Ram Runner takes on Raptor in Duel in the Desert [w/video]

Our friends at Pickuptrucks.com have pitted two serious off-road bruisers against one another in a desert throw down. The Mopar Ram Runner and Ford F-150 SVT Raptor locked horns in a battle for supremacy wherein both trucks had to tackle an 8-kilometre (five-mile) desert course. The truck to set the best time over several runs came away the victor. The track snaked a loop around the Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area and featured everything from washed-out river basins and rutted trails to more civilized gravel roads. Both trucks started at a stand still in 4WD high.

Not surprisingly, Pickuptrucks.com turned to a professional driver to handle the wheel work. Chad Ragland stepped up to the task. The guy's spent the last few years putting Trophy Trucks through the ringer in the SCORE racing series, and he's netted podium finishes in competitions like the San Felipe 250 and the Baja 1000.

So, did the aftermarket Mopar take the gold or the bone-stock Raptor take the edge? Each truck ran the course a total of four times, and the site broke down each section of the course based on terrain, and both trucks took home two sections, but it was the Ram Runner that came out on top with an overall time of 6 minutes 25 seconds. The F-150 SVT Raptor, meanwhile, took a full 33 seconds longer to do the deed, winding up with a final time of 6 minutes, 58 seconds.

Of course, there's the little issue of pricing differentiation between these two monsters. But we'll leave that to you to debate. Check out the full write up here, and be sure to watch the recap video below for yourself.