Factory Five Releases a DIY Raptor Eater, the XT-1 for Ford F-150s

• Factory Five's new XT-1 kit transforms a 2015–'20 Ford F-150 crew cab 4x4 into a desert pre-runner.

• Starting at $24,990, the XT-1 replaces the F-150's standard ladder frame with a full tube frame with a long-travel suspension.

• Factory Five says the new frame is 100 pounds heavier, and it makes the F-150's fenders 90 inches wide (the widebody Raptor R has 87-inch hips).

Bored with all the factory-built Baja trucks out there like the Raptors and TRXs and ZR2s? Well, you're in luck, because Factory Five Racing just cooked up a new kit that'll turn a 2015 to 2020 Ford F-150s into something more akin to a trophy truck than a Raptor. The XT-1 kit brings new meaning to "frame-off restoration," replacing the F-150's ladder frame with a full tube-frame setup, complete with new long-travel suspension. All you need is a truck, some can-do mechanical aptitude—and $24,990.

Do It Yourself

The XT-1 kit is the first Factory Five design to use a factory interior, and indeed the finished truck looks completely stock inside. Underneath is a different story, with Ford's frame replaced with a tube-steel monster that Factory Five says weighs 100 pounds more than the stock item but is twice as strong. The new frame pushes the front and rear tracks out so much that an XT-1 is 90 inches wide at the fenders—3 inches wider than a Raptor R, itself not skinny. That additional width requires a lot of new bodywork, including the hood, front end, and front and rear fenders. Body panels are fiberglass, with carbon fiber a $6999 option.

The suspension, though, is the XT-1's reason for being. The control-arm independent front suspension (with CV joints and four-wheel drive) includes long-travel Fox remote-reservoir dampers and delivers 16 inches of travel. The rear end is even wilder, replacing the F-150's leaf-spring design with a four-link coil suspension that stretches for 20 inches of travel. The XT-1 is designed to run 37-inch tires, same as the Raptor R.