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Finding the right bumper bars proved challenging
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Skyler needed to come to terms with what she wanted, and what she needed. The result is an impressive looking Raptor
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We applaud Skyler for not just using her Raptor as a daily driver. As you can see, she likes to put the Raptor to the test
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One more addict to the off-road lifestyle
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Austin Kent
Words by Skyler Salmasi, photos courtesy of Mindy Harmon
I’m just a girl from a small town that loves her truck. My raptor is my daily driver, my horse hauler and my off-roading beast. Over a year ago I made the best purchase and brought home a tuxedo black 2013 Ford Raptor SCREW. At the beginning of 2014, I discovered there were two other identical raptors in town. Immediately, something had to change. It started as a quest for “new wheels,” I needed something different. Finding a well-built Raptor for inspiration, I found out that the photographer was actually the engineer that modified the truck in photo I came across. Jason Cook at Texas Motorworx in McKinney Texas was the man in question, we starting discussing what my goals were for the truck. After many discussions of the difference between my “needs” and “wants”, the desire for new wheels turned into an obsession with modifying the truck for an event called the Texas Raptor Run (TRR), which was only three months away.
First, a Raptor Performance Group (RPG) Stage-2 suspension was added with 2.5 Air bumps to support and protect the frame. Somehow, in the mix of things, I decided to make the leap from stock tires to 37-in Toyo Open Country M/T tires on the newly released 17-in Method Mesh wheels. The increase in tire size required the stock fenders to be removed and the installation of Glassworks fenders with 2-in rise and 2-in flare. With the aggressive tires, the truck was becoming the beast I had imagined. Since a tune was needed after the tire change, I decided that an intake, headers, exhaust and tune were necessary changes.
There are not many bumper options out there for the Raptor and I wasn’t able to find anything I liked. I wanted something that was sleek and went with the lines of the truck. I didn’t want to add mass to the truck. Corey at RPG agreed to make me the perfect custom front bumper. After the first phase of the modifications, I attended an event at the Texas Off-Road Ranch (TORR) in Huntsville, Texas. The Houston Area Raptor Owners (HARO) got together to take over the ranch. Different than my daily off-road drive, this was my first off-road event. With minimal direction, I went for it. There was mud everywhere. Not just dirt, but insane amounts of mud. Not thinking about the amount of time it would take to clean, I was all over the ranch trying to get control of my newly modded truck. Everything worked out great, although it was a rough ride at times.
After really getting to know the truck, I decided to go to the next step and add rear 3.0 Fox Shox. Since this was the week before TRR, Texas Motorworx was insanely busy with trucks disassembled in every bay and parking spot. Corey from RPG was in the shop and took the time to explain how to tune the 3.0 shocks before installing them on my truck. He was patient and took the time necessary to get me involved in the build process. Then I was adding light bars and other cosmetic additions to go with the blacked out theme.
TRR is insane; Raptors were lined up as far as I could see waiting to get into the gate. A four-day weekend of rock crawling, running off-road and even making a few jumps put me in off-road heaven. At one point, I was actually worried about pushing my truck too hard. I asked Jason at TMX to show me what my raptor could handle. I realize now, that was an invitation for “lets see if I can scare the hell outta her”. With helmets and GoPro cameras, we headed out to the 10-mile pre-run. Within minutes, I realized there was no way I was pushing my truck too hard. Drifting around curves, jumping and speeding through the countryside was the most insane adrenaline experience. At times, the speed was slow and crawling, but the next minute was a wide-open space with no speed limit.
I knew at that moment I wanted to learn to push my truck to the limit. Putting your life into someone else’s hands while driving off-road is a life-changing experience. Not telling Jason, that he actually scared the “holy hell” outta me we arrived back at the camp. I actually opened the truck door and fell out on the ground…. yeah, I’m laughing here. Nobody noticed, but I told on myself. Immediately, I wanted control of my truck and jumped back in the truck. After miles and miles of driving, I was getting the hang of off-road control. Not scared anymore, I was hitting small jumps with ease, and sometimes not (the skid plate took some major hits). After four days of off-roading, I ended up with some new scratches, really bad alignment, pretty crooked steering wheel and a busted 20-in light bar mount.
I didn’t want a girly truck, a street queen or a stock truck. What I designed turned out to be aggressive and noticeable when driving down the road. I look back every time I get out of my truck; I know it’s the aggressive beast I wanted.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Alpine Rear Entertainment System
JL Audio C3-570
Purple interior lighting and cup holder mods by The DoubleAA in Kemah
Glassworks Fenders
Glassworks Fender Liners
Mid Perch
Toyo Open Country M/T 37x13.50 17
17-in Method Mesh
Powder coated wheel bolts
Custom SVT CNC center caps
Stainless Works 6.2L SuperCrew Headers
AFE Stage 2 Pro Dry S Cold Air Intake System
Roush exhaust
5star Tune SCT Tuner
RPG Powersteering Rez
RPG Stage-2 suspension bumpstops
Fox Shox 3.0 rear
Mid Perch
Matte black painted grill & fender flares
RPG custom front bumper
Side mirror signal blackout
Replaced cargo lights & interior lights with LEDs
Blackhawk 20-in LED bar in the bumper, Blackhawk 40-in LED bar behind the grille, Black Knight Lighting multicolored LED strip in the grille