Ford Ranger Super Duty gets onboard scales and reinforced components for heavy loads

The upcoming Ford Ranger Super Duty will feature onboard scales and reinforced hardware, giving drivers a real-time readout of payload and improved carrying capabilities. 

The payload sensors work by measuring suspension compression to track the weight of passengers, gear and modifications, removing the guesswork that’s often involved when carrying heavy loads. The read-out is then displayed on the vehicle’s SYNC screen.

“But a simple scale wasn’t enough,” said Drew O’Shannassy, program manager for the Ranger Super Duty. “It’s a complete payload management system. We knew crews would add bull bars, winches and passengers. The system allows you to account for all of it to get your remaining payload. There’s less guesswork. More confidence.”

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The Ranger Super Duty was developed with input from those who operate in remote and challenging terrain. “We heard about the impossible choices they were forced to make,” said Jeremy Welch, strategic projects manager at Ford Australia. “They needed to carry heavy, specialised equipment, but were often limited by payload. It was a problem we knew we had to solve.”

To handle these loads, Ford reinforced the chassis, thickened the steel backbone, upgraded body and suspension mounts, strengthened axles, fitted eight-bolt wheel hubs, and installed the toughest rear differential ever used on a Ranger.

“You don’t just show up to a powerlifting competition without doing the work,” O’Shannassy said. “This Ranger has done the work.”

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Prototypes were tested extensively at Ford’s You Yangs Proving Ground near Geelong, including the notorious “Corrugation Lane” to simulate years of wear. “We had pushed the truck to its limits with concrete blocks, but you can’t truly understand someone’s mission until you walk a mile in their boots,” said Abdool Beebeejaun, a senior engineer in Special Vehicle Engineering.

One prototype was a light-attack fire truck fitted with a 1000-litre water tank. Fully loaded with two crew and water, it weighed around 4400kg. Ford then took the trucks to Queensland for side-by-side testing with the crews who inspired the project, hitting terrain previously inaccessible to standard vehicles.

“The truck was driven on tracks the teams hadn’t previously been able to reach,” Beebeejaun said. “We watched as, in one test, they deliberately bogged the trucks down to their axles and then dead-pulled them to assess the winch and recovery points. These trucks, loaded to near their 4500kg Gross Vehicle Mass, were pushed to the limit.”

The Ranger Super Duty is expected to hit the market sooner than expected, with customer deliveries starting later this year.