Was There a Time When…

[MRV99]

As a Gen 1 owner, most everything that gets discussed on here is boring, annoying, childish and immensely repetitive. Prospective gen 3 owners waiting for their truck 6 months after paying a $20k ADM, Gen 2 owners asking if every little thing they hear is a cam phaser rattle, discussing the merits of various lugnuts and how it was their best mod yet, doing a diff cover change and washing the old fluid out with an extra quart of amsoil "just because" etc. I just see way more money than common sense, and it's not my cup of tea to follow along. I wish there was more going on in the Gen 1 forums, but I never see anything really, so I don't check often.

I LOVE the look of Gen 2s, and test drove them ready to drop some coin on one, but common sense told me I didnt need to spend that much money if I was going to thrash it offroad, and that godawful sound they make just sealed the deal. Every time I floor it in my outdated, low MPG, worn in raptor with an oversized V8, I'm reminded why I made this choice. I love this truck.

I know the feeling! Listening to the "Gen Juan" guys talk about their oh so manly V8's and the sound of Thor when they step on the gas, the pure no electronic driving experience, oh will a Gen 2 {insert part here} fit on my Gen 1 truck. My truck is paid off and still makes me {emotion} ....... the list can go on but I think you get the point...

 

[Otis857]

I bought my 2011 Gen 1 in SCab 2014 with 30K miles on it (less than 90K now so I'm keeping it). As a former banged up dirt bike desert racer, I was in the market for a new truck and nothing from the big 3 piqued my interest until I read about the Raptor. Back then, the new 2014's were all gone. gen 2's were not even on the horizon (rumored to not go into production at that time) and it was hard to even find a Gen 1 that didnt have a lot of miles or wasn't heavily used/beat. What I really liked about the "old days" here is the serious modifications FRF'ers did to their trucks and the offroad adventures the forum members shared here. Definitely was an off road enthusiast forum.

I've got nothing against the gen 2's or 3's, my son-in-law has a 17 Raptor and the technological advances are pretty sweet. I could care less about the v-6 vs. V-8 debate, and aside from the exhaust note and cam phaser issues, the V-6 is an impressive motor. But I did see a shift from the serious off roaders from the gen 1 crowd to all too many of the 'Raptor as a status symbol' members who spend little if any time in the back country. Just witnes the people talking about bling like lift kits and 22" rims, taboo topics back in the early days. Hopefully the newer forum members will use these pages to get more inspired/involved in off roading and not just "hey,look at my truck, aint it cool?' The cool is a given. Just remember, when the pavement ends, the fun begins.

 

[Donovan]

So this is a tribute to the Gen 1 thread then....

 

[Christyle]

Well if they're asking about the old days and what it was like back then, do you expect to have a lot of discussion about trucks that were still 3-10 years away?

 

[Otis857]

So this is a tribute to the Gen 1 thread then....

I don't see it as a Gen 1 thread tribute as commentary on how the forum has changed over the years. More nostalgia than anything else.

 

[pat247]

FRF in the beginning was made up of mostly Raptor people who for one reason or another got banned from the Z. It was kind of like the wild west of internet sites in a sense, FRF was new and the Raptor was new. One of the big topics back then was "where can I buy for invoice", we'll never see those days again but it was how I and others were able to find our Raptors. I lurked on FRF for six months or more before joining as I was still a member of the Z.

 

[MDJAK]

Really excellent replies throughout. Appreciate the time everyone has put in to basically walk down memory lane. I joined when I bought my second Gen2 around 2019 and what really shocked me, I must admit, was that good ol’ fashion cussing was all over the place, personal attacks up the w a z o o. I had come from Porsche and Canon/Nikon forums where that would get you banned in a heartbeat. I would describe this place as the Wild West where anything goes. It’s calmed down a bit, perhaps for the better, not sure. Lol.

From reading those who have very high miles, sounds like the V8 was/is basically bulletproof. That’s awesome. Enjoy.

Oh, someone mentioned Gen1 guys did much more off-roading and now the Gen2-3 are more trophy trucks, mall crawlers. Unfortunately for me, I live in NY, just north of NYC and off roading is basically nonexistent. I am extremely envious of those who have it out their back door. I did take my first and 3rd Gen2 from NY to Moab to do some off-roading and would love to do it in my Gen3 but it’s a heck of a long drive.

 

[Jakenbake]

Really excellent replies throughout. Appreciate the time everyone has put in to basically walk down memory lane. I joined when I bought my second Gen2 around 2019 and what really shocked me, I must admit, was that good ol’ fashion cussing was all over the place, personal attacks up the w a z o o. I had come from Porsche and Canon/Nikon forums where that would get you banned in a heartbeat. I would describe this place as the Wild West where anything goes. It’s calmed down a bit, perhaps for the better, not sure. Lol.

From reading those who have very high miles, sounds like the V8 was/is basically bulletproof. That’s awesome. Enjoy.

Oh, someone mentioned Gen1 guys did much more off-roading and now the Gen2-3 are more trophy trucks, mall crawlers. Unfortunately for me, I live in NY, just north of NYC and off roading is basically nonexistent. I am extremely envious of those who have it out their back door. I did take my first and 3rd Gen2 from NY to Moab to do some off-roading and would love to do it in my Gen3 but it’s a heck of a long drive.

I agree, I wish we had more options out the back door. I live in southern Ohio for reference. I will say this that a guy from New Jersey attends most of the offroad events I go to. Went to florida with us back in February. Good dude too.

 

[Stingray23]

This place was great back when it was just Gen1. Everyone was eager to help out and share info. When Jen2 was announced, there were a lot of Gen1 vs 2 threads and constant back and forth. Its started to get repetitive and boring, less focused. This place has changed a lot. I still see a bunch of the old crew, but not the same anymore.

 

[Christyle]

... what really shocked me, I must admit, was that good ol’ fashion cussing was all over the place, personal attacks up the w a z o o. I had come from Porsche and Canon/Nikon forums where that would get you banned in a heartbeat. I would describe this place as the Wild West where anything goes. It’s calmed down a bit, perhaps for the better, not sure. Lol.

I came from the earlier days of Pirate4x4.com, a hardcore rockcrawing forum full of degenerate know-it-alls with the most creative ways to insult and demean you. It really made people think twice about posting BS that could have easily been found with a quick search. I would research something for DAYS before posting a question, and it made for an incredibly concise, focused, tech-based forum with a lot of great input from creative enthusiasts. I'm constantly reminded I need to tone things WAY back here, and most other forums. Honestly, I'm not a fan. If there's no repercussions for asking really dumb questions, everybody has incredibly thin skin and any newbie is just looking to be spoon fed everything, it makes it REALLY tough to search for the good stuff.