Stock Ranger Raptor vs. Beer o'Clock Hill

[Lion77]

Off-road truck BATTLE: USA v Japan v China v Australia - who makes the TOUGHEST truck?




Seen plenty of highly modified vehicles FAIL to get up this hill, it's a pretty tough challenge, but this bone stock Ranger Raptor makes it up. Driver skill is absolutely a part of it and I think too many people are looking at big tires and lifts etc. to solve problems that 90% of can be solved by driving skill aka Driver Mod!

I've seen videos of modified RR's on 35's break tie rods etc. This guy did it on stock 33" KO3....maybe Ford know something about off-roading? I'm not suggesting larger tires have no place, the RR Race truck runs 35x12.5's, but that's because they can't lift the suspension per class rules and tires is the only way to increase clearance.

Those tires also cost them a front diff. In my opinion, unless you're a trail rat, the vast majority of off-roading is still very well suited to 33" tires, throw on some rock sliders and maybe a high clearance front bumper as more practical off-road mods before messing with tires and suspension. If you can't do it with that then maybe tires / lifts might make sense, but you're trading off durability of the drive train, acceleration, braking etc.

And no, he didn't break any tie rods...because they work fine for stock tires. Interestingly, even the Race truck runs stock tie rods with massive 35x12.5 race tires, coul be due to class rule limitations, but I've not seen them report broken tie rods yet.

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[Lion77]

BTW, the "legendary" Toyota Taco (aka Hilux in Aussie land) broke on Beer o'clock hill with far less power...that should say something about the RR and it broke drive train on smaller less "grippy" tires. Granted these are two different classes of trucks, but given the factory tires on the TRD Pro or even Trail Hunter, their weight and drive train, I don't see them as doing a whole lot better on this test.

Go RAPTOR!

 

[Lion77]

BTW, the full sized Silveraldo 1500 ZR2 did really good, higher clearance and the long full-sized wheelbase really helps with hill climb, the downside is that you don't have the best break over angles and the width / turning radius is an issue in tighter spaces.

At the end of the day, all the trucks have their pros and cons, but the RR did it bone stock, the Taco / Hilux broke, then they brought in another one with a lift, cut out fenders and Mickey Thompson tires and finally got up the hill (they basically put it on par with the RR minus front locker).

I've been encouraging people to try Angled Sliders before tires, a high clearance bumper but honestly the 33-degree approach isn't bad and doesn't seem to be the big hinderance on trails, rather it's the side steps.

The side steps are just chunky and while I don't think they look bad, they function as steps decently, and are cast aluminum so they won't corrode, they just get in the way for trail work, period. The base DNA of the RR is good, it's got decent articulation, front and rear lockers, tons of power, good low range ratio (which makes for massive torque with the 3.0LL TT)...but those stock side steps, not sure why they went so low especially when the other raptors have them tucked in more!

Of all the trucks on the market, they seem to be a bit lower and are essentially level of the bottom of the frame rather than tucking up close to the rocker, making them the biggest impediment for trails. Nearly every video where people off-road on trails / hills with the RR, that's the one thing that's the hangup.

After sliders and driver mod, I'd say maybe then tires and mild lift....but then again, your taking away some of that Rally performance nature. You take all those same trucks in that video and take them to sand dunes or a dirt road, then all of the sudden the picture changes dramatically and ground clearance / stance of the RR isn't holding it back, but driving it AHEAD!

At the end of the day, the RR can wheel about as well as the other stock mid-size trucks with similar tire sizes etc. (especially with the only other upgrade being a pair of sliders like what comes on the Colorado ZR2, Taco Trail Hunters or Gladiator Rubicon's), but none of them can hang with the Raptor once you let the bird of prey do what it does best, FLY!

 

[HighDesertRanger]

That's a pretty good video. Thanks for sharing. I've always liked the CarExpert videos and I have definitely watched a few of theirs on the Next-Gen Rangers down under.

The VW Amarok did surprisingly well. Under the skin it's just (mostly) a re-badged Ranger. From a little quick online searching it doesn't look like it has a different traction control system than the Ranger, but I could be wrong.

 

[got3fords]

Didn't even need beadlocks.

 

[Ron Quixote]

On that kind of surface, driver skill plays a huge role. Loose dirt + steep incline is very challenging.

 

[Lion77]

2026 Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 Review, Pricing, and Specs

From the video, the truck that did the best on that hill was in my opinion, the Silverado 1500 ZR2, followed by the old school 70's style Toyota with traditional stick axles front and rear (one thing that makes Jeeps adept as wheelin', solid axles articulate more than IRS). You would think it's running 35's like the F-150 Raptor? Nope, running 33's like the F-150 Tremor, which also runs 33's.

On the forums, you would think the Ranger Raptor or any other vehicle can't offroad without 35's. Here's what I think, for 90% of people, 35's are purely for vanity, not function. Again, not saying 35's don't have a place, they do, they add ground clearance, but that is about the ONLY advantage of 35's over 33's.

Going up in diameter 1 or 2 inches doesn't add any real traction, do a chalk test, you can get the same tread contact patches with either via air pressure and width just changes the contact patch to lateral insteader of in-line (reshapes it, doesn't increase it). Width adds flotation especially when aired down but you can get 33's in 12.5 in wide profiles too, so if you need flotation in 33's, they are available.

I think 35's are best suited to very application specific vehicles where you're willing to sacrifice on a wide variety of things such as acceleration, braking, turn-in response, higher CG's, higher probability of drivetrain / chassis breakage, when you need the clearance, you NEED the clearance. The US Army Humvee's run 37's, flat bottoms, for maximum clearance over obstacles on rough terrain / battlefield, but they are SLOOOWWW and with up-armored very prone to roll overs.

