The dust has settled in the Arizona desert, and Ford's third annual Raptor Rally—Raptor Rally 003—is officially in the books.

Held October 16-17, 2026 in Lake Havasu, Arizona, this year's Raptor Rally brought together roughly 1,100+ people and more than 480 Raptors for two full days of trails, jumps, Baja-style driving, professional driver hot laps, workshops, vendors, giveaways, and everything else that comes with putting hundreds of Ford Raptors together in the desert.

If there was one takeaway from Raptor Rally 003, it was that Ford continues to make this event bigger and better every year.

Ford describes Raptor Rally as an event exclusively for F-150 Raptor, Bronco Raptor, and Ranger Raptor owners, built around off-road driving, jumping your own Raptor, meeting Ford engineers and professional drivers, workshops, community, and more. After three years, it has quickly developed into one of the biggest Raptor-exclusive events in the country.

Three Years of Ford Raptor Rally

Raptor Rally began in 2024, when Ford brought Raptor owners together in Utah for the first official event.

For 2025, the rally moved to Lake Havasu, Arizona, giving Ford access to the massive desert terrain surrounding Standard Wash and creating an environment that feels perfectly suited to the Raptor name.

For Raptor Rally 003, Ford returned to Lake Havasu and expanded nearly every part of the experience.

This year's event officially ran Friday and Saturday, October 16-17, with early check-in and a Raptor truck show taking place Thursday afternoon at Lake Havasu State Park. From there, the main event moved into Standard Wash for two packed days of driving and activities.

The change from the first Rally to what we experienced this year has been impressive. What was already a unique manufacturer-supported event has quickly turned into a massive gathering of Raptor owners from across the country.

Raptor Rally 003—Bigger Jumps, More Trails & Nearly 500 Raptors in Lake Havasu

More Raptors. More people. More trails. More vendors. More industry involvement. And, of course, bigger and better opportunities to put these trucks in the air.

More Than 480 Raptors Take Over Lake Havasu

It's difficult to fully appreciate the scale until you're standing in the middle of it. With approximately 480+ Raptors and more than 1,100 attendees, there seemed to be Raptors everywhere you looked. That included:

• First-generation F-150 Raptors
• Second-generation F-150 Raptors
• Third-generation F-150 Raptors
• F-150 Raptor Rs
• Bronco Raptors
• Ranger Raptors
• Mildly modified daily drivers
• Heavily built desert trucks

There aren't many opportunities to see this many generations and variations of the Raptor platform gathered in one place. Even better, these weren't trucks sitting in a parking lot all weekend. They were being used exactly how Ford intended.

Thursday: Early Check-In & the Raptor Truck Show

Raptor Rally 003 officially started taking shape Thursday afternoon at Lake Havasu State Park. Early check-in opened ahead of the main event, allowing owners to get registered before Friday morning while hundreds of trucks began rolling into Lake Havasu from across the country.

Ford also hosted a Raptor Truck Show Thursday afternoon, bringing enthusiast-owned builds together and giving everyone an opportunity to walk around, meet other owners, check out modifications, and reconnect with friends before heading into the desert the following morning.

For anyone involved in the Raptor community, the parking lot can sometimes be just as entertaining as the actual event. There are builds you've followed online for years, trucks you've seen evolve over multiple generations, and owners who might live more than a thousand miles apart but see each other several times a year because of events just like this.

By Thursday evening, Lake Havasu had very clearly become Raptor country.

Two Full Days in the Arizona Desert

Friday morning was when Raptor Rally 003 really came alive. Gates opened at Standard Wash at 7:30 AM, followed by the opening of Basecamp and a morning safety briefing. From there, driving activities, workshops, trails, hot laps, the jump experience, vendors, and other activities continued throughout the day. Saturday followed with another full day of driving before the event wrapped up with its closing ceremony, group photo, and giveaways.

One of the biggest improvements this year was simply how much opportunity there was to drive. Rather than spending the weekend standing around waiting for one scheduled trail ride, Ford opened multiple self-guided routes that attendees could run throughout the day. That meant owners could finish one trail, come back to Basecamp, hang out for a while, visit vendors, and head right back into the desert when they were ready.

Ford's published program listed five always-on off-road trails departing from Standard Wash, featuring everything from wide-open dirt roads and sandy washes to elevation changes, ridge tops, flowing corners, and off-camber sections.

For a vehicle designed around high-speed off-road driving, Lake Havasu is about as appropriate a playground as you could ask for.

Trails for Every Experience Level

The trail system gave owners a chance to experience their Raptors without every route needing to be an extreme technical challenge. Some sections were relatively relaxed and gave newer owners an opportunity to get comfortable with driving their trucks in the dirt. Others allowed the pace to increase as the terrain opened up.

The combination of loose desert surfaces, washes, climbs, descents, and long flowing sections gave owners a chance to experience the suspension and chassis in an environment far removed from normal street driving. That's one of the best parts of an event like Raptor Rally.

Many people buy a Raptor because of what it's capable of, but never get an opportunity to explore those capabilities in a controlled environment surrounded by other experienced owners. Raptor Rally gives them that opportunity.

