0521ba
Member
- Joined
- May 12, 2021
- Threads
- 2
- Messages
- 16
- Reaction score
- 23
- Location
- Georgetown, TX
- Vehicles
- 2021 F150 3.5 Ecoboost Platinum FX4
- Thread starter
- #1
Hello All,
New here so bare with me. Long story long but I bought a 2020 fully spec'd Raptor back in May of 20 for a killer deal ($14k off sticker). Fast forward to April of 2021 truck was completely totaled (not my fault) which left me in a weird position. With the delays of the 21 Raptor I wasn't sure what to buy so I figured I'd give the TRX a shot. Called around and every dealer in Texas at the time was asking a minimum of $10k over sticker which wasn't my cup of tea. Started searching nation wide and found a mid spec TRX in Maryland for $500 under sticker... ended up haggling down to $5k under sticker LOL and had it shipped down.
Initial impressions of the TRX:
- Heavy... the Raptor had more of a baja truck feel which I prefer.
- Overrated interior... felt cheap/plastic-y. The buttons felt like they were out of a Dodge Dart (probably are).
- Disappointed in the infotainment screen... long lag times. The vertical orientation is not better than the larger gen14 screen. I always have my phone plugged in so apple carplay took over the top half while I either had the climate settings or outside weather displayed on the bottom half (both useless). The carplay in the gen14 takes up much more surface area and overall just flows better in general in my opinion.
- 6mpg... LOL what do you expect. At $3/gal down here for premium it was around a $92-95 fill up every 2-2.5 days. Not ideal.
- Fast... very very fast. It's a quick truck but at the same time it weighs nearly 7000lbs so theres that. Also flooring it on slight turns felt sketchy, would lose most of the steering while accelerating.
- Beautiful exhaust note... Hoping the Raptor R has a comeback for that.
- Then around 500 miles or so the squeaks and rattles started and that just bugged the crap out of my self diagnosed OCD complex.
- Overall it felt like RAM took a Rebel, shoved a 700hp motor in it paired with a raptor like suspension. Just didn't have the full package I was looking for, then again I will admit I am biased towards Ford pick-ups.
Fast forward to 750 miles or so into TRX ownership, I started looking for something else. Given dealers in my area were/are still asking for a good chunk of change over for these things I figured I'd make some money while I can and find something I'd actually enjoy. Stumbled across a 701A high package star white FX4 platinum w/ the 3.5 ecoboost and 5.5' box listed for $6k under sticker (suspicious given the chip shortage and whatnot). Immediately drove down there, talked numbers and walked out with a new truck. Dealer even paid me waaay over what I paid for the TRX including taxes, fees and shipping, so win/win.
So here she is....
Only thing it isn't optioned with is the panoramic sunroof (I never used it in the Gen3 anyway).
20 miles on the dash... was expecting to find out it was a demo with 7k miles on it haha.
Out with the new... in with the new new.
Straight to work afterwards
So far I adore this thing, feels like I'm at home again. Also ordered the following parts:
- Going in for 15% ceramic tint sometime within the next week. 15% over the 4 windows and rear. Air80 over the front windshield (clear film that blocks UV rays and a ton of heat, wasn't a believer til I tried it and never went back ever since).
- King 2.5 Reservoir coil over kit w/ compression adjuster. Part # 25001-367-A. King confirmed fitment and stated a 2.0" lift in the front.
- King 2.5 Piggyback reservoir rear shocks NON compression adjustment (9 month wait for the compression shocks ). Part # 25001-356
- 18x9+20mm Fuel Rebel matte black
- 295/70/18 Nitto Ridge Grapplers. Not 100% sure if these will fit because I haven't seen anyone else try with my wheel size/offset but rimzone confirmed fitment so we'll see.
Everything will be arriving within 7 days; triple checked availability before ordering. Will just need to set aside time at some point for the install.
