An exciting new Ford sleeper truck delivers incredible power for a good price. This truck gives you some amazing V8 power without breaking the bank.

It’s not unheard of for car dealers to put custom builders to work on various projects. This happened at an Alabama dealership, Town & Country Ford, who put their custom builders to work building a truck that could give customers a powerful V8 with insane figures. The mission was to build a truck that could rival the Raptor without all the stuff that causes the Raptor to be as expensive as it is.

Is the Raptor a fitting target?

High-powered pickup trucks are all the rage right now. Ford has gone so far as to build two forms of the Raptor to ensure they have the most powerful half-ton truck in the market. Ram offers the TRX, which challenges the Raptor models. These trucks are the epitome of performance and fun on the trails, but they are extremely expensive. The Raptor might be a fitting target for the TC Customs team to create a specialized truck, but the ultimate goal is to do this without hitting the same pricing figures as the Raptor lineup.

How did TC Customs create the specialized truck?

The TC Customs-built truck is being called the Ford F-150 Sleeper truck, mostly because the team didn’t change the exterior to make it obvious what’s under the hood. The main goal o this truck is to create a high-powered pickup that the average driver can enjoy. This means keeping the costs down while adding more power. To do this, the team put a 5.0-liter Coyote V8 engine under the hood and mated it with a Roush supercharger. The first application of this custom-built truck was made to a 2023 Ford F-150 XL.

This customization was mostly an engine swap, removing the 3.3-liter V6 engine, which produces 290 horsepower, and replacing it with the 5.0-liter V8 and supercharger. This combination gives this truck 705 horsepower and 640 lb-ft of torque. This power level gives the Sleeper more horsepower than the first Raptor R version. For the 2024 model year, the Raptor R has been upgraded to produce 720 horsepower, but the 2023 model produced 700 horsepower. Regardless, a Ford F-150 XL with 705 horsepower is an incredible machine that allows everyone to get in on the fun.

Does the Ford Sleeper truck’s power make sense?

Why would you need 705 horsepower in a 2WD pickup truck? Most people wouldn’t scoff at the idea of having this much power but might want to put this power upgrade into a different F-150 pickup truck. The Sleeper is simply an engine swap, and the XL version starts at $44,990, which makes it an affordable engine swap. Maybe this swap would make a lot more sense in the Tremor version instead of this base model. Of course, for those looking to keep this truck affordable, the XLT trim with 4WD might make a lot more sense.

The Raptor is made for something more

Although this project from the TC Customs team is extremely cool, the Raptor is made to be much more capable than simply more powerful. The Raptor has a full package of off-road gear, making it more capable on the trails, in the desert, or when crossing a river. The 2WD XL model isn’t equipped to handle these challenges, even when a more powerful engine is dropped into the engine bay. Still, the Sleeper is a truck that could make some drag racers smile when they take it out and challenge sports cars to a quick run to the next light.

This customized truck brings an appealing quality to the conversation

What are your buddies asking when you get together with them? Many times, the truck conversation begins with “What’s under the hood?” and “How much power does your truck have?” When you can boast that your Ford F-150 XL has a 5.0-liter Coyote V8 engine with a Roush supercharger attached, making 705 horsepower, you’ve got the attention of the entire room.

The Ford Sleeper truck isn’t just a PR stunt; the Town & Country Ford team backs it up with a standard 3-year/36,000-mile warranty to give owners the desired peace of mind knowing this truck can provide incredible performance and fun on the roads.

Which version of the Ford F-150 would you upgrade with the engine package to make it a Ford Sleeper Truck? Would you stick with the XL trim or choose a pickup with more off-road equipment?