Thinking back to my favourite childhood memories, I realize that nearly every single one of them involves a vehicle. Before my dad was ever involved in automotive media, we were a family that already loved road trips and getting off-road, whether that be on an ATV, snowmobile or my dad’s old Argo.
Is it any wonder that now, as I’m a dad myself, all my favourite plans involve road tripping with my kids. So, when I was offered the opportunity to drive a 2025 Ford F-150 Raptor from our home outside Barrie, Ontario, down to Raptor Rally in Lake Havasu, Arizona, I knew a family road trip was brewing. My mom and dad would come along with my seven-year old son Otis, who was in for a trip of firsts.
Loading into the Raptor, it was first immediately clear that this full-size truck is plenty spacious for four people, though a tonneau cover is an absolute must for a cross country trip like this one. Our truck came with the Embark LS retractable bed cover by RealTruck, a lockable hard tonneau that kept our luggage safe and dry.
Pulling out of the driveway, I’m not sure Otis knew exactly what he was getting into, despite all of our best efforts to explain just how much time we would spend in the truck over four days. The trip spanned 3,800 kilometres (2,360 miles), one international border crossing, and eight states – Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. We watched the incredible change that happens at this time of year, from colourful forests and crisp mornings, to warm days on wide open grass lands, and finally the desert heat and arid sand and rocks of the southwest.
It wasn’t until about Missouri that we heard our first “are we there yet?” from Otis, the response to which has changed over the decades. When I complained of being bored or wondered how long the trip was going to take as a kid, I’d get the classic “look out the window,” or the ever popular “only ten more minutes,” despite it actually taking thirty. For Otis and kids growing up today, technology has changed things. When asked, I would simply gesture to the Android Auto screen that would tell him, down to the minute, how much longer it was going to take.
It also allowed him to keep an eye on the directions, and every so often he would chime in from the back, “we’re turning up here in 500 metres, dad!” I remember being in charge of directions on many trips with my dad, except it was with a paper map in hand, constantly whispering “never eat shredded wheat” to remind myself of north, east, south and west, and hoping that I was getting my left and right correct.
These days, dad and I work together on the Truck King YouTube channel, where we get to talk about trucks for a living. Honestly though, whether the cameras are rolling or not, our conversations inside of a truck naturally turn towards handling, steering, towing, interior noise, horsepower, or any other truck attribute you can think of.
Naturally we discussed the F-150 Raptor a lot on the drive down, and admired it’s ability to do everything pretty well. On road it has settled manners, soaking up the miles without reminding the driver that it’s turning huge 35-inch tires and packing 14 inches of front suspension travel and 13.1 inches in the rear. This is another area where technology has changed things drastically.
I remember my dad bringing home a Gen 1 Ford SVT Raptor, before I was in the business, and talking about the "marshmallow soft suspension.” We took it for a drive and after the first bit of body roll around a corner and the nose dive under braking, I thought it felt like a bad handling truck. “Why would you want this?” I remember asking dad. And then we went off-road, and I immediately understood. I’d never been in a truck that could hit obstacles going that fast and not shake your teeth out.
That memory is why the 2025 F-150 Raptor is so impressive to me now. Thanks to modern suspension and FOX Live Valve shocks, this truck can offer the soft off-road suspension you want in the whoops and then firm up enough on road to stay fairly flat through the corners and return confident handling.
Going on our own off-road adventure in the deserts of Arizona was a priority on this trip and we talked about it with Otis all the way down. It was his first time seeing a real desert, and all he wanted to do was “go explore,” so we loaded up the truck and headed for the trails early one morning for our own little personal Mint 400.
Setting the drive mode to Baja, with my dad behind the wheel, we hit the desert and opened it up in the wash. Otis was immediately in love with the speeds we could hit in the truck, and urged my dad on – “Faster Grumpa, faster!” Another full circle moment for me, watching my son yell the same thing I would have been calling out to my dad in that first generation Raptor.
The road to Raptor Rally was incredible, filled with Route 66 landmarks, many laughs, a couple odd smells, and only a raised voice every now and again. Waiting at the end of our journey was the second annual Raptor Rally. It was a great way to spend two days, meeting with passionate Raptor owners who love the same things we do.
Otis jumped R/C Raptors from Traxxas, we had some great informative discussions about off-roading, we met a fellow group of Canadians who also made the trip down, and we even got to jump our truck, sending us home with an amazing hero shot.
I’m not sure what Otis will want to do for a living when he’s older, and at seven he doesn’t need to know yet. But it’s already clear to me that his love for being on the move in a truck has already embedded in him like it was with me, and that’s a passion that lasts a lifetime. Just ask my dad.
Stephen Elmer is a Canadian auto journalist, an avid off-roader, and a proud father
