Ford Raptor R vs Ram TRX

[TheTeej]

The Raptor isn’t “marginally” better than the TRX off-road- it’s a good bit better measurably & subjectively, the BASE Raptor is better than the TRX off-road, the R just ups the ante on power. It seems to me many of the people I see doing serious off-roading a) are driving Raptors already or wranglers & Broncos & Tacomas & FJs much MUCH more than TRXs, & b) certainly do seem like these types of buyers DO have $$$ to burn to an extent @ least in terms of their off-roading hobby b/c the amount of mods people are blowing + camping gear etc seems like paying a bit extra upfront for more capability, more fuel range, & higher payload/less weight than a TRX would make sense

This is coming from a guy living in New England w/ limited access to GOOD off-roading- but when I travel out to UT/CA/NV/AZ/CO what I see repeatedly off-road are what I listed above - NOT TRXs - & most of the Raptors I see out there are usually all kitted out too….

For the type of off-roading I get to do the TRX would more than suffice for the most part….but the fuel penalty is what kept me away (that & always concerned about the MOPAR quality) but when I bought my 2nd gen2 I could’ve certainly gotten a TRX @ MSRP spending $10-$15k over a TRX & since I had a $70k check from my insurance provider burning a whole in my pocket wasn’t like I couldn’t “afford” the TRX

So in a nutshell when you get up to these price points & extreme vehicles I DO think legitimately better off-road capability DOES matter b/c many of the wealthy owners DO use the Raptor as intended

Same reason why guys who have the $$$ & are into racing would look @ a challenger hellcat & say no thanks, they’d rather be in a “less powerful” Z06 or ZL1 or Viper ACR etc. b/c they really do race on road courses

Raptor R may actually be worse off road than a regular gen 3. Bit more nose heavy, eats through gas faster, acceleration will often be traction limited, and it won’t brake better.

They didn’t beef any of the handling or braking capabilities to deal with the power.

It’s a premium product for spec sheet warriors and hurr durr v8 people. Not saying I wouldn’t rather have a v8 given the choice, but you know who you are.

 

[mchurch0211]

it only weighs 100lbs more than the 3.5 eco also they did change shock springs and tuning for the R

 

[BoostCreep]

Anyone who says a Gen 3 is only marginally better off road than the TRX either hasn’t spent time in both trucks off road, or if they have, haven’t left a perfectly smooth and maintained fire road.

 

[04Ram2500Hemi]

A lot depends on what sort of deal you can get. The R is going to hold it's value better than the TRX, so if you get an R at or near MSRP, you aren't in a bad spot. There are other vehicles you can get that make better investments, but if you're looking to have fun without losing a ton of money, it's a factor.



Getting factor 37s means that you get a spare 37 (you can't fit the spare on other trucks) and the shocks are tuned accordingly, etc.



$20k means a lot when you're deciding between a vehicle that costs $20k and one that costs $40k. It means a lot less when you're deciding between $90k and $110k. Not nothing, but not as much. As well, vehicles shouldn't be viewed as pure expenses. A $20k price difference means much less when the more expensive vehicle holds it's value by an extra $10k, for example.

$20,000 means a lot to me regardless of the vehicle price. My TRX was $79,000 out the door (sticker was $85,000) and to me that was stupid expensive. A $20,000 jump from there would mean no TRX or Raptor R. My truck is clear and paid for, but that doesn’t mean another $20,000 was pocket change.

 

[melvimbe]

$20,000 means a lot to me regardless of the vehicle price. My TRX was $79,000 out the door (sticker was $85,000) and to me that was stupid expensive. A $20,000 jump from there would mean no TRX or Raptor R. My truck is clear and paid for, but that doesn’t mean another $20,000 was pocket change.

I think you're kind of missing the point. I'm not trying to say 20k is meaningless, I'm saying that when you have the cash and credit to buy vehicles in this range, don't think of it as a pure expense, but in terms of which vehicle will cost less overall. Don't think of the upfront cost as 'stupid expensive' if it's going to hold it's value well.