So, for crawling, very rough terrain like the actual Baja course, crawling etc. 35's, 37's and even 40's make sense, but they come a big cost and most of those trucks aren't towing. 33's offer that real-wold balance between clearance and all the other equally important performance metrics for off-roading and on-road use that are utilitarian, including durability under hard use, acceleration, braking, turn-in etc. They are just more balanced for the majority of use cases which is probably why it's the most popular OE tire size for production off-road capable vehicles.

If I ever did 34's or 35's, I would probably go the Race Truck route and really get into fender mods instead of lifts to preserve the CG, IFS and CV angles, but for me that would be a point where it's paid off and I have other vehicles for towing and utility, so it wouldn't be serving double duty anymore and become a performance vehicle only that is optimized just for off-road use. In that use case, it makes sense to do 35's to maximize clearance and off-road capability like the RR Race Truck, but until then, I'll stay with 285/70R17's to preserve the utility / durability side in a wide variety of uses, i.e., jack of all trades, master of none.

 

[RangerGrif43]

I'm getting 35's and new rims for looks. They'll also weigh almost the same as stock setup. I'm keeping my stock setup for off roading though. So you can have both. Doesn't have to be one or the other.

 

[Aonarch]

2026 Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 Review, Pricing, and Specs

From the video, the truck that did the best on that hill was in my opinion, the Silverado 1500 ZR2, followed by the old school 70's style Toyota with traditional stick axles front and rear (one thing that makes Jeeps adept as wheelin', solid axles articulate more than IRS). You would think it's running 35's like the F-150 Raptor? Nope, running 33's like the F-150 Tremor, which also runs 33's.

On the forums, you would think the Ranger Raptor or any other vehicle can't offroad without 35's. Here's what I think, for 90% of people, 35's are purely for vanity, not function. Again, not saying 35's don't have a place, they do, they add ground clearance, but that is about the ONLY advantage of 35's over 33's.

Going up in diameter 1 or 2 inches doesn't add any real traction, do a chalk test, you can get the same tread contact patches with either via air pressure and width just changes the contact patch to lateral insteader of in-line (reshapes it, doesn't increase it). Width adds flotation especially when aired down but you can get 33's in 12.5 in wide profiles too, so if you need flotation in 33's, they are available.

I think 35's are best suited to very application specific vehicles where you're willing to sacrifice on a wide variety of things such as acceleration, braking, turn-in response, higher CG's, higher probability of drivetrain / chassis breakage, when you need the clearance, you NEED the clearance. The US Army Humvee's run 37's, flat bottoms, for maximum clearance over obstacles on rough terrain / battlefield, but they are SLOOOWWW and with up-armored very prone to roll overs.

So, for crawling, very rough terrain like the actual Baja course, crawling etc. 35's, 37's and even 40's make sense, but they come a big cost and most of those trucks aren't towing. 33's offer that real-wold balance between clearance and all the other equally important performance metrics for off-roading and on-road use that are utilitarian, including durability under hard use, acceleration, braking, turn-in etc. They are just more balanced for the majority of use cases which is probably why it's the most popular OE tire size for production off-road capable vehicles.

If I ever did 34's or 35's, I would probably go the Race Truck route and really get into fender mods instead of lifts to preserve the CG, IFS and CV angles, but for me that would be a point where it's paid off and I have other vehicles for towing and utility, so it wouldn't be serving double duty anymore and become a performance vehicle only that is optimized just for off-road use. In that use case, it makes sense to do 35's to maximize clearance and off-road capability like the RR Race Truck, but until then, I'll stay with 285/70R17's to preserve the utility / durability side in a wide variety of uses, i.e., jack of all trades, master of none.

I went to 35s on my Wrangler Rubicon because I simply could, no real downsides going from 33s to 35s on a Rubicon. Solid axles, deep gearing, not built for on-road manners or speed.

For the RR I totally agree, going to 35s has a lot of negatives for what equates to around .5" of extra clearance. The stock steps are generally what gets in the way the most.

I'd rather go with full aluminum skids before going with bigger tires.

 

[kickingaz]

Another key part of this is where you live and what kind of terrain you off-road in most of the time. I live in the Southwest where we have a lot of rock trails, and clearance is the issue. I have had Jeeps on 37s and 38s for over a decade, my last one a 392 Wrangler, and I now own a '26 RR. I started the mods with a set of skid plates, I will be replacing the step with rock rails from Rocky Road Outfitters (arriving today) and will be installing the FordRangerLifts.com 2" front/1" rear lift next week. I know this may cause some reliability issues and additional wear, but the clearance is key for the majority of the trails we do. This is a photo with the additional clearance of the 35s, but prior to the lift being installed.

 

[superj]

Yup /\

Its just sand where i live so stock suspension and tires work fine unless your in one of the jeep clubs. Then you have to have everything they sell on amazon stuck to your jeep or its not cool.

The wife's 2019 four door wrangler is very unextraordinary looking so she doesnt get tons of ducks and junk stuck on her jeep but it does have slightly wider tires, a small 1" lift, and bumpers added to protect it from dummies in the parking lot.

 

[Ron Quixote]

35s aren’t just for clearance. Obstacles just hit different on larger tires. Steps are easier to climb. Cracks are easier to traverse. The float is nice in all sorts of situations. And when you air down, you have more leeway. Please wheel extensively on 33s and 35s (I have) and then see if you still think it’s only about clearance.

 

[markal49]

A two hour video!!

 

[freakshow999]

Interesting how they scored the VW (Ranger) better than the RR on the moguls.

 

[HighDesertRanger]

Interesting how they scored the VW (Ranger) better than the RR on the moguls.

Definitely. Under the skin they’re the same (mostly) truck.

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