First trip report!

[Raspy]

After breaking in my Tremor (Godzilla) for about 1,300 miles, I changed the engine oil and filter, and changed the rear diff oil. I drove it very easy up to that point and my average mileage was 14.5 MPG, according to the computer.

Then I loaded it up with 2,500 lbs of cargo and my Black Series HQ19 trailer, (roughly 7,500 lbs) and headed off to Utah. Probably 25 mountain passes on the highway, ranging from 5,500' to 8,500' elevation, and about 200 miles of rough dirt roads, with about half of that in 4WD. We went over 2,400 miles on that trip and averaged 8.5 MPG (computer calculated) for the entire trip. I usually drove at 65 MPH on the highway, sometimes faster, as we traveled with a few friends. We saw rain and snow, so we got muddy and we got rinsed off while driving.

The Tremor is very capable and a delight to drive! But it does wander around a bit, and certainly more than my 3500 Ram does. No mountain passes slowed it down. I was sensitive to the high RPM, so usually held it to 4,000 RPM max and adjusted the tranny to limit the gears to the ones I wanted to use. I never had to just run it wide open to pull any grades. It never heated up at all. It also feels light and nimble compared to my Cummins. It is almost hard to believe it is a heavy duty truck by the way it handles both off road and on. Running with the hubs manually engaged makes no extra noise at all, and I could not tell they were engaged by the sound or the way it drove while running in 2H.

When changing the differential oil, the center lower cover bolt is also a drain plug, so you don't have to remove the cover. The old oil had a slight metallic sheen to it from breaking in, but not much. The diff is absolutely silent and seems to be very well built with perfect tolerances.

The NAV seems a bit lacking and has no elevation readout, so I will get the phone app going. I want to get Forscan to make a few adjustments too, but everything works perfectly as designed with no failures of any kind. A perfect truck so far.

The kick-ass diesel torque is not there, as it is in the Cummins, but the horsepower is there. And the engine braking is much weaker than the diesel engine brake in the Cummins, but it does help and the brakes are very powerful, even and fade free. Excellent.

I climbed all around under this truck while doing some wiring and it seems to be built very well. I also painted the front driveshaft and the rear driveshaft front and rear joints. The frame is very beefy and painted well. The shocks are stiff, but keep it under control well. I absolutely love the manual hubs and they are one of the reasons I got a Tremor.

The Rapid Red seemed a bit bright at first, but has seriously grown on me. The Stone Gray accent hides a lot of desert mud and dust. The colors were definitely the right choice. Beautiful, functional and full of life!

I love this truck!

See us on top of the Butte? Look closely.

 

[Jrod250]

Great write up

 

[T-Bone]

After breaking in my Tremor (Godzilla) for about 1,300 miles, I changed the engine oil and filter, and changed the rear diff oil. I drove it very easy up to that point and my average mileage was 14.5 MPG, according to the computer.

Then I loaded it up with 2,500 lbs of cargo and my Black Series HQ19 trailer, (roughly 7,500 lbs) and headed off to Utah. Probably 25 mountain passes on the highway, ranging from 5,500' to 8,500' elevation, and about 200 miles of rough dirt roads, with about half of that in 4WD. We went over 2,400 miles on that trip and averaged 8.5 MPG (computer calculated) for the entire trip. I usually drove at 65 MPH on the highway, sometimes faster, as we traveled with a few friends. We saw rain and snow, so we got muddy and we got rinsed off while driving.

The Tremor is very capable and a delight to drive! But it does wander around a bit, and certainly more than my 3500 Ram does. No mountain passes slowed it down. I was sensitive to the high RPM, so usually held it to 4,000 RPM max and adjusted the tranny to limit the gears to the ones I wanted to use. I never had to just run it wide open to pull any grades. It never heated up at all. It also feels light and nimble compared to my Cummins. It is almost hard to believe it is a heavy duty truck by the way it handles both off road and on. Running with the hubs manually engaged makes no extra noise at all, and I could not tell they were engaged by the sound or the way it drove while running in 2H.

When changing the differential oil, the center lower cover bolt is also a drain plug, so you don't have to remove the cover. The old oil had a slight metallic sheen to it from breaking in, but not much. The diff is absolutely silent and seems to be very well built with perfect tolerances.

The NAV seems a bit lacking and has no elevation readout, so I will get the phone app going. I want to get Forscan to make a few adjustments too, but everything works perfectly as designed with no failures of any kind. A perfect truck so far.

The kick-ass diesel torque is not there, as it is in the Cummins, but the horsepower is there. And the engine braking is much weaker than the diesel engine brake in the Cummins, but it does help and the brakes are very powerful, even and fade free. Excellent.

I climbed all around under this truck while doing some wiring and it seems to be built very well. I also painted the front driveshaft and the rear driveshaft front and rear joints. The frame is very beefy and painted well. The shocks are stiff, but keep it under control well. I absolutely love the manual hubs and they are one of the reasons I got a Tremor.

The Rapid Red seemed a bit bright at first, but has seriously grown on me. The Stone Gray accent hides a lot of desert mud and dust. The colors were definitely the right choice. Beautiful, functional and full of life!

I love this truck!

See us on top of the Butte? Look closely.

What did you use to paint your joints?

 

[Raspy]

What did you use to paint your joints?

I used Rustoleum black in a spray can. The front shaft can simply be turned as you paint, but the rear needs the truck to be rolled a bit. No need to paint the rear shaft itself, as it's aluminum, just the yoke and joints.

 

[soulezoo]

Very nice, beautiful combo. Love the Black Series

 

[gunzfcc]

Great write-up! We are supposed to be picking up our HQ-21 at some point this year. Cannot wait!

