Muddy Raptor? It'll Never Be Clean Again
By Aaron Bragman
Few things are more fun than bombing around off-road in Ford's new super truck, the 2017 F-150 Raptor. It has multiple drive modes for just about any terrain, and combined with its massive 35-inch BFGoodrich K02 all-terrain tires, Fox shocks, crazy suspension travel, skid plates and other equipment, there are few places you can't take the truck (but those few places have been identified here).
Once the fun is over at the end of the day, however, you're going to want to try and restore your new truck to its shiny condition. And you're going to have a challenge on your hands.
On a recent jaunt through Bundy Hill Off-Road Park about two hours west of Detroit, I got my test truck a little dirty. OK ... a lot dirty. But hey, you try and avoid the mud puddles when your ultimate off-road truck has a setting specifically for mud. That's just not possible.
So, after a day of blasting through the muck and enjoying myself tremendously, I headed home to wash the grime away. And after spending nearly an hour and $50 at a coin-op car wash with a pressure washer, I finally gave up.
See, all the tacked-on bits that make the Raptor look seriously cool on the street serve to trap dirt and mud with extraordinary efficiency. Those fender flares? Sprayed them endlessly, then stuck the washer up under the wheel wells and mud continued to flow out. The neat honeycomb grille traps mud on the backside of it, where it's impossible to spray. Those cheese-grater running boards are smooth on top but not on the bottom, so they trap all the mud underneath. The plastic window trim, hood and fender vents are porous plastic, so no matter how much I scrubbed, the stains from the mud remained.
I was forced to return the truck still dripping mud, even after leaving a lawn sprinkler on all night under the truck to try and get all the mud out from the underside. Sorry about that, Ford — I did my best. Think I'll stick to desert running and sand dunes from now on.
Cars.com photos by Aaron Bragman
Comments
That is what it is for.
I used to do mudding on the weekend and spend all week cleaning it up.
Now I just clean the outside and leave the underside as is.
Aaron Bragman is unbearable. In his first article this week he complains about obese, weak people not being able to climb into a truck, then he complains about groceries rolling around in the truck bed. Then it's trucks shouldn't go on narrow trails. Next up car vs truck and he picks car. His last story is about cleaning. You are not a truck guy so you need to stick to cars. And you need to lose some weight. Maybe if you lost weight getting into a truck and cleaning wouldn't be so difficult for you. Seriously.
What a big baby! This car guy has never cleaned a truck before!!!
Get ready for:
I'm a hater.
I hate great things.
Ford trucks are great.
I hate Ford trucks.
Nice truck !! beautiful truck good job Ford to make this great truck.
" I got my test truck a little dirty...But hey, you try and avoid the mud puddles...And after spending nearly an hour and $50 at a coin-op car wash with a pressure washer, I finally gave up."
Do stupid things. Win stupid prizes.
All these stupid stories and still no coverage of the FCA/EPA breaking news?
Down south we get a brush and a bucket and a rag and wash them by hand.
It'll come clean that way
Where's the real news?
I just take mine to the car wash. Oh but the Raptor cant fit. That sucks.
The things not really dirty, try driving in real mud. Oh I forgot , the Crapter can't do that without getting stuck.Have no fear, a Colorado can always pull it out.
The things not really dirty, try driving in real mud. Oh I forgot , the Crapter can't do that without getting stuck.Have no fear, a Colorado can always pull it out.
Posted by: uglyfords | May 24, 2017 7:32:46 PM
GMSRGRETA, (How did I know it was you?)
A Colorado could barely pull a tent let a lone a beast like the Raptor.
That is what it is for.
I used to do mudding on the weekend and spend all week cleaning it up.
Now I just clean the outside and leave the underside as is.
Posted by: scott | May 24, 2017 2:47:52 PM
Yep, exactly same here...I guess we get lazier with age & don't make time to clean our toys :-)
I wait for a rain to wash the underside of my truck. What is bad is when mud gets up onto the skid plates then dries. Every time you accelorate you here the tranny or oil pan, hit the dried mud.
Same with the wheels, they get out of balance with the dried mud on the inside of the wheel.
The author seems clueless. I had the exact same problem with my 1987 Ford Ranger when I was in highschool (94). Only back then you used to skin your knuckles cleaning around the sharp edges of the bumpers. My one day of mudding left mud in that truck for the next 6 years I owned it. I remember finding the backs of the pulleys full of mud when I replaced the water pump a few years later. From that I learned that doughnuts in the snow were the way to go for easy cleanup.
That is part of the price of any vehicle driven anywhere it can get wet. Even road grime will accumulate on a Corvette or motorhome. Drive on a salted road and just imagine the horrible things happening to the bottom side of your vehicle. If you want to play the game you have to pay the price, just a fact of life. Heck, I have never been able to get my dirt bikes totally clean after an outing.
Maybe the best solution is to go find some clean water to splash around in before going home.
No biggie, a real man cleans his own truck. Buck up!
Yawn Ford Craptor, take real trucks off road like a GM or RAM.
Now this is a real truck
Yawn Ford Craptor, take real trucks off road like a GM or RAM.
Posted by: johnny doe | May 25, 2017 11:09:15 AM
Awww man so who woke up the tr011
Yawn Ford Craptor, take real trucks off road like a GM or RAM.
Posted by: johnny doe | May 25, 2017 11:09:15 AM
Awww man so who woke up the tr011
There's not enough Ford stories or columns, please show more putc.
Really?
A dirty truck that is hard to clean?
WTF?
That is life.
Wear and tear is the normal part of ownership.
Nice truck !! Now this is a real truck
I wait for a rain to wash the underside of my truck.
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