10th Generation F-150 Overland build (The Craptor)

OBS460

Well-known member
One down, one to go (ran out of time today). I disassembled a set of 2020 Raptor front struts, cut off the spring perch, and utilized them as shocks to match my rear Raptor shocks. Both trucks have very similar front axle weight, linear rate springs, and 2:1 wheel to shock travel ratio. The valving is very close to being perfect for my overlanding usage.

The factory upper shock mounts were cut out with a friend's plasma (man, im buying one of these), and a modified tower from Ballistic Fabrication was welded in it's place to give me the needed height.

Clearance is very tight, but the shocks do clear everything at full droop and full compression. Drivability is wonderful, as it rides better than stock yet firm's up as the shock pushed through its travel range (9 stage internal bypassing).
 

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Starkman

No matter where you go, there you are...
Wow, you are doing things I dreamed about!

Did you modify the lower bushing to fit the lower arm? I'm looking for a better shock setup myself. I have an Expedition and it had the factory air suspension and I found the upper shock mount is 4" longer than the non-air Expedition mount. Bought non-air shocks and they were short by 4" so I installed 4" lift shocks that are perfect. With this setup the travel is only limited by the upper and lower bump stops. I would imagine the Raptor shocks are longer than the factory shocks to get that extra travel?

Here is a pic of mine at full droop, running 34.5" tires.
IMG_2021.JPG
 

OBS460

Well-known member
Wow, you are doing things I dreamed about!

Did you modify the lower bushing to fit the lower arm? I'm looking for a better shock setup myself. I have an Expedition and it had the factory air suspension and I found the upper shock mount is 4" longer than the non-air Expedition mount. Bought non-air shocks and they were short by 4" so I installed 4" lift shocks that are perfect. With this setup the travel is only limited by the upper and lower bump stops. I would imagine the Raptor shocks are longer than the factory shocks to get that extra travel?

Here is a pic of mine at full droop, running 34.5" tires.
View attachment 626736


Very nice! You can trim 3/4 of the upper bump stop off the control arm and get a bit more droop travel. I trimmed the up bump stop an 1" to squeeze a bit more that way as well.

I had a set of custom bushings made with a .500" ID and 20mm OD to bring the lower bushing down to the bolt size on the lower control arm. As the bolt is just supporting damping motion, and not body weight like the raptor, the .500" is sufficient.

I was able to buy all 4 shocks, the fab parts, live valve delete, and bushings for just under $1000. Not bad for a brand new set of 3.0" internally bypass Fox Shocks with correct valving.
 

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ocblaze

Member
How is the ride compared to the stock shocks in the back? I just put on a set of Bilstein 4600 shocks up front last year but I need rear shocks badly! The Ford Raptor shocks would be a awesome upgrade but I am wondering about the ride quality.

What is your plan for the upper a-arm? I know BTF Fabrication makes a set of uniball upper arms but they are $725. I would really like to increase the ride quality without having to go long travel or spending $2,000.

I also use my 10th Gen F150 for a camping and hauling my Jeep.
 

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OBS460

Well-known member
How is the ride compared to the stock shocks in the back? I just put on a set of Bilstein 4600 shocks up front last year but I need rear shocks badly! The Ford Raptor shocks would be a awesome upgrade but I am wondering about the ride quality.

What is your plan for the upper a-arm? I know BTF Fabrication makes a set of uniball upper arms but they are $725. I would really like to increase the ride quality without having to go long travel or spending $2,000.

I also use my 10th Gen F150 for a camping and hauling my Jeep.


I was in the same boat as you, and I emailed BTF about his UCAs. The caveat with them is they're a uni ball joint, and they don't last long when exposed to salt. As a daily driver, that doesn't work for me. I may ask him if he would consider fabricating a set with Icon delta joints instead.

The shocks are very supple at ride height, so ride quality is absolutely fantastic (better than an oem shock), then they ramp up compression/rebound rates as you compress them. Big dips, railroad tracks, bumps mid corner are all much more composed and the truck immediately settles down. No matter how big the bump, it just comes back up to ride height smoothly without bouncing.

If you want to do the rears, ill send you the pro comp part number I used. The only thing I had to do was ream the upper shock bushing from 12mm to 1/2". Then it all bolted on.
 

ocblaze

Member
That is great information and exactly what I was looking for! Can you give me the part number for the conversion kit you used?
 

OBS460

Well-known member
Here is the Pro Comp adapter I used, as well as the Live valve delete kit. If you don't delete the Live Valve, the compression will be pretty stiff (valve is set to full hard with power removed).

The other alternative is to use a set from a Gen 1 with 2.5" shocks as they did not utilize the Live valve setup.
 

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OBS460

Well-known member
My factory headlights were fading rather badly, and the factory beam pattern on the 10th gens is miserable at best to begin with.

To remedy it, I went to a Lightning/Harley style headlight with blacked out surround to match the front of the truck a bit better.

It freshened up the nose quite nicely.
 

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OBS460

Well-known member
Today I installed a Hopkins Easy Lift torsion spring and a DeeZee shock damper on the tailgate, and I think it'll be quite handy.

My spunky daughter Eyva tested it, as my before and after test subject.

Before, she struggled and couldn't quite lift it.


After, she was amazed!

 

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OBS460

Well-known member
Both front raptor shocks are installed now, rounding out the suspension setup.

So far, I can say it rides extremely plush and is very controlled when going over railroad crossings that completely unload the suspension.
 

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OBS460

Well-known member
Your going to make me upgrade the suspension on my 12th gen again if you keep up like this

A good friend of mine is building out an '13 raptor and he says similar things, I just have a hard time leaving things alone..

The next mods will be based around the camper setup (diesel heater, pass through accordion, etc). They should be in next week.
 
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What brand are the off-road lights you’re running in your bull bar. I have seen them before and they are nice but can’t seem to find the brand


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

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