The new 2021 Ford F-250 Tremor is a specially prepared off-road truck that comes from the factory with a suspension lift, specially tuned springs/shocks, 35-inch off-road tires, rear locker, front limited-slip differential, and more. This Super Duty does not sacrifice much payload and towing ability to gain off-road credentials.
This F-250 Lariat Tremor has a maximum payload of over 2,600 lbs and a maximum towing rating of 17,500 lbs. These are very good numbers for a gas-powered 3/4-ton truck. This F-250 is powered by a 7.3-liter V8 engine that is rated at 430 hp and 475 lb-ft of torque. The impressive towing and acceleration ability is helped by the 10-speed automatic transmission and a 4.30 rear axle ratio.
The bigger question is – what is it like to tow with a Tremor and what real-world fuel efficiency can you expect. This is why we put this truck to the test with a 8,100 lbs trailer behind it. We are towing our IronBull trailer with our TFLclassics project truck – 1965 Ford F-100 that was converted into a heavy duty truck.
This type of load did not feel very heavy behind the truck. It still accelerates with authority and the ride is nice and solid without any trailer sway. We ended up with about 1,000 – 1,100 lbs of tongue weight with this trailer, but the F-250 did not squat down very much. It can still work as a heavy-duty truck should. The truck showed about 8.7 MPG on the trip meter after a 56.2 mile trip. This trip had a bit of everything: city driving, highway cruising, and a bit of mountain highway terrain.
Indeed, this gas engine can be thirsty in a truck that weighs about 7,300 lbs by itself. If I was looking for a F-250 Tremor, I would pick the gas-powered truck like this if I did not expect to tow a lot. The gas engine keeps the curb weight lower than the turbo-diesel V8 version. This is a bit better for off-road driving. On the flip side, if I was to drive on long distance trips with a trailer, I would step up to the 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel V8. This new diesel is quick and relatively efficient.
If you want to see how this F-250 Tremor does off-road, take a look at this Old vs New Ford truck comparison at the Happy Yak Ranch or this F-250 Tremor vs Chevy Silverado HD Z71 comparison.
