2020 Ford Super Duty Tremor Aims To Shake Ram Power Wagon

Launching later this year is the 2020 Ford Super Duty Tremor off-road package – and it’s set to send an earthquake through the 3/4-ton and full ton truck segments. Specifically, it’s going to have to do battle with the mighty Ram HD Power Wagon. That’s a tall order. However, we believe Ford has positioned the Super Duty Tremor to appeal to a broader audience. This is thanks to its offerings of both a gas V8 engine and a Powerstroke diesel. For those keeping score, the Ram is gas-only.

Ford wouldn’t say just how much the Ford Super Duty Tremor would tow or haul, but did at least claim that it would have greater towing and payload than Ram Power Wagon.

While the Ram HD Power Wagon is a standalone package, the Ford Super Duty Tremor is available on XLT, Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum trim levels. It is available for both F-250 and F-350 Super Duty models. However, the Ram Power Wagon has a removable sway bar, which serves for more intense off-road action. The Ram also features underbody plating.

Here is where things get interesting. The Ford Super Duty Tremor is available with an all-new 7.3-liter gas V8 (what people referred to as “Godzilla”) as well as the third-generation 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel. Moreover, the 2020 Ford Super Duty Tremor 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.

Apart from the standard Super Duty, the Tremor comes comes with class-leading 35-inch-diameter Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac maximum-traction tires, mounted on 18-inch matte-finished black wheels. And because this is an off-road oriented truck, there’s an additional 2-inches of front-end suspension lift with proprietary progressive-rate springs and shorter air dam compared to standard, resulting in 10.8 inches of ground clearance, as well as best- in-class water fording of 33 inches, and the best approach and departure angles of any Super Duty ever – 31.65 degrees and 24.51 degrees, respectively.

Ford says that the progressive-rate springs balance heavy-duty towing performance needs while also controlling body motion on the trails. In the back, Ford tuned the rear sway bar for a lower spring rate so customers experience less head toss over obstacles during severe suspension articulation.

The 2020 Ford Tremor features 1.7-inch piston twin-tube dampers work to control body motion. At very low speeds, they are tuned for soft damping, which is dialed up for control over more severe impacts – otherwise known as going over rock trails, or Michigan roads. The Ford Tremor also has internal hydraulic rebound to help soften the blow of the hardest hits.

For the off-road savvy, the Ford Super Duty Tremor uses an electronic rear locking rear differential, 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.

Just like other models, the 2020 Ford Super Duty Tremor features selectable drive modes. There’s 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. However, unique to the Ford 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.

Lastly, the Ford Super Duty Tremor gets Trail Control, which is 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. Pricing will be announced soon.