Ford is cranking up the competition in the world of heavy duty off-road trucks with the new Tremor Off-Road package, available across most of the Super Duty lineup.
The new 2020 Tremor takes the battle directly to the Ram Power Wagon, and right off the bat it’s clear that Ford is offering all of the choices that Power Wagon customers have been wanting for years, the biggest being an available turbo-diesel.
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Trim Levels
The Tremor package will be available on XLT, Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum F-250 and F-350 trucks. A choice between the new 7.3-liter gas V8 engine or the 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel V8 can be had under the hood. For body styles, the Tremor trucks must be single-rear-wheel SuperCrew trucks with a 6.75-foot bed. If you do opt for an F-250, a high-capacity trailer tow package must be added.
Tires
Now let’s get into the juicy details on all the gear included in the Tremor package, not the least of which are the tires. These trucks will come with 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac tires wrapped around 18-inch matte-finished black wheels.
Suspension & Gear
Tremor trucks are lifted by 1.5-inches in the front and 2-inches in the rear, resulting in total ground clearance of 10.8 inches. Clearance is also helped by a much smaller front air dam. Water fording is pegged at 33 inches, while approach and departure angles measure in a 31.65 degrees and 24.51 degrees respectively.
Progressive-rate springs are added to help control body motion and the rear stabilizer bar is tuned for a lower spring rate to help with articulation. The shocks used are custom 1.7-inch piston twin-tube dampers, featuring a substantial oil volume as compared to the regular Super Duty trucks to help fight shock fade.
For differentials, an electronic locking rear is installed along with a Dana limited-slip front differential. Tremor trucks equipped with the 7.3-liter gas engine have a 53-to-1 crawl ratio, which is helped by a 4.30 rear axle ratio. The 6.7-liter diesel-equipped trucks have a 44-to-1 crawl ratio, as the rear differential ratio is a 3.55.
Finally, physical gear is capped of with off-road running boards that are tucked up to the same height as the bottom of the truck to avoid them getting hung up. Skid plates are connected underneath to protect the gas tank and transfer case.
Technology
Drive modes make up the technological side of the package, with a new rock-crawl mode coming specifically for the Tremor models alongside the standard modes such as Eco and Tow/Haul. Ford’s Trail Control system is also fitted to these trucks, allowing the driver to set a low off-road speed and then focus on steering the truck.
Price?
Pricing for the Tremor package has not yet been announced, but we’re simply guessing that it will come in around the $4,000 to $5,000 mark. Thanks to the vast array of trims, there should be a Tremor for every budget. Our guess is that the base trucks likely start around the $50,000 range on the XLT F-250, and go right up to near $85,000 for the F-350 Tremor Platinum.
Towing & Hauling
Ford also says that the Tremor will not lose its work ethic, with payload and tow ratings “similar” to the non-Tremor models. That means that a Tremor off-road truck could pull potentially be rated to tow around 20,000 pounds, depending on trim and weight class.
Competition
How does the Tremor stack up to the Power Wagon? First of all, if the claim is true, the Tremor will pull more than the 10,620 pounds that the Power Wagon is currently rated at. When it comes to options, Ford has the Power Wagon absolutely beat, as only a gas engine comes with the Ram and it can only be had as a 2500 (3/4-ton) truck.
Now let’s look at the numbers. Ground clearance favors the Power Wagon at 14.2-inches for the body, though the axles have 8.3-inches of ground clearance. If the Ford Tremor’s claimed 10.8-inches is right up to the axle, then it is better than that found on the Ram.
The Ford will have a better approach angle at 31.6 deg (Power Wagon is at 29.4 deg), though the Power Wagon has a better departure angle of 26 degrees. The Tremor’s departure angle is 24.5 degrees.
The Ram does offer a disconnecting front sway bar and a proper front locking differential that can’t be found on the Ford. This is part of the reason that the Ram Power Wagon scores such a high Ramp Travel Index (RTI) score of 538 compared to a 436 for the Tremor.
A winch is another part of the Power Wagon’s kit that isn’t included in the Tremor (at least not yet). We were led to believe by Ford representatives that a winch will arrive for this truck in the near future.
The Tremor Off-Road Package will be available when the 2020 Super Duty launches later this year.
