Ford Hungry for Slice of Custom Off-Road Pie

The 2020 F-Series Super Duty will feature an option for the new Tremor Off-Road Package. Tremor pushes the boundaries of Super Duty off-road capability with new hardware and tech to handle rough terrain, according to Ford.

“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.”

The Tremor Off-Road Package is available for XLT, Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum F-250 and F-350 Super Duty models with the new 7.3-liter gas V-8 or third-generation 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel. Tremor also can be specified for 4×4 single-rear-wheel SuperCrew trucks with a 6.75-foot box; F-250 models also require the high-capacity trailer tow package.

Off-road upgrades start with a set of aggressive 35-inch-diameter Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac maximum-traction tires­ 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 10.8 inches of ground clearance, water fording of 33 inches, and approach and departure angles of 31.65 degrees and 24.51 degrees.

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, according to Ford.

Custom 1.7-inch piston twin-tube dampers work to control body motion. These shocks feature substantial oil volume that serves to keep internal temperatures low, while the large cross-section works to improve responsiveness, according to Ford. 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.

Tremor uses 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 FX4 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 7.3-liter gas engine have a 53:1 crawl ratio while those equipped with the 6.7-liter diesel engine have a 44:1 crawl ratio.

For the first time ever, Super Duty gets Trail Control, a feature that debuted for F-150 Raptor and Ranger. It functions in any mode like cruise control for off-road driving.

The Tremor Off-Road Package will be available when the 2020 Super Duty launches later this year.