If you were dropping $63,000 on a truck, would you buy a Raptor or a Power Wagon?
Imagine you’ve saved up $63,000 and you’re dead set on blowing it on a new pickup truck. There are many options out there, so it all comes down to what you’re looking for. If it’s off-road capability, there are two clear choices: the Ford F-150 Raptor, and the Ram 2500 Power Wagon.
The good folks from The Fast Lane Truck break down the differences between the two, while highlighting their respective strengths. The Power Wagon kicks it old-school with its giant naturally aspirated V8, and its heavy steel bodywork which contributes to its 7,000-pound curb weight. The Raptor, despite its name from the killer dinosaur, is much more modern with its twin-turbo V6, 10-speed automatic, and aluminum skin.
Those differences plus the fact that the Raptor is a half-ton, and the Power Wagon is a heavy-duty truck, create another key difference between the two. While both are limited in terms of payload and towing, the bigger and beefier Power Wagon gets the edge when it comes time to moving more than just itself.
It’s largely an apples-to-oranges comparison, but both the Raptor and Power Wagon are sweet choices when it comes to off-roading. The Ram is a bulldozer of a truck that you can bash your way up a mountainside in. And the Ford can blast you across miles of desert in record time.
It sounds like a win-win either way. However, on this site, we think we can already guess which $63,000 truck (as equipped in the video) would make its way into our garage.
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.
