The 2023 Ford F-Series Super Duty aims to remain the king of doing it all.
The entire 2023 Super Duty lineup received a heavy update right down to its frame, but enthusiasts looking to work and play should perk up. The Tremor off-road version ups its game with new tech ripped from the Raptors, more towing and hauling capabilities, a better ride, and even modifications to enable 37s to fit easily.
Ford invited Motor Authority to its proving grounds in Bruce Township, Michigan, to drive through the woods, climb up boulder-covered hills, and do donuts in the sand to see what the updated, off-road-oriented Super Duty can do. Spoiler: It can still do it all.
2023 Ford Super Duty Tremor
2023 Ford Super Duty Tremor borrows from the Raptors
A Super Duty Tremor crew cab with the 6-foot-4 box is 21 feet long. That’s huge, but for 2023 the big bruiser’s surround-view camera system has gone from four camera angles to seven. This enables drivers to stitch all the cameras together for a full 360-degree view of what’s around the truck or see down the sides of the truck on the trail.
2023 Ford Super Duty Tremor
The Super Duty team also copied the Raptor team’s software homework. Tread-like indicators show the intended path on the screen in Off-Road mode when the forward-facing camera angle is activated. This feature is straight out of the Raptor lineup’s Baja mode, and in the huge Super Duty it ensures the tires are squared up with the desired line, eliminating the feeling that you’re (partially) driving blind and missing what’s immediately in front of the truck.
Super Duty Tremors also gain Trail Turn Assist for 2023. Originally developed for the Bronco and then ported over to the F-150 Tremor and F-150 Raptor, Trail Turn Assist drags the inside rear wheel to cut sharper off-road turns. In the case of the massive Super Duty, it can shorten the turning radius by up to 40%, which enabled me to drive around a post in sand in a hilariously tight circle. Note, however, that this feature can tear up the ground and/or build up a pile of earth in front of that inside rear wheel. The truck eventually rolls over the pile it created, but that’s just another expected bump when driving off the beaten path.
2023 Ford Super Duty Tremor
Ford’s Rock Crawl, Tow/Haul, Normal, Eco, and Slippery drive modes are joined by Off-Road mode this year. It replaces Deep Sand/Snow mode to be less confusing to drivers, and it automatically engages 4Hi. These drive modes remain one of the automaker’s aces as they help tune the truck to the terrain better than competitors with fewer or no drive modes.
Off-Road mode doesn’t automatically disable the automatic emergency braking, though it should. I forgot to go into the truck’s menu system to turn off AEB before off-roading, and the truck slammed on its brakes and flashed a bunch of warning lights in an attempt to protect me from imminent death when the front parking sensors went off due to tall grass. It’s a pain to have to remember to go into the menu system and turn AEB off and back on when off-roading then getting back on the road.
2023 Ford Super Duty Tremor
2023 Ford Super Duty Tremor now fits 37-inch tires
David Demmith, vehicle integration supervisor for the Super Duty lineup, told me that plenty of owners have swapped out the 35-inch Duratrac tires on their Tremors for 37s. The 37s rubbed on the front control arms, forcing owners to get creative to make their trucks drive correctly.
The 2023 Super Duty lineup, including the Tremor, receives revised suspension tuning for a better ride. The result is a heavy-duty truck that doesn’t buck and shiver as much over pock-marked roads even when unloaded. The ride is surprisingly comfortable now, especially in the Tremor because the taller sidewalls on its meaty all-terrain tires absorb more pounding. Part of that suspension work includes a new front control arm design, which no longer rubs on 37-inch tires. Ford still doesn’t offer 37s, however. That remains up to buyers who want the bigger shoes.
2023 Ford Super Duty F-250 Tremor
2023 Ford Super Duty Tremor tows and hauls more
The Super Duty Tremor is still powered by a 7.3-liter V-8, but it’s now rated at 430 hp and 485 lb-ft of torque. The 10 lb-ft of torque increase comes thanks to a new downsized water pump and improved bearings and pistons for increased durability. A stump-yanking 6.7-liter turbodiesel V-8 with 475 hp and 1,050 lb-ft can still be optioned, and at $9,995 it’s now $800 less expensive than before. New for 2023 is a high-output 6.7-liter turbodiesel rated at 500 hp and 1,200 lb-ft of torque, but it tacks $12,495 onto the Tremor’s bill.
With the right configuration in the Super Duty configurator, the Tremor’s now rated to tow up to 18,200 pounds via conventional hitch and 23,000 pounds via a gooseneck trailer, and it can haul up to 4,384 pounds of payload. Those figures mark increases of 3,200, 1,110, and 174 pounds, respectively. The 2024 Chevrolet Silverado HD ZR2 can tow 18,500 pounds on a hitch, but its payload rating tops out at 3,397 pounds and it can only tow up to 18,100 pounds with a gooseneck trailer. The 2023 Ram Rebel HD trails both with a 16,870-pound conventional hitch tow rating and a 3,140-pound payload capacity.
2023 Ford Super Duty Tremor
2023 Ford Super Duty Tremor gains lineup-wide updates
The Tremor is an off-road package that bundles off-road hardware and software to make the Tremor more capable when the road ends. Like other Super Duty variants, it receives notable updates for 2023.
Ford tweaked the Super Duty’s exterior design. The horizontal grille now bleeds into and wraps around the C-clamp-shaped headlights with a design that emphasizes the truck’s width. Steps have been integrated into the bed sides and rear bumper to make bed access easier.
2023 Ford Super Duty
Inside, materials have been upgraded, though they still fall short of what’s found in a Ram, and an 8.0-inch touchscreen is now standard replacing the previous truck’s 4.2-inch screen. A 12.0-inch touchscreen and a 12.0-inch digital gauge cluster straight out of the F-150 are available on the XLT model and standard on Lariat and above.
2023 Ford Super Duty Tremor
2023 Ford Super Duty Tremor delivers value
The 2023 Ford Super Duty Tremor costs $60,780 and the price only goes up (rather quickly) as you tick off the option boxes. Most of that cost is the Super Duty XLT itself, as the Tremor package is a $4,375 option, and that’s a value. A base Ram 2500 Rebel costs $71,420, and Chevrolet hasn’t said how much the Silverado HD ZR2 will cost yet.
The Tremor package can still be optioned on the Super Duty XLT, Lariat, King Ranch, and Platinum trims. The Lariat seemingly hits the sweet spot for those looking at this truck for both work and lifestyle use as it nets upgrades such as LED headlights, a power sliding rear window, and dual-zone automatic climate control. More importantly, the Lariat trim unlocks the ability to option useful features such as onboard scales and a smart hitch.
2023 Ford Super Duty Tremor
Ford will still factory install a 12,000-pound Warn winch with a 70-foot synthetic cable, though it now costs $3,995. That’s $995 more than before, but it’s still a well-priced factory-backed accessory for those needing the capability with clean integration.
While the 2023 Ford Super Duty Tremor has found new competition since it first arrived in 2020, its story hasn’t changed. No other pickup truck on the planet can do everything—from towing 23,000 pounds to dominating off-road—the way a Tremor can.
Ford paid for travel, lodging, and even a few donuts so Motor Authority could bring you this firsthand report.
