" you can't get that with a steel body vehicle (if you drive in the winter).

 

I have a F150 Lariat with the 502 package and its pretty fantastic. Absurd tow rating, easy peasy to drive in town except it could use a bit better turning radius. And I dont like driving old vehicles... Just at a point in my life I like a bit of a nicer thing except the Evo but thats a totally different thing.

I'll probably have the F150 a long time but it will be a 2nd vehicle for moving heavy things.

 

FWIW, you can't park trailers on the street in any reasonably sized city. Dealing with an angry letter from an HOA isn't as bad as getting tickets from over zealous city parking attendants. They love to ticket that stuff.

 

What do you recommend for patching rust spots?

I've got a few light spots of surface rust under the Tacoma after a few winters. I want to get them cleaned up before I spray it with fluid film this fall.

 

If it's just light surface stuff try Ospho. Works very well at converting light rust, non toxic, fast working, has worked great for me. Available on amazon for like $25.

 

If I'm not mistaken, those things are selling for more than the same truck, 10yrs newer! I was like

 

Background: I'm a Mechanical Engineer by degree (Kettering), Manufacturing Engineer by experience, and I have plenty of Quality background, too.

The F150 is an absolute disappointment on so many fronts. I came from Tundras for 11 years and while there were things that annoyed me nothing came close to all the issues in the F150. From the oversize transmission tunnel that puts the brake pedal left of centerline of the steering wheel, to the 10 speed that just searches for gears while also being a dog, to the convex mirrors that are in the wrong spot and don't help you see anything. I can't get comfortable in the truck after 1.5 years. I shouldn't have to wonder if an HVAC fan turns on within 10 seconds of starting a vehicle. I get a nasty knock every once in a while during auto start. I know two people who threatened lemon law over the 10 speed and got new trucks. Switches are too far away, dash is warped/warping worse, plastic has rough edges everywhere, display locks up every 6 months, etc, etc, etc. My chief complaint on the Tundra was that they advertised them as having LSDs that really only applied brakes to the spinning tire.

 

I've driven a couple 17-18 raptors. I didn't notice any of those interior complaints but everyone is different when it comes to ergonomics. As for faulty tech, I can't find a car that doesn't have glitchy tech stuff.

I've heard of people not liking the 10 speed, and that'd probably be my only real concern with the truck but then again nobody seems to like any 10 speed from any manufacturer, but that's something I can live with or get tuned to fix in the future.

It's not a 100% perfect truck but it fits the bill and checks more boxes than any other truck on the market.

 

The tundra is garbage. Same truck they released in 2007 with a facelift and they added DI to an engine that got ****ty fuel mileage and it still gets ****ty fuel mileage. The Ford 10 speed had some teething initially, but all of the one's I've driven are flat out awesome. If you have a 17+ 3.5 EB, the occasional knock on cold start could be cam phasers. It's a "simple" fix if the truck is still under warranty as it is a well understood issue with that engine.

Austin, If you arent happy with the 10 speed, just drive the truck in sport mode all the time. It shifts less.

The ergo issues are personal preference so I can't comment there. But the complaints about the tech, I mean, al of that **** has issues in every manufacturer. Just is what it is..

My main complain on the Gen2 raptor is the drive modes. You can't lock the rear diff in 2wd like the Gen1. It has even more cooling issues then the Gen1; my buddies truck is stock and he can make it go into limp mode driving it hard offroad when ambient temps are over 100 where my truck will get to about 225 on coolant and stay there. The factory suspension is better on the gen2, like if I had one I would likely just install deaver leafs and rear bumpstop and leave the stock shocks. Whereas on my truck it just got everything this weekend- Fox 3.0's, upper arms, deavers, rear bumpstops, etc. So once all that is aside, the only differenc eis the interior, and I like the Gen1 interior enough that I can't justify selling ym truck for ~35k and spending $70k on a new one. Especially since mine is paid off. So it'll go how it usually goes for me with vehicles... Which is the raptor will eventually be made another side hoe like the Evo once I have the down payment saved up for a Diesel to use as a daily and tow pig. And the raptor will be for offroad trips.

I was just giving you a hard time about the Gen2 upgrade Austin, they're definitely nice trucks. They just don't do enough for me to spend the extra to get one vs putting that money towards a new(ish) F250 and keeping my Gen1. So instead of throwing ~$30k at moving to a gen2, I spent some money on the suspension and cooling for my Gen1.

 

I dont know about the Raptor but my truck 100% can lock the rear diff in 2wd. I dont know if it disengages at a certain speed but in a parking lot we verified the rear locks.

 

Gen2 raptor you can not. Verified with personal attempts and forum research. It simply doesnt do it. It only locks the diff in 4A (AWD mode) and 4wd.

 

What's the use case for diff lock in 2WD?

 

In a truck with wheel travel and proper shocks like a raptor, you can do a surprising amount in 2wd with a locked diff. The 4a mode can make the truck jerky, and having it engage/disengage the front axle while going through bumps is hard on the front axle and transfercase.

Additionally, graded fire roads are much more fun in 2wd with the diff locked then 4A or 2wd with an open diff.

 

I get it, the shoe doesn't always fit. If I were you I wouldn't be even considering a second gen either. My truck isn't in bad shape by any means but I've been bitten hard by rust before, and I'd rather put myself in position to not have that be an issue in the future than turn a blind eye to it or spend lots of money fixing it. I really do wish I lived out by you to really enjoy my truck more. Sand is way more fun than mud.

I considered a super duty with the 7.3L gasser too. They are super solid trucks. But I just can't see myself being happy with a truck I can't jump and do fun **** with. Plus the super duties are TALL and I've already had some close calls with roof clearance before. The screw raptors are rated to tow 8k, I've done about 6500 before and it didn't break a sweat. I can't imagine it being any harder with an extra 100 pound feet lol.

I was not aware of the no lock rear diff in 2wd. I can only guess Ford did that to protect customers from themselves. Hopefully there's a way around it. Either way, not the end of the world.