2013 RPG Offroad Raptor Build

[Tx4r11]

First let me start by saying when I first purchased my 2013 Ford Raptor I was not intending to start an RPG build. In the end it just turned out that way. I hope this helps someone out during their upgrade journey.

Let me start from the beginning. So I started looking for a Ford Raptor back in 2019. I could not decide between a Gen 1 and a Gen 2. I ended up test driving both platforms. I knew I wanted a 2017 Gen 2 or a 2013 or 2014 Gen 1. After much debate with myself I knew that I would not keep the truck stock and was not sure how far I was going to go on mods. So in the end I purchased a 2013 Gen 1 since I knew I was going to start pulling parts off fairly quick. On December 2019 I drove to Houston Texas to test drive three trucks I had selected. That day I ended up purchasing the first truck on the top of my list. Here are some pictures on how she looked when I first purchased her. Truck had 86,000 when purchased and two previous owners. One of the owners was a dealership.

 

[Tx4r11]

So a month after I purchased my Raptor I noticed the driver's side axle boot was torn and was leaking grease. So I decided to get It fixed. I figured while I was at it may be a good time to throw some upgrades to save in labor down the road since truck had 86,000 miles already. I am by no means an experienced Offroad guy. So I started researching, reading forums and looking at Offroad websites to see what was available. Man I was overwhelmed. I called a few stores like RPG, SVC and a few others to ask questions. My thought was these guys know Raptors and had tons of experience. I ended up calling RPG back because I made it a point to read every shop’s story and what their accomplishments have been in their world. For some reason I really connected with RPG’s story and their products looked awesome. I spoke to an RPG consultant by the name of Casey asked what he recommended I upgrade first. He made it a point to understand what I was looking to accomplish and then recommended I upgrade my tie rods and upper control arms and explained why. That worked out great for me because mechanic said I also needed to change out tie rods and upper control arms. The mechanic did recommend I go with SVC but I told him I had already made my order and was gonna try RPG. That week I installed RPG tie rods, RPG tie rod boots, RPG billet upper control arms, front axles, Geiser springs and had bed sprayed with Line-x.

 

[CoronaRaptor]

Congrats on the purchase! Can't wait to see the mods. Corey has a great product.

 

[Tx4r11]

I was looking at the garage sales forum section and was able to pick up a good deal on a Baja Design OnX6 light bar. Had it installed behind the grill.

 

[Tx4r11]

So a month after I upgraded the front suspension the truck was running great and I really enjoyed the feel of the front suspension after I installed he RPG upper control arms. I did some mild off-roading and had tons of fun. One day I was watching YouTube and noticed an episode from Helio at Keep It Dirty Offroad. If you have not seen his channel take a look it’s got some great content. Helio was showing how he upgraded his 2017 Raptor with an RPG RST 18 kit. After seeing Helio’s episode and doing additional research I decided to contact RPG to ask questions. I made contact again with their sales consultant Casey. Casey remembered who I was when I called and he was quick to answer my questions. I told him I was still on the fence on what to move forward with but would get back to him after I had decided. After having my raptor for three months I knew I wanted to do more with it and take it out in the near future to possibly some raptor runs like TRR and also Baja expeditions with EXO and TRR. I fully understand you can attend these events with a stock Raptor but I wanted more insurance on these trips and also wanted to ride a bit faster than stock on the trails. I also knew that I was keeping this truck for a long time so adding mods would be worth it in my eyes. The last truck I had I ended up keeping for 13 years. In the end after going back and forth as to what set up I wanted to go with I ended up going with below.

I have had set up for 4 months and all is good. I started tuning the front shocks and will tackle the rear shocks next. Darin at RPG provided some input on tuning that helped expedite the process upfront.

Added
1. RPG RST 18 recovery rack with bypass mount. Dual spare set up. Had rack Line-X

2. Rear shocks Fox 3.5

3. Deaver 4.5 HD springs RPG spec

4. RPG bump stop kit

5. Fox 2.5 bump shocks

6. Fox 3.0 front coilovers

7. Also cut pinch welds to fit 37s for the near future

 

[Tx4r11]

So now that I added RPG goodies to the rear and front it was time to look at wheels and tires. I drive my truck daily so I was not looking for beadlock wheels. My initial thought was Method wheels but I was really digging the wheels from Addictive Desert Design. I looked at their website and noticed that the ADD wheels were on special. I called Cole at ADD and he took care of me quick. I originally purchased 4 wheels and then ordered two more for the RPG recovery rack. As far as tires I went with 37 inch BFG KO 2 all terrain. My though was that the KO2 run a bit smaller and I did not have any fiberglass fenders and was concerned that too large of tires would rub. In addition I was also thinking about the weekly miles I drive on the road. All in all the combo came out great and no rubbing at all during normal use. I have not tested it during hard off-roading yet.



SWEET !!!