As a comparison. my previous vehicle was a Jeep Cherokee that I got for $40k. I had some minor issues with it, but basic maintenance on it. I ended up trading it in after 40k miles for $15k. Lost $25k on it. I bought the Raptor for $60k., and if I sold it today, could probably get $50k for it (haven't checked in a while). The point is though, that even though I spent more money on the Raptor, it's cost way less then the Cherokee did. Even if you try and factor out COVID effect on prices on all that, it's still likely costs less than the Cherokee overall, and is a heck of a lot more fun and useful.

I'm not saying that the upfront cost doesn't matter, as it absolutely does. You got to have the cash/credit to make the deal. Obviously, you still have a good deal. And it's certainly not an investment either since you're going to lose money on it, but the upfront cost doesn't reflect how money you're going to lose owning the vehicle necessarily.

So yes, if you could afford to buy your TRX outright, you likely could have afforded to buy a Raptor or R, if you got near MSRP, with a bit of a loan. From there, it's not a matter of which one cost more to buy, but which one costs more to own.

 

[GTTXRAP]

Lame fanboy crap. I've had several FCA products. They've all been great and on par with any other Ford I've had.

Nobody should pay THAT much over sticker, but they will.

Pffft. How little do you know...I've owned 3 RAM's...all 3 had issues. Owned 4 Raptors all 4 no issues. No fanboy 'crap', facts from personal perspective. YMMV.

 

[Donovan]

Hm 12 pages..

 

[Rated R]

Pffft. How little do you know...I've owned 3 RAM's...all 3 had issues. Owned 4 Raptors all 4 no issues. No fanboy 'crap', facts from personal perspective. YMMV.

Sucks to be you. Other than a broken exhaust stud on a 1500 all were good

 

[Badgertits]

Anyone who says a Gen 3 is only marginally better off road than the TRX either hasn’t spent time in both trucks off road, or if they have, haven’t left a perfectly smooth and maintained fire road.

Correct

 

[04Ram2500Hemi]

I think you're kind of missing the point. I'm not trying to say 20k is meaningless, I'm saying that when you have the cash and credit to buy vehicles in this range, don't think of it as a pure expense, but in terms of which vehicle will cost less overall. Don't think of the upfront cost as 'stupid expensive' if it's going to hold it's value well.

As a comparison. my previous vehicle was a Jeep Cherokee that I got for $40k. I had some minor issues with it, but basic maintenance on it. I ended up trading it in after 40k miles for $15k. Lost $25k on it. I bought the Raptor for $60k., and if I sold it today, could probably get $50k for it (haven't checked in a while). The point is though, that even though I spent more money on the Raptor, it's cost way less then the Cherokee did. Even if you try and factor out COVID effect on prices on all that, it's still likely costs less than the Cherokee overall, and is a heck of a lot more fun and useful.

I'm not saying that the upfront cost doesn't matter, as it absolutely does. You got to have the cash/credit to make the deal. Obviously, you still have a good deal. And it's certainly not an investment either since you're going to lose money on it, but the upfront cost doesn't reflect how money you're going to lose owning the vehicle necessarily.

So yes, if you could afford to buy your TRX outright, you likely could have afforded to buy a Raptor or R, if you got near MSRP, with a bit of a loan. From there, it's not a matter of which one cost more to buy, but which one costs more to own.

You’re correct, I could purchase a Raptor R at MSRP if I really wanted. The hang up I have is the R stickers for around $110,000. So if you can get one at MSRP, is it really a $25,000 better vehicle than the sticker price of my TRX? To me it’s not, but it might be to somebody else. Now if the R was within say $5,000 of my TRX, then maybe it is.

Look- I love the Raptor (R and V6). The only true complaint I had on my 2020 was the fake engine noise piped into the cab. The truck was comfortable, pretty quick, and got good fuel economy. The used truck economy just happened to make a shift to where I could basically trade my Raptor damn near straight across for the TRX.

I’ve never said the TRX is better than the Raptor. In fact, if I lived somewhere that I had access to faster off roading and desert running, I would have kept the Raptor. But where I live, there isn’t anything like that. I enjoy the TRX more, so it’s a better fit for me. That’s all I’ve ever claimed about the TRX.