An opportunity arose from my friend Jon Barrett at Kahn Media. Kahn Media represents ROUSH Performance. ROUSH Performance is famous for modified Ford vehicles like the Mustang and Ford Raptor. Jon reached out and asked if I would be interested in checking out the new limited version ROUSH Ford F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition.

ROUSH F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition

I was concerned how a truck could be reviewed on The Firearm Blog. I am a moderate fan of motor vehicles but Ford trucks are not remotely on my radar. Yes I know they exist and the Raptor is sort of their top of the line version. But other than that it is still a truck. Then I realized a truck is one of the ultimate firearm accessories. ROUSH labeled this the “5.11 Tactical Edition” so I decided to put the ROUSH/5.11 F-150 to the test and see if it is a tactical truck.

The ROUSH F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition comes equipped with a 5.0L V8 combined with the 2.65-liter ROUSH Supercharger system producing 650-horsepower and 610 lb-ft of torque. Suspension upgrades come in the form of theROUSH/Fox 2.0 Performance Series suspension system for additional tire travel, improved ride, and increased tire clearance.The ROUSH F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition comes standard with custom 20-inch ROUSH wheels in a black finish wrapped in 33-inch General Grabber A/TX LT305/55R20 all-terrain tires for optimal traction on and off-road. ROUSH puddle lamps display the ROUSH logo on the ground when the vehicle is unlocked or when its doors open. Additional standard equipment includes a custom ROUSH grille with signature lighting, fender flares with integrated accent lighting, a ROUSH Active Cat-Back Performance Exhaust system, interior console vault, and custom fender badging exclusive to this model. The interior is finished with premium ROUSH leather custom made for this vehicle and is equipped with serialized interior badging. Customers will also find bespoke ROUSH floor liners by WeatherTech®and a custom ROUSH gauge cluster on the dash.The ROUSH F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition is available in Agate Black or Abyss Gray. It features customdesigned digital-camo and 5.11 Tactical graphics on the exterior. Buyers also have the option to adda chase rack with dual 10-inch Rigid SR Pro Series light bars. The ROUSH F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition comes with an exclusive 5.11 Tactical/ROUSH Performance Gear kit, which includes a custom 5.11 Tactical hard case with foam insert holding a heavy-duty responder’s multi-tool, custom tactical pen, steel multi-tool money clip, tactical duffle bag featuring Roush and 5.11 branding, a range hat, and USA flag patch. “Teaming up with 5.11 Tactical was the perfect way to expand our offerings for our outdoor-focused truck customers,” said Jack Roush Jr. “This truck has just the right look for the tactical market and the performance you expect from a ROUSH-chargedtruck.”“5.11 is excited to collaborate with the ROUSH team on the F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition truck. The truck exudes preparedness which is at the core of 5.11’s ‘Always Be Ready’ mantra,” said 5.11’s Chief Marketing Officer, Debra Radcliff. “We strive to keep our end-users ready for life’s most demanding missions, and the ROUSH F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition truck absolutely accomplishes this while they’re out on the road.”The 2020 ROUSH F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition starts at $31,000above the price of the base vehicle, which will be built only on the Lariat 5.0L platform and comes with a 3-year/36,000-mile limited warranty. Each ROUSH F-150 Tactical Edition includes a unique serialized certificate of authenticity and is hand-built in the ROUSH Performance facility in Plymouth Township, Michigan.

ROUSH Performance was founded in 1995 by motorsports legend Jack Roush, the winningest name in racing. Combining performance engineering with entrepreneurship, ROUSH began selling designs he had created for his own team to the wider world of motorsports. Based out of Plymouth Township, Michigan, ROUSH Performance, a division of Roush Enterprises, designs, engineers and manufacturers completely assembled pre-titled vehicles, aftermarket performance parts, and superchargers for the global performance enthusiast market

This truck is a collaboration with ROUSH and 5.11 but what does that mean? It is a ROUSH performance tuned Ford F-150 with some 5.11 branding and a modicum firearm related accoutrements.

ROUSH Branding

The F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition does have a number of ROUSH branding in and outside of the truck.

5.11 Branding

The 5.11 branding only shows up in a few places.

