Hailstorms are annoying. Sometimes, they can even be dangerous and destructive. One 2020 Ford Raptor owner discovered this first hand. He was, of course, very excited to buy his pickup, only to become disheartened by a hailstorm the next day. He and his wife were safe. But, the new Raptor took a beating. The hail damage amounted to $10,000 on his brand new rig. He chronicles his emotional roller coaster on Youtube for all to walk through with him.

2020 Ford Raptor delivery

Back in July, Aaron Palos was excited to take delivery of his new 2020 Ford Raptor. He already had plans on how to modify the off-road-ready pickup truck. Since he has a successful Youtube channel called, Life of Palos, he had sponsors lined up for building out the Raptor to his delight. Now that he had his truck, it was a matter of getting it to the shop that he would do the buildout with. Unfortunately, nasty weather pre-empted his build plans. 

Tennis ball size hail

A day after taking delivery of his shiny new Raptor, Mr. Palos received one of those phone calls that take one’s breath away. Something happened to his wife. Thankfully she was safe. However, she was caught in a hail storm. After getting some details, he found out that a storm rolled through the town where his wife was working. She was already inside working. So, she was safe. However, the new Raptor, along with everything else in the parking lot, received significant damage.

As a Youtuber, Mr. Palos covers the supercar and hypercar world with video uploads almost daily. As can be imagined, viewers looking for exotic car content will eventually come across his channel since that is the channel’s focus. His own garage has a McLaren and a Ferrari FF in it. Needless to say, he documents a lot about his own life in addition to the supercar world. But, with the Raptor purchase and subsequent damage, it was a little bit different. Mr. Palos documents his emotional roller coaster for all to see. The video link is below.

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Damages to the Raptor

The windshield of the Ford Raptor received many impact points that spider-webbed. Also, much of the horizontal surfaces on the pickup received monster hail damage. The hood, a-pillars, roof, and the bed all received enough damage that the repair shop told him it would take 24 days and $10,000 to repair it all. 24 days before he could have his truck back and be able to start the modifications he envisioned. That is an ugly surprise.

Needless to say, the wait for Mr. Palos to get his truck back was likely hard. But, undeterred from his plans, once he received his Ford Raptor back, he quickly began the mods that he lined up previously with his sponsors. Then, a few days ago, he finally revealed his truck. The link to that video is below.

The recovery of the Ford Raptor

Mr. Palos comes across as a happy camper once he received his Ford Raptor back. The $10,000 worth of hail storm repairs were not noticeable on camera. So, from a distance, the repair work must have been successful. But, he seemed most fascinated by the lighting upgrades after the fact more than anything.

Taking possession of a dream vehicle is an experience that yields an emotional high. But, to quickly go from that high to the emotional let down upon hearing that vehicle has been damaged can be a bit gut-wrenching. Thankfully, the Raptor was not the only vehicle in Mr. Palos’s stable. So, he and his wife were able to function with little disruption. None-the-less the emotional roller coaster is still very real. So, it is good to see a reveal video that shows the tenacity to keep moving forward and overcoming obstacles, much in the same way a Raptor can reach the peaks of sand dunes. In this case, a hail storm and $10,000 worth of damage was only a delay and not the end of the story. Fittingly, the truck is now called the Hailpocalypse Raptor.