 

[Tx4r11]

So I was reading a forum one day that was talking about bed supports. It discussed how Gen 1 Raptors have problems with loose beds after some hard Offroad use. I started reviewing what was available in the market and notice two options. One option was a two piece that would bolt to each side of the bed in each corner. The other option I found was a one piece that would bolt on each end and secured both sides together. I decided to go with the one piece option. And who do you think had the one piece option in stock? You guest it RPG. I called RPG and made contact with a sales consultant by the name of Danyelle. She was great to work with and helped get my order out fairly quick. Little did I know then that Danyelle and I would have many more conversations about Gen 1 upgrades in the coming weeks. Once I got bed support I decided to have it Line-X to match the RPG recovery rack. I also added a Dee Zee tailgate assist. Man I love this thing. Lastly I uploaded a 91 octane tune with an SCT tuner. I am running 93 octane now. The SVT Tuner seems to wake up the truck.

 

[Tx4r11]

So I want to list an upgrade I did that i missed that is worth mentioning. After I first serviced my raptor I could hear the brakes squeaking loud. I knew I needed new brakes pads. I had mechanic check them out and sure enough I need brake pads up front and very soon needed the rear. He also mentioned that my front rotors needed replacement. I ended up contact Rick from Freedom Motorsports on this site and had tons of feed back on their Performance Brake package. Rick took care of me and sent out kit that afternoon. The kit contained front and rear R1 concept drilled and slotted rotors and Posi Quiet Ceramic brake pads. Had this set up for 6 months and they work great.

 

[Tx4r11]

After running my current suspension set up for a few months up and down the dirt roads I could find in my area I was wanting to add a little bit more shock compression up front to help my Fox 3.0 coilovers. I was contemplating adding a stiffer spring or bump stop kit but quickly realized in speaking with other Offroad guys that front bump stops are great but the ideal Set up long term would be to add a bypass shock upfront. I started researching several standard width lower control arms that offered a bypass shock along with the coilover. There are really plenty of options available in the market. I ended up calling RPG since I already had the upper control arms and tie rods. In talking to them I realized that they offered a full bolt kit including spindles to complete the bolt kit. I asked for a quote and told them I would consider it. I continued my research and ended up calling a few shops that had experience with these kits. All mentioned the improvement with adding a secondary bypass but also mentioned the short comings that came with stock width lower control arms like very reduced turning radius. I then contacted a raptor owner that had been running a standard width bypass set up for sometime and he was great at answering all my questions and even sent me pictures. In the end he mentioned that if he had to do it again he would have just gone with a mid travel kit. It was the same suggestion that all the shops gave me when I called asking questions. So I had to decide if I was going to move to a mid travel kit or not. I did more research and contacted some additional people that ran mid travel kits and also shops that installed them. Since I drive my raptor as a daily I gathered all the pros and cons and after a few weeks I had made my decision. In the end I knew deep down that I would eventually move to a mid travel kit because of the RST 18 kit I had in the rear. One afternoon I was talking to my raptor buddy about my decision and he said great if you upgrade to the mid travel I’ll buy your upper control arms and tie rods. Well that sealed the deal. I was going to start the mid travel journey. I stated researching and figured I wanted to look at all mid travel kits available not just RPG. I narrowed my choices to three kits and this is in no particular order SVC, RPG and Blitzkrieg. I contacted several Offroad shops that had experience with all these kits to gather installation costs and ask questions about their customer experiences and their experiences. I can tell you that all these kits had great responses. One thing I did notice is that each shop I spoke to just had a preference and really could not say anything negative specifically about either kit. One comment was one was easier to install than another or I like the bypass bracket set up better than the other but nothing really negative about the design and build quality. One topic that did come up with all kits was 4x4 use. Most said they did have some customer come back from time to time to have axles replaced due to the extra travel. Since all the kits mentioned were all great products I focused on cost for kit, installation cost and lastly availability. I narrower the list to Blitzkrieg and RPG. I removed SVC from my list because I could not use my 3.0 coilovers and did not want to try to resell them and lose any money and down time at this point. After much debate I ended up going with the RPG mid travel bolt kit. Why did I go with RPG well a few reasons. One is I am really happy with their build quality with the RST18 kit I have and their customer service has been great. The second reason is due to the COVID situation and not knowing what restrictions may be implemented I wanted a kit I could get my hands on fairly quickly. I figured if things turn for the worst and employees have to be out due to illness it may delay production and installation and increase delivery time frame. When I called RPG to ask for availability I spoke to Danyelle and she confirmed that kit was available and all additional items except for the bypass shock were in stock. The 3.5 bypass would be an 8 week lead time which was the same for all others. When she told me she had a kit in stock when they normally do not have them in stock when I have asked in the past I figured it was time to pull the trigger. I ordered the bolt kit that day. Kit has been shipped and is expected to be delivered tomorrow 7 day shipping. Below are the next upgrade items I am planning to add

1. RPG Mid travel bolt Kit

2. Advanced Fiberglass Concepts 2x2 fenders ordered arrived last week will install this week.

3. RPG raceline bumper

4. RPG raceline rear bumper with welded winch bracket.

 

[Wampa]

This is awesome man!! I started a 2014 build, you should definitely hit up the local Texas Raptor groups and look into Texplex. Place is absolutely amazing and just heard it went from a once a month event, to every weekend for raptors. Keep us posted on the build!