F150 Fx4 vs Ranger tremor

[tre_77]

I currently own a 2021 Ranger tremor and love it, however I have recently ordered a 2022 f150 Fx4 because I find the Ranger interior slightly too small. I thought it would be ok with my two toddlers and their seats, but it simply isn’t feasible when you also have cargo, etc etc. so I ordered the Fx4 f150 and I am excited for the extra room. I placed my order November 1st (no emails or communication etc etc but that’s for another thread)

Fast forward to today:

Record amounts of snow where I live in Ontario Canada. Everyone is stuck inside and the vehicles that attempted to leave are all stuck. Even buses are canceled.
My Ranger tremor ABSOLUTELY DOMINATED THE SNOW! I was easily able to drive my neighbour to their place of work (they were attempting to walk which would have taken hours). I’m talking 2-3 feet of heavy snow with peaks and valleys all over the place. and no

Did I make a mistake?! I’m an f150 guy at heart and have owned 2 in the past. I only bought the Ranger because it’s the closest I will likely ever get to owning a raptor lol.

Is the Fx4 going to be this capable?

And no, I cannot afford the f150 tremor or else it would be a no brainer.

Any input is appreciated!

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[gtotco]

I currently own a 2021 Ranger tremor and love it, however I have recently ordered a 2022 f150 Fx4 because I find the Ranger interior slightly too small. I thought it would be ok with my two toddlers and their seats, but it simply isn’t feasible when you also have cargo, etc etc. so I ordered the Fx4 f150 and I am excited for the extra room. I placed my order November 1st (no emails or communication etc etc but that’s for another thread)

Fast forward to today:

Record amounts of snow where I live in Ontario Canada. Everyone is stuck inside and the vehicles that attempted to leave are all stuck. Even buses are canceled.
My Ranger tremor ABSOLUTELY DOMINATED THE SNOW! I was easily able to drive my neighbour to their place of work (they were attempting to walk which would have taken hours). I’m talking 2-3 feet of heavy snow with peaks and valleys all over the place. and no

Did I make a mistake?! I’m an f150 guy at heart and have owned 2 in the past. I only bought the Ranger because it’s the closest I will likely ever get to owning a raptor lol.

Is the Fx4 going to be this capable?

And no, I cannot afford the f150 tremor or else it would be a no brainer.

Any input is appreciated!

I’ve lived in heavy snow areas my whole life (grew up in Vermont currently live in CO with a cabin that averages around 300” a year) and have always found tires to be the most important thing in snow and my guess is the Ranger tremor probably has some decent enough ones. I would argue my wife’s CRV is actually better in the snow than our F-150 since she has real snow tires (Bridgestone Blizzaks) while the F-150 has 3PMSF rated Wrangler Duratracs.

Don’t get me wrong the truck is definitely great in the snow even with pretty mediocre snow tires, but I have definitely gotten it stuck a few times already this winter after a week where we got 60” or so over the course the week. Even being cleared daily the wind kept blowing new snow in and it had a lot of trouble getting up the drifts that kept building up on our steep gravel driveway, but I think most any vehicle would have. I keep chains in the back for those rare occasions.

Other than that the only difference I think you are likely to run into is ground clearance on the active air dam. I haven’t had any noticeable problems from it yet but that is the low point and I could see it acting like a bit of a plow in VERY deep snow but I think it still has like 8+ inches of clearance.

Off road the ranger will probably be better just because I think all full size pickups are too big on trails around here. I haven’t found anywhere I haven’t been able to get the F-150 yet but I definitely preferred our Wrangler off-road because it’s better at tight switchbacks and easier to get off the road when it’s tight.

TL;DR I think any 4wd vehicle can be great in deep snow just get the right tires and it never hurts to have chains as a backup. In very deep snow ground clearance helps (I high centered our old GTI a few times in deep snow) but that is really in pretty rare circumstances.

 

[cscheut]

The Ranger Tremor is an absolute beast in snow and off road. My brother-in-law has one and I love driving it. Although we don't get as much snow down here in NJ as you guys do I wouldn't trade my F150 for it though. The day to day functionality and the extra space the F150 has for the family easily makes up for the few days a year we have enough snow to make a difference. I would love to be able to take it off road more, but again the reality is that for the time I am able to actually do some off roading the FX4 is plenty capable. Would agree that good snow tires would make a difference with the F150.

 

[Tizzzo]

I think with a level and similar all terrain tires it should be comparable in performance.

 

[xtraman122]

Like others have said, with the right tires there’s absolutely no reason the F-150 should be any less capable than the Ranger.

I agree with you on the size of the Ranger, I’d like to be able to drive something a little smaller as well, but the Ranger is just too small, that back seat is near useless, especially if trying to put kids car seats back there. The perfect size truck for me would be right in the middle between the F-150 and Ranger.

 

[Oxford_Powerboost]

Mine is very capable in the snow. The hardware is the same (unless ranger tremor has torsion front diff?) just a difference of weight and power. Good tires and you can go anywhere. For what it’s worth, my truck in deep snow mode (puts it in 4Hi, locks the rear diff, though I unlocked it myself, turns down traction control, and makes the trans hold lower gears) got through 8-10 inches with banks of higher snow with the utmost confidence even on the stock Goodyears, which aren’t 3 peak rated.