That should wrap up my "build"... if I feel like the ride quality off-road could be improved I'll swap out control arms and rear springs. Let me know your thoughts, questions, concerns! Thanks for reading this far haha.
New here so bare with me. Long story long but I bought a 2020 fully spec'd Raptor back in May of 20 for a killer deal ($14k off sticker). Fast forward to April of 2021 truck was completely totaled (not my fault) which left me in a weird position. With the delays of the 21 Raptor I wasn't sure what to buy so I figured I'd give the TRX a shot. Called around and every dealer in Texas at the time was asking a minimum of $10k over sticker which wasn't my cup of tea. Started searching nation wide and found a mid spec TRX in Maryland for $500 under sticker... ended up haggling down to $5k under sticker LOL and had it shipped down.
Initial impressions of the TRX:
- Heavy... the Raptor had more of a baja truck feel which I prefer.
- Overrated interior... felt cheap/plastic-y. The buttons felt like they were out of a Dodge Dart (probably are).
- Disappointed in the infotainment screen... long lag times. The vertical orientation is not better than the larger gen14 screen. I always have my phone plugged in so apple carplay took over the top half while I either had the climate settings or outside weather displayed on the bottom half (both useless). The carplay in the gen14 takes up much more surface area and overall just flows better in general in my opinion.
- 6mpg... LOL what do you expect. At $3/gal down here for premium it was around a $92-95 fill up every 2-2.5 days. Not ideal.
- Fast... very very fast. It's a quick truck but at the same time it weighs nearly 7000lbs so theres that. Also flooring it on slight turns felt sketchy, would lose most of the steering while accelerating.
- Beautiful exhaust note... Hoping the Raptor R has a comeback for that.
- Then around 500 miles or so the squeaks and rattles started and that just bugged the crap out of my self diagnosed OCD complex.
- Overall it felt like RAM took a Rebel, shoved a 700hp motor in it paired with a raptor like suspension. Just didn't have the full package I was looking for, then again I will admit I am biased towards Ford pick-ups.
Fast forward to 750 miles or so into TRX ownership, I started looking for something else. Given dealers in my area were/are still asking for a good chunk of change over for these things I figured I'd make some money while I can and find something I'd actually enjoy. Stumbled across a 701A high package star white FX4 platinum w/ the 3.5 ecoboost and 5.5' box listed for $6k under sticker (suspicious given the chip shortage and whatnot). Immediately drove down there, talked numbers and walked out with a new truck. Dealer even paid me waaay over what I paid for the TRX including taxes, fees and shipping, so win/win.
So here she is....
Only thing it isn't optioned with is the panoramic sunroof (I never used it in the Gen3 anyway).
20 miles on the dash... was expecting to find out it was a demo with 7k miles on it haha.
Out with the new... in with the new new.
Straight to work afterwards
So far I adore this thing, feels like I'm at home again. Also ordered the following parts:
- Going in for 15% ceramic tint sometime within the next week. 15% over the 4 windows and rear. Air80 over the front windshield (clear film that blocks UV rays and a ton of heat, wasn't a believer til I tried it and never went back ever since).
- King 2.5 Reservoir coil over kit w/ compression adjuster. Part # 25001-367-A. King confirmed fitment and stated a 2.0" lift in the front.
- King 2.5 Piggyback reservoir rear shocks NON compression adjustment (9 month wait for the compression shocks
). Part # 25001-356- 18x9+20mm Fuel Rebel matte black
- 295/70/18 Nitto Ridge Grapplers. Not 100% sure if these will fit because I haven't seen anyone else try with my wheel size/offset but rimzone confirmed fitment so we'll see.
Everything will be arriving within 7 days; triple checked availability before ordering. Will just need to set aside time at some point for the install.
That should wrap up my "build"... if I feel like the ride quality off-road could be improved I'll swap out control arms and rear springs. Let me know your thoughts, questions, concerns! Thanks for reading this far haha.
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