Ford F-Series Introduces Tremor Package for Off-road Capability

New hardware and technology give the 2020 Ford F-Series Super Duty pickup with the Tremor off-road package “next-level capability in an all-new way,” according to the Dearborn-based manufacturer.
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2020 Ford F-Series Super Duty
The Tremor off-road package for the 2020 Ford F-Series Super Duty and SuperCrew trucks will be available later this year. // Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Co.

New hardware and technology give the 2020 Ford F-Series Super Duty pickup with the Tremor off-road package “next-level capability in an all-new way,” according to the Dearborn-based manufacturer.

The Tremor package – available on XLT, Lariat, King Ranch, Platinum F-250 and F-350 Super Duty, and SuperCrew trucks – features the all-new 7.3-liter gas V-8 engine or third-generation 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel powerplant, 35-inch-diameter Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac maximum-traction tires, 10.8 inches of ground clearance, and 33 inches of water fording.

The new off-road package will be available when the 2020 Super Duty launches later this year. The price has yet to be announced.

“A growing number of Super Duty customers use their trucks for more than work,” says Todd Eckert, marketing manager for the Ford truck group. “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. Tremor balances what customers demand in terms of work with what they need in the great outdoors.”

Tremor features include progressive-rate springs that balance heavy-duty towing performance needs while controlling body motion on rutted, rock-strewn trails. The rear stabilizer bar is tuned for a lower spring rate for less head toss over obstacles during severe suspension articulation. Custom 1.7-inch piston twin-tube shocks also work to control body motion.

The off-road package also 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 heavy-duty 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, 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.