Zac Quinn 
The Ford F-150 Raptor R is the ultimate Raptor on the market today, with 700 horsepower and exquisite engineering to make it extremely capable on and off the road. It’s even faster than the Ram 1500 TRX, making it the ultimate super truck. However, with its power and capability, many truck owners may wonder how it performs while towing. Our friends at TFL went to answer this question by taking the truck onto the Ike Gauntlet to see how well it performed.
2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R Vs. Ike Gauntlet: Details
The 2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R is the most capable Raptor truck in terms of towing capacity, with a rated tow maximum of 8,700 lbs. Given that capacity, the Raptor R was equipped with a trailer towing a Jeep Wrangler JK AEV Edition, which brings the towing weight up to 8,300 lbs. The weight caused the suspension to squat a considerable amount of around 3.5 inches. Next, the truck had to take on the Ike Gauntlet, an 8-mile stretch of I-70 in the Rocky Mountains with a 7% grade and a top elevation of 11,158 feet above sea level.
Going up the mountain would likely be a breeze with the powerful 700 horsepower and 640 lb-ft of torque engine. Accelerating from 30-60 mph on the on-ramp as the truck merged onto the uphill section of the test took 9 seconds. Once the truck reached the top of the climb with a benchmark of 8 minutes, fuel efficiency wasn’t great; it’s one of the worst registered by TFL on the climb at just 3.2 MPG. However, the over-towing efficiency after nearly 170 miles was 7.6 MPG, which is still a decent range since the F-150 Raptor R is equipped with a 36-gallon fuel tank that requires premium 91+ octane fuel.
Heading back down the Ike Gauntlet, the Raptor R shines as the truck registers just one brake application down the steep grade. Many standard half-ton trucks do between 4-10 brake applications during the 8-mile stretch. How does the Raptor R manage this? With its 10-speed automatic transmission grade shifting capability and more significant displacement of the engine. Despite pulling a trailer near its maximum capacity, it’s also super stable and comfortable on the road. Ultimately, the new Ford F-150 Raptor R scored 4.2 out of 5 stars on the maxed-out Ike Gauntlet.