The Baja Loop Turned Things Up Another Level

For owners wanting something beyond the standard trail system, the Baja Loop turned the intensity up.

Ford designed the course around the type of fast, flowing terrain associated with desert racing, giving drivers an opportunity to work on throttle control, momentum, cornering, and vehicle placement while pushing their Raptors harder than they might on a typical trail ride.

Registered vehicles were allotted two laps on the Baja Loop, with instructors helping drivers get more comfortable using the speed and capability built into the Raptor platform.

For many owners, this is where you begin to understand why these trucks use the suspension they do.

FOX Live Valve shocks, massive tires, wide track widths, and years of development suddenly make much more sense when you're driving quickly through terrain that would have most production vehicles slowing to a crawl.

The Raptor Jump Was Better Than Ever

There are plenty of things to do at Raptor Rally. But let's be honest. Everyone wants to see the jump. And this year's jump course was easily the best version yet.

Drivers had a good run-up before hitting the first jump, carrying that momentum directly toward a second jump shortly afterward. The setup created a much more exciting sequence for both drivers and spectators and gave the trucks an opportunity to show exactly why the Raptor has developed the reputation it has.

Ford allotted two jumps per registered vehicle, and hundreds of owners took advantage of the opportunity throughout Friday and Saturday. All day long you could watch F-150 Raptors, Raptor R's, Bronco Raptors, and Ranger Raptors leave the ground. Some drivers took a conservative approach. Others definitely did not.

Truck after truck came down the run, compressed into the face of the jump, went airborne, landed, and headed directly toward the next one. It's one thing to watch Ford's promotional videos showing Raptors jumping through the desert. It's completely different to watch hundreds of privately owned Raptors do it in person or to be the one sitting behind the wheel.

Professional Driver Hot Laps

If driving your own Raptor wasn't enough, Ford also had professional drivers giving attendees hot laps throughout both days. These weren't casual rides around Basecamp. Professional drivers were pushing the vehicles much closer to their limits and showing passengers what the Raptor platform can do in experienced hands.

Depending on the ride, attendees had opportunities to experience vehicles including Bronco Raptors, F-150 Raptor R's, and even Ford's incredible Raptor T1+ rally raid race truck.

Ford officially included professional-driver hot laps as part of the event, with VIP attendees receiving guaranteed access and General Admission attendees having opportunities to win rides. Getting into a Raptor with someone who drives professionally is one of the fastest ways to realize just how much more capability these trucks have than most owners will ever use. And the T1+ took that experience to an entirely different level.

Seeing the Ford Raptor T1+ Up Close

Few vehicles at Raptor Rally 003 attracted more attention than the Ford Raptor T1+. Developed by Ford Racing and M-Sport for international rally raid competition, the T1+ represents the Raptor name at one of the highest levels of off-road motorsports. This isn't a modified production Raptor. It's a purpose-built rally raid machine engineered to compete in events such as the Dakar Rally. The Ford Racing Raptor T1+ program finished second and third overall at the 2026 Dakar Rally before earning another second-place overall finish at Vegas to Reno. Seeing a vehicle like that sitting at a Ford Raptor owner event would already be impressive.

Watching professional drivers run it in the same Arizona desert where hundreds of owners were driving their own Raptors made it even better.

Method Race Wheels Debuts the New 712 Flow Formed Bead Grip Wheel

Raptor Rally has also become a great place for manufacturers to introduce new products directly to one of the most dedicated groups of off-road truck owners in the country.

One of the biggest product debuts this year came from Method Race Wheels with the introduction of the new 712 Flow Formed Bead Grip wheel.

The 712 Flow Formed Bead Grip wheel draws direct inspiration from the wheel Method developed for Ford Racing's Raptor T1+. Its 12-spoke design carries over the visual influence of the competition wheel, while Method's Flow Formed construction reduces weight while maintaining strength. Method says a 17x8.5 version weighs approximately 25 pounds, making it the lightest wheel the company has produced with its standard 2,650-pound load rating. The 712 also incorporates Method's Bead Grip technology, an aggressive safety hump, reinforced inner lip, and a Dakar Proven center cap.

Rather than simply creating a visual replica of the T1+ race wheel, Method took lessons from its competition program and adapted them into a wheel owners can actually put on their own trucks. And there couldn't have been a better place to show it off than Raptor Rally.

Some of the Biggest Brands in Off-Road

Industry support was everywhere throughout Basecamp. Major event sponsors included names familiar to anyone in the Raptor and off-road world, including:

• FOX
• Method Race Wheels
• OPTIMA Batteries
• BFGoodrich
• AMSOIL
• RIGID Industries
• onX Offroad
• Rugged Radios
• Turtlebox
• Traxxas
• And more

The vendor area brought even more companies into the event, with brands including Addictive Desert Designs, Full-Race, AMS Performance, American Adventure Lab, and many others displaying products, talking with owners, and showing off some impressive builds.

This industry presence adds another dimension to Raptor Rally.