 

Trucks And Guns

They go together like peanut butter and jelly. The main gun themed focus is the center console vault that is rather large. I was able to fit my MP5K inside the console vault.

There is one issue I had with the console vault. The doorway is rather narrow. You can see below it is only a little bit bigger than my H&K P7. This made it difficult getting the MP5K in and out of the vault. I could do it but the magazine and optic get in the way so I would have to maneuver the gun around those protrusions to clear the opening. This makes it slow drawing a firearm out of the vault.

The console vault is a 4 digit lock. You twist the large black dial and the hatch is spring loaded. I found it easier to rotate the knob with my left hand, while I am sitting in the driver’s seat, freeing my right hand from being in the way of the door and then clear to reach in for a gun inside.

While this is not unique to the ROUSH F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition, I found the tailgate step assist rather handy for an improvised monopod for shooting my Ruger Precision.

Underneath the rear seats is a small open-topped compartment, more of a divider than anything else, for storing small items. It fits my 416 pistol perfectly.

The rear passenger compartment is rather spacious. Plenty of room for gear if you do not have any rear passengers.

There is even enough room to shoot my Ruger Precision rifle in the back seat.

The ROUSH F-150 comes with a ROUSH branded gear bag and according to their website, there is a separate bag of 5.11 goodies. Unfortunately, it was not in the truck when I borrowed it but here is a list of said 5.11 items.

• 5.11 Tactical Gear and Owner’s Kit
• Serialized certificate of authenticity
• Custom hard case with foam insert
• Heavy duty LE EMT Multi-Tool
• Custom tactical pen
• Steel Utility Money Clip Multi-Tool
• ROUSH & 5.11 Tactical branded tactical duffle bag
• Range hat
• USA flag patch

In the ROUSH gear bag, there was an LED flashlight and multitool.

The front leather seats have American flags embossed in the headrests and the ROUSH name embroidered into the seatbacks.

Moons Out Goons Out ROUSH Edition

I was curious about how “tactical” the ROUSH F-150 would be. So I took it out to the range for some night shooting. My friend Alex helped me out. In the context of night vision, the F-150 is not well suited for night operations. The dash has an array of lights as you can see below. And while it looks cool for photos, it does a number on your NODs. It is too much light.

Every time you open the doors, the accent lights turn on. But if you wait, they eventually turn off.

But what about driving with NODs? Even with the headlights off, the ROUSH F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition has too many lights that turn on. Watch the video below.

I wish there was a simple light cutoff switch to go dark for true tactical use. There are too many lights to try and cover them up but a switch could be wired up from the factory to turn off the lights.

The 5.11 Tactical Edition comes standard with the ROUSH Active Exhaust. This is a four-mode selector that changes the acoustics of your exhaust. It is not performance based though. Switching to sport does not make the truck go faster. I found touring mode to be nice when driving in neighborhoods late at night. Otherwise, the deep and loud exhaust would be annoying if you are trying not to disturb your neighbors as you drive home.

Final Thoughts On The ROUSH F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition

I liked the truck as a truck. It is loud when I wanted it to be and quick. But as a tactical truck, I found it a bit lacking. Yes it has the FOX 2.0 Off Road Suspension System and that is great but it is not unique to this truck nor specifically tactical. Could it be used for a tactical truck? I guess, but with all the lights this truck has, it would be hard to stealth in the dark and not be seen. The console vault is nice and perfect for a handgun but it is large enough for a small PDW, I wish it could be taller or have a larger opening. Other than the rear passenger compartment, there was not really any place to keep my gear. Yes, I know it is a truck and it has a bed but that is not a secure place to keep guns and NODs. Also, the truck bed does not have a bed liner. A big oversight in my opinion. If you are going to use this as a gun/range truck then you will more than likely throw targets and steel in the back of the truck. As a tactical truck, I was hoping for large firearm storage like those locking drawer systems I see in SUVs. Or at the minimum be equipped with 5.11’s Hexgrid so you can store rifles on the back of the front seats. As I said, it is a great truck but not as tactical as I was hoping it would be. It is certainly a fast truck and can handle going off-road without problems. The ROUSH Ford F-150 5.11 Tactical Edition is built on a Ford Lariat F-150 and costs an additional $31,000 above the base price and is limited to only 150 trucks.