Ford F-150 Raptor Doesn’t Let a Deep Stream Slow It Down

Most Ford Raptors fly high over sand dunes. This first-generation model goes a different route: straight through deep water.

The Ford F-150 Raptor is a specialty vehicle designed to take on extreme conditions. It’s supposed to get you over sand, rocks, and mud. Its suspension is made to take the abuse of rapid compression and rebound strokes at high speeds. But just like every other vehicle, the Raptor’s fundamental purpose is to get you from point A to point B. For the Raptor in this video posted on the Nex Gen Raptor (@nexgenraptor) Instagram page, the line between those two locations is a deep stream.

The wet and wild action takes place in “Badassville,” a colloquially – and appropriately – named spot near Houston, Texas. It starts shortly after a black first-generation Raptor enters one side of a steadily flowing stream. Apparently, both ends of it are the deep end. After just a few seconds of driving, the Raptor is already up to the top of its F O R D grille in rushing water.

 

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Now that’s a river crossing in a RADtor! Doesn’t it kinda look like an RC car? 🎥 @jgelen @raul2157

A post shared by Nex Gen Raptor (@nexgenraptor) on Aug 1, 2018 at 5:22pm PDT

That doesn’t intimidate the driver and it certainly doesn’t stop the Raptor. Both push on through the current. At certain times, the bow wave only goes as high as the truck’s front bumper, but there are a couple of points at which it splashes onto the clearance lights on the leading edge of the hood.

Ultimately, the black creature emerges from the lagoon and rolls up onto the opposite bank, leaving a victory trail of sopping wet earth behind.

As you can see, this particular Raptor accomplishes this badass feat without an intake snorkel. What’s even more impressive is that its driver completely went against the suggestions Ford put in the owner’s manual for the last-generation F-150 and was able to drive away. We pulled up the manual for the 2013 model and found this:

Never drive through water that is higher than the bottom of the hubs (for trucks) or the bottom of the wheel rims (for cars).

It’s safe to say this Raptor went through water much higher than that. Its entire way through the stream, the water was up to the tops of its wheel wells. Clearly, it takes more than that to stop a Ford Raptor from devouring trails.

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Derek Shiekhi

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.

In addition to writing for a variety of Internet Brands sites, including JK Forum and Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Derek also contributes to other outlets. He started There Will Be Cars on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube to get even more automotive content out to fellow enthusiasts.

He can be reached at autoeditors@internetbrands.com.

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