Inspired by the increasing popularity of the Ram 2500 Power Wagon, the Ford Motor Company just announced that its releasing an off-road package in 2020 for its F-250 and F-350 Super Duty trucks called the Tremor. Ford is promising that the Tremor, equipped with either an all-new “Godzilla” 7.3L gas V8 or a third-generation 6.7L Powerstroke diesel, will be the “most capable off-road Super Duty ever” with even better towing and payload capabilities than the Power Wagon. This is good news for truck camper owners looking for a payload increase over the Power Wagon’s paltry 1,400-pound payload rating. The Super Duty Tremor should easily be able to double that figure.
“A growing number of Super Duty customers use their trucks for more than work. They’re fishing, camping and towing boats on weekends and they go off-road, so we designed this truck specifically for them—more ground clearance, bigger shocks, bigger tires and more off-road capability,” said Todd Eckert, Ford truck group marketing manager. “Tremor balances what customers demand in terms of work with what they need in the great outdoors.”
According to the press release, Ford’s Tremor Off-Road Package will be offered in XLT, Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum F-250 and F-350 Super Duty trim lines with 4×4 single-rear-wheel SuperCrew trucks with a 6.75-foot box only; F-250 models will also require the high-capacity trailer tow package.
Tremor off-road upgrades start with a set of aggressive 35-inch-diameter Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac maximum-traction tires—the largest diameter tires available on a heavy-duty pickup—mounted on a set of unique 18-inch matte-finished black wheels. These tires, combined with a 2-inch front-end lift and shorter air dam, result in an impressive 10.8 inches of ground clearance, water fording of 33 inches, and the best approach and departure angles of any Super Duty ever with 31.65 degrees and 24.51 degrees, respectively.
Progressive-rate springs balance heavy-duty towing performance needs while also controlling body motion on rutted, rock-strewn trails. The rear stabilizer bar is tuned for a lower spring rate so customers experience less head toss over obstacles during severe suspension articulation.
Custom 1.7-inch piston twin-tube shocks work to control body motion. These massive shocks feature substantial oil volume that serves to keep internal temperatures low, while the large cross-section works to improve responsiveness. At very low speeds, they are tuned for soft damping, which is dialed up for control over more severe impacts. Internal hydraulic rebound helps soften the blow of the hardest hits.
The Tremor will use a locking rear differential with electronic shift-on-the-fly engagement and a new Dana limited-slip front differential. In certain modes, the front axle can sense when a tire has lost traction and uses the brakes to send power to the wheel with traction.
Additional hardware includes off-road running boards that tuck up next to the body for damage control, extended-axle vent tubes and the same beefy skid plates as fitted to 4×4 models.
The 2020 Super Duty Tremor features selectable drive modes, which allow customers to choose the setting best suited to driving conditions. These include normal for around-town use, tow/haul for optimized performance under load, ECO for enhanced fuel economy, slippery for icy conditions, and deep snow/sand for low-traction conditions. Unique to Tremor is a new rock-crawl mode, which is optimized to operate in 4×4 low and is enabled by the standard TorqShift 10-speed automatic transmission. Tremor trucks equipped with the Godzilla 7.3L gasser have a 53:1 crawl ratio while those equipped with the 6.7L diesel engine have a 44:1 crawl ratio.
Tremor can also be outfitted with Ford’s Trail Control, a feature that debuted for F-150 Raptor and Ranger. It functions in any mode like cruise control for off-road driving.
While we expect the Tremor to take a queue or two from Ford’s own popular F-150 Raptor, in no way are we expecting a F-250/F-350 Mega Raptor with wider body panels like the F-150 Raptor.
The Tremor Off-Road Package will be available when the 2020 Super Duty launches later this year.
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