More details have emerged on the hot-topic Ford Ranger Super Duty expected to be on sale in 2026.
You can read our first take on it here.
The take homes are that the new Ford Ranger Super Duty will have a gross vehicle mass (GVM) limit of 4500kg, a braked towing capacity limit of 4500kg and a gross combined mass (GCM) limit of 8000kg and it will be built on the existing Ford Ranger platform — meaning it will be sized the same as the best-selling Ranger (at least roughly the same).
These numbers well and truly blow the competition away, they reset expectations of what a modern ute can do and today we picked up another press release with more info, this one more focused on the tyres and wheels the Ranger Super Duty will run.
What we learned
The Ranger Super Duty’s front hubs are eight-lug units adapted from the F-250 Super Duty. This is significant as it suggests what the rear axle might be too. If the fronts are eight-lug, F-250, the rear will at least have the same stud pattern and as the Ranger Super Duty has such a high GVM, the axle is not going to be from the existing Ranger range.
Typically, manufacturers have combined axle load ratings a touch over the vehicle's GVM and have rear axle ratings at more than half of the GVM to account for varying placement of loads. I expect the Ranger Super Duty to have a rear axle load limit of 2500–2800kg which is well above the highest existing Ranger axle load rating of 1959kg. Add on the fact that the front will use eight-lug hubs and it's becoming clear the rear will be from an F-250 too.
The F-250 has a rear axle load rating of 6340lb or 2875kg and its front is 6000lb or 2721kg. If the Ranger Super Duty used the same spec, its combined axle rating could be 5596kg, well over its 4500kg GVM. If Ford Australia uses F-250 components and leaves load ratings the same, there is room for GVM upgrades which right now I am struggling to comprehend.
Update: 2.30pm 28 November 2024
The team over at Drive.com.au have managed to get their hands on images of a Ranger Super Duty near Ford's Dearborn, Michigan facility. In one pic, the rear differential is fairly clear and its centre is not from an F-250. Going by the bolt pattern for the diff cover, it is a 9.75in centre from the F-150.
With the axles running eight studs, it appears the housing could be a hybrid between the F-150 and F-250. This throws guesses on rear axle load ratings out of the window as the F-150 rear axle load rating is only as high as 1882kg.
Our suspicion is that the F-150’s 9.75in diff centre was chosen as it offers better ground clearance than the F-250’s up to 11in diff centre but with the axles from the F-250, it could still be rated at or over 2500kg.
What else we spied in the release
Pause the video at the right spot and you can make out the tyres. They are General Grabber AT3, the same make and model as used on the Wildtrak X and Tremor variants of the Range. I picked this by the branding and staggered sidewall sidebiters. The Grabber AT3 is an all-terrain tyre popular in the United States and fitted to the South African Ranger Raptor (Australia’s Raptor gets the BFG KO2). The General Grabber AT3 has been recently relaunched in Australia along with its more aggressive A-TX all-terrain that blends the lines between an AT and MT. You can read about it here — General Tire Grabber A-TX and AT3 announced for Australia.
There is one thing amiss though, General Tire does not make the Grabber AT3 in the sizes that Ford suggests the Ranger Super Duty will run.
The press release from Ford suggests the Super Duty will come with 33in tall tyres on 18in steel wheels suggesting they are probably going to be either a 285/70R17 or the more common and popular 275/70R18. Confirmed in the spy shots as 275/70/R18. Both sizes are a little over 33in tall but from what we can tell, the Grabber AT3 does not come in either size. So, either a new AT3 is being developed for Ford or we are wrong. I would suggest the former as General Tire makes the Grabber A-TX (the more aggressive tyre) in those sizes, so they have a carcass to work with already.
In researching the AT3 and A-TX and sizes, we noted that tyre load limits will not be an issue with Load Indexes of 116 and greater for AT3s nearing the size the Ranger Super Duty will land with, and much higher for A-TX tyres around the same sizes and above. Both have three-ply sidewalls and are well-received in the US where they are a factory-supplied option on a range of SUVs and trucks.
We do not know what we’ll learn next about the Ranger Super Duty. We all want to know what will power it. Logic suggests it will be an engine that does not require modifications to the Ranger chassis, and it will have to be able to deal with heavier loads for longer so cooling will be a consideration.
THE NEXT STEP
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