 

[stufarmer]

Awesome trip. I think you'll find adding a Helwig rear Sway Bar will help quite a bit with the handling. Ford doesn't offer the Sway Bar on the Tremor because it inhibits articulation. I've read on here that Tow Haul mode is really helpful when it comes to downhill speeds. Here in Florida, I haven't found an overpass to "test that theory" .. yet. ?? ..

 

[brevard828]

After breaking in my Tremor (Godzilla) for about 1,300 miles, I changed the engine oil and filter, and changed the rear diff oil. I drove it very easy up to that point and my average mileage was 14.5 MPG, according to the computer.

Then I loaded it up with 2,500 lbs of cargo and my Black Series HQ19 trailer, (roughly 7,500 lbs) and headed off to Utah. Probably 25 mountain passes on the highway, ranging from 5,500' to 8,500' elevation, and about 200 miles of rough dirt roads, with about half of that in 4WD. We went over 2,400 miles on that trip and averaged 8.5 MPG (computer calculated) for the entire trip. I usually drove at 65 MPH on the highway, sometimes faster, as we traveled with a few friends. We saw rain and snow, so we got muddy and we got rinsed off while driving.

The Tremor is very capable and a delight to drive! But it does wander around a bit, and certainly more than my 3500 Ram does. No mountain passes slowed it down. I was sensitive to the high RPM, so usually held it to 4,000 RPM max and adjusted the tranny to limit the gears to the ones I wanted to use. I never had to just run it wide open to pull any grades. It never heated up at all. It also feels light and nimble compared to my Cummins. It is almost hard to believe it is a heavy duty truck by the way it handles both off road and on. Running with the hubs manually engaged makes no extra noise at all, and I could not tell they were engaged by the sound or the way it drove while running in 2H.

When changing the differential oil, the center lower cover bolt is also a drain plug, so you don't have to remove the cover. The old oil had a slight metallic sheen to it from breaking in, but not much. The diff is absolutely silent and seems to be very well built with perfect tolerances.

The NAV seems a bit lacking and has no elevation readout, so I will get the phone app going. I want to get Forscan to make a few adjustments too, but everything works perfectly as designed with no failures of any kind. A perfect truck so far.

The kick-ass diesel torque is not there, as it is in the Cummins, but the horsepower is there. And the engine braking is much weaker than the diesel engine brake in the Cummins, but it does help and the brakes are very powerful, even and fade free. Excellent.

I climbed all around under this truck while doing some wiring and it seems to be built very well. I also painted the front driveshaft and the rear driveshaft front and rear joints. The frame is very beefy and painted well. The shocks are stiff, but keep it under control well. I absolutely love the manual hubs and they are one of the reasons I got a Tremor.

The Rapid Red seemed a bit bright at first, but has seriously grown on me. The Stone Gray accent hides a lot of desert mud and dust. The colors were definitely the right choice. Beautiful, functional and full of life!

I love this truck!

See us on top of the Butte? Look closely.

Awesome review man! ive got a trip coming up soon with our camper. Im gonna change the oil first as well at 1,000 miles. ill probably have them change the diff fluid at the dealership too just to grab metal shavings and such.

 

[DMG-INC]

After breaking in my Tremor (Godzilla) for about 1,300 miles, I changed the engine oil and filter, and changed the rear diff oil. I drove it very easy up to that point and my average mileage was 14.5 MPG, according to the computer.

Then I loaded it up with 2,500 lbs of cargo and my Black Series HQ19 trailer, (roughly 7,500 lbs) and headed off to Utah. Probably 25 mountain passes on the highway, ranging from 5,500' to 8,500' elevation, and about 200 miles of rough dirt roads, with about half of that in 4WD. We went over 2,400 miles on that trip and averaged 8.5 MPG (computer calculated) for the entire trip. I usually drove at 65 MPH on the highway, sometimes faster, as we traveled with a few friends. We saw rain and snow, so we got muddy and we got rinsed off while driving.

The Tremor is very capable and a delight to drive! But it does wander around a bit, and certainly more than my 3500 Ram does. No mountain passes slowed it down. I was sensitive to the high RPM, so usually held it to 4,000 RPM max and adjusted the tranny to limit the gears to the ones I wanted to use. I never had to just run it wide open to pull any grades. It never heated up at all. It also feels light and nimble compared to my Cummins. It is almost hard to believe it is a heavy duty truck by the way it handles both off road and on. Running with the hubs manually engaged makes no extra noise at all, and I could not tell they were engaged by the sound or the way it drove while running in 2H.

When changing the differential oil, the center lower cover bolt is also a drain plug, so you don't have to remove the cover. The old oil had a slight metallic sheen to it from breaking in, but not much. The diff is absolutely silent and seems to be very well built with perfect tolerances.

The NAV seems a bit lacking and has no elevation readout, so I will get the phone app going. I want to get Forscan to make a few adjustments too, but everything works perfectly as designed with no failures of any kind. A perfect truck so far.

The kick-ass diesel torque is not there, as it is in the Cummins, but the horsepower is there. And the engine braking is much weaker than the diesel engine brake in the Cummins, but it does help and the brakes are very powerful, even and fade free. Excellent.

I climbed all around under this truck while doing some wiring and it seems to be built very well. I also painted the front driveshaft and the rear driveshaft front and rear joints. The frame is very beefy and painted well. The shocks are stiff, but keep it under control well. I absolutely love the manual hubs and they are one of the reasons I got a Tremor.

The Rapid Red seemed a bit bright at first, but has seriously grown on me. The Stone Gray accent hides a lot of desert mud and dust. The colors were definitely the right choice. Beautiful, functional and full of life!

I love this truck!

See us on top of the Butte? Look closely.

Great read. Thanks for the post. I’m at 750 miles on my tremor and am mere “weeeks”away from departure myself.