How do you make Ford Super Duty do an impression of F-150 Raptor? Aim its grille toward a ramp and keep your right foot down.
Ford‘s Super Duty trucks can do so much. They can carry a family or a work crew in total comfort and, depending on which trim level you go for, a surprising amount of luxury. A four-wheel-drive 2019 F-350 Crew Cab 4X4 with a 160-inch wheelbase, single rear wheels and the Power Stroke diesel can haul up to 4,480 pounds and tow up to 20,700 pounds. That’s why you see so many of them doing hard work. One thing you don’t see them doing is jumps. That’s the Raptor‘s bit. But that doesn’t stop the driver of this Super Duty from doing an impression of the ultimate F-150.
We found this launch footage on thetrucknation_‘s Instagram page. Like many videos that involve Ford trucks horsing around, it takes place out in the country. In the distance, you can see a white Super Duty. Oddly enough, it’s just a regular 4X4 and not an FX4 truck. Behind it, there are rolling hills. To the left of the Super Duty stands a short wood fence. On the right, there’s a large shade tree and a long puddle. Instead of tearing across the dirt to give their rig a mud bath, the Super Duty driver heads straight down the middle – toward a natural ramp coming out of the ground.
The driver gets off to a slow, gentle start. As they move ahead, they apply more throttle.
A few feet before their launching point, they give the skinny pedal a deep push and use the 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8’s diesel grunt to propel them and their truck into the sky. For a second, all four wheels are off the ground.
The Super Duty makes a rough landing that compresses the front tires so hard that, for a fraction of a second, they look deflated. The back end drops low on its suspension, causing the front end to buck up, making the truck look as if it needs to be tamed.
Super Dutys and the people that own them work hard day in and day out so it’s nice to see one of the trucks and its driver having some Raptor-ish fun. But after watching this footage over and over again, we just hope their antics didn’t end with tongue stitches.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
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