Owners aren't only getting seat time. They're able to walk through Basecamp between trail runs, see new products, talk directly with manufacturers, look at other builds, and get ideas for what they want to do to their own truck next. For an enthusiast crowd, that's dangerous for the wallet but a lot of fun.

The Giveaways Didn't Disappoint

Ford and the event sponsors also gave away a huge amount of gear throughout the weekend. But one giveaway stood above the rest. FOX gave away four complete sets of Raptor shocks.

The packages covered:

• Gen 1 F-150 Raptor
• Gen 2 F-150 Raptor without Live Valve
• Gen 2 F-150 Raptor with Live Valve
• Gen 3 F-150 Raptor

Considering suspension is one of the most important and most expensive components on these trucks, these were some seriously good prizes.

The closing ceremony Saturday afternoon brought everyone together for the final giveaways and group photo, putting an exclamation point on two days of nonstop activity.

Raptor Clubs From Across the Country

One of the biggest strengths of the Raptor community has always been the regional groups that keep owners connected throughout the year. Raptor Rally 003 brought many of those groups together in one place, including:

• Texas Raptor Runs
• NorCal Raptor Runs
• SoCal Raptor Runs
• Arizona Raptor Runs
• Utah Raptor Runs
• New Mexico Raptor Runs
• Nevada Raptor Runs
• Raptor Junkies

These groups organize trail runs, regional events, meetups, charity events, and some of the largest independent Raptor gatherings in the country.

Raptor Rally gives everyone an opportunity to come together at one manufacturer-backed event. You may spend the rest of the year attending events in Texas, California, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, or Nevada, but for one weekend everyone is in the same desert.

More Than Just the Trucks

It's easy to focus on the Raptors, jumps, horsepower, suspension, and trails. But events like Raptor Rally are ultimately about the people. Some owners drove a few hours to get there. Others crossed multiple states.

For Offroad Alliance, this year's trip was no exception. We didn't attend Raptor Rally 003 as an official vendor, but two members of the Offroad Alliance team still made the trip to Lake Havasu. One coming from Los Angeles and the other making the roughly 23-hour drive from north of Houston, Texas. And we'd do it again.

Throughout the weekend we met new people, caught up with longtime friends, finally met customers face-to-face who we've worked with from hundreds or thousands of miles away, and spent time with many of the brands and people that make this industry what it is.

That's what these events are really about.

Offroad Alliance & the Raptor Community

For Offroad Alliance, being at a Raptor event always feels a little like coming home. Offroad Alliance has been part of the Ford Raptor community since 2011. The Raptor was a major part of ORA's beginnings, long before the platform grew into what it is today. Back then, there was one Raptor.

Today we have multiple generations of F-150 Raptor, the supercharged Raptor R, Bronco Raptor, Ranger Raptor, and an enormous aftermarket industry supporting all of them.

The community surrounding those vehicles has grown right alongside the platform.

We've watched owners become friends, small regional groups turn into major annual events, brands develop entire product lines around the platform, and people travel across the country simply because they share an interest in these trucks. That's why getting out to Raptor-exclusive events still matters to us.

We're obviously in the business of selling off-road parts, but Offroad Alliance was built by enthusiasts. Getting away from the computers, getting into the desert, meeting customers, seeing the products being used, and spending a weekend surrounded by the community is something you can't replicate online.

Raptor Rally 003 Was the Biggest Yet

Three years in, Ford's Raptor Rally is clearly finding its stride. The move to Lake Havasu has given the event room to grow, and 2026 showed just how much potential there is.

With roughly 480+ Raptors, more than 1,100 people, multiple trails running throughout both days, Baja driving, an improved two-jump setup, professional hot laps, the Ford Raptor T1+, major off-road brands, product debuts, huge giveaways, and Raptor clubs from across the country, Raptor Rally 003 delivered exactly what an event built around these trucks should. 

Most importantly, owners got to drive.

These trucks weren't designed to spend their entire lives sitting clean in a parking lot. They were built for dirt, rocks, desert washes, high-speed trails, and, every once in a while, leaving the ground. For two days in Lake Havasu, that's exactly what hundreds of owners used them for.

And judging by how much Raptor Rally has grown in just three years, we have a feeling Raptor Rally 004 is going to be even bigger. Ford is already telling owners to stay tuned for Raptor Rally 004.

We'll see you there.

Shop Ford Raptor Parts at Offroad Alliance

Whether you're preparing for the next Raptor Rally, heading to Texas Raptor Run, planning a weekend in the desert, or simply building your Raptor one piece at a time, Offroad Alliance carries parts from many of the same brands you'll find at the biggest Raptor events in the country.

From suspension, wheels and tires to bumpers, lighting, performance upgrades, recovery gear, protection, and more, our team can help you put together the right setup for your F-150 Raptor, Raptor R, Bronco Raptor, or Ranger Raptor.

And if you're not sure what fits your truck or which setup makes the most sense for the way you use it, give us a call or send us a message. We've been part of the Raptor community since 2011, and we're always happy to help another Raptor owner build their truck.