The only extra thing to worry about is I’d bet the clearance on the f150 is lower in front than the tremor ranger because the tremors ditch the front air dam. You can remove it yourself though.

 

[SumGuy]

As others have stated, tires make the biggest difference. The smaller chassis of the Ranger makes it a little more capable in the snow, but nothing significant. A good set of tires on the F150 will go pretty much anywhere.

Blizzaks would be my recommendation for anyone in winter driving conditions. Dedicated snow tires are so much better(stopping, going, turning, stability at speed in slush and ice) than even the best all-terrain.

 

[tre_77]

Thanks for the replies.

i actually purchased a set of f150 tremor take off tires (general grabber 275/70/18) in anticipation for the f150. Side note: the tremor was in antimatter blue and it was gorgeous!

 

[xtraman122]

Dedicated snow tires are so much better(stopping, going, turning, stability at speed in slush and ice) than even the best all-terrain.

This explains it all, and not many people understand just how much of a massive difference they make. It’s like the difference beteeen trying to walk on ice in your sneakers or with those metal grippers attached to some boots, not even close. My wife’s old Accord with Blizzak’s was much more capable and safe in the snow than her new AWD Explorer or my own F-150 on all seasons. The tires help you stop, stay stead straight-line, and just negotiating basic turns, all things AWD can do very little to help with. Most unseasoned drivers get behind the wheel of an AWD vehicle in the snow and think they’re driving a snow cat.

 

[gtotco]

This explains it all, and not many people understand just how much of a massive difference they make. It’s like the difference beteeen trying to walk on ice in your sneakers or with those metal grippers attached to some boots, not even close. My wife’s old Accord with Blizzak’s was much more capable and safe in the snow than her new AWD Explorer or my own F-150 on all seasons. The tires help you stop, stay stead straight-line, and just negotiating basic turns, all things AWD can do very little to help with. Most unseasoned drivers get behind the wheel of an AWD vehicle in the snow and think they’re driving a snow cat.

This 100%. My wife had a CR-V that is unstoppable on Blizzaks. My prior car was a GTI with Blizzaks and Inwould regularly drive by Subaru’s and trucks stuck in Colorado storms. The big problem with the GTI was ground clearance - I definitely got it high centered in a few big dumps. Both were better in snow than the F150 with stock FX4 tires. With 3PMSF Duratracs the CR-V is still a bit better but the truck is better than the GTI.

 

[xtraman122]

This 100%. My wife had a CR-V that is unstoppable on Blizzaks. My prior car was a GTI with Blizzaks and Inwould regularly drive by Subaru’s and trucks stuck in Colorado storms. The big problem with the GTI was ground clearance - I definitely got it high centered in a few big dumps. Both were better in snow than the F150 with stock FX4 tires. With 3PMSF Duratracs the CR-V is still a bit better but the truck is better than the GTI.

My sister has a 2013 GTI with Blizzaks actually. Ground clearance is definitely the one thing the tires can’t get you, but at least on regular roads it’s almost never a factor.

 

[Jaylars]

Its like:

This vs that....

 

[Mtnman1]

I’ve lived in heavy snow areas my whole life (grew up in Vermont currently live in CO with a cabin that averages around 300” a year) and have always found tires to be the most important thing in snow and my guess is the Ranger tremor probably has some decent enough ones. I would argue my wife’s CRV is actually better in the snow than our F-150 since she has real snow tires (Bridgestone Blizzaks) while the F-150 has 3PMSF rated Wrangler Duratracs.

Don’t get me wrong the truck is definitely great in the snow even with pretty mediocre snow tires, but I have definitely gotten it stuck a few times already this winter after a week where we got 60” or so over the course the week. Even being cleared daily the wind kept blowing new snow in and it had a lot of trouble getting up the drifts that kept building up on our steep gravel driveway, but I think most any vehicle would have. I keep chains in the back for those rare occasions.

Other than that the only difference I think you are likely to run into is ground clearance on the active air dam. I haven’t had any noticeable problems from it yet but that is the low point and I could see it acting like a bit of a plow in VERY deep snow but I think it still has like 8+ inches of clearance.

Off road the ranger will probably be better just because I think all full size pickups are too big on trails around here. I haven’t found anywhere I haven’t been able to get the F-150 yet but I definitely preferred our Wrangler off-road because it’s better at tight switchbacks and easier to get off the road when it’s tight.

TL;DR I think any 4wd vehicle can be great in deep snow just get the right tires and it never hurts to have chains as a backup. In very deep snow ground clearance helps (I high centered our old GTI a few times in deep snow) but that is really in pretty rare circumstances.

Your wifes crv has skinnier tires, thats a big reason its better in snow.

Too many put fat tires on their truck, then complain it sucks in the snow.

 

[Bryan Simon]

Skinny tall tires are much better in snow, ice, and rain covered roads.
Big ol, fat tires just want to polish the ground.
My old green chevy has skinny tires on it.
I feel much more at ease in that than I do in the Trailblazer or the new truck when it freezes here—only a few days a year, but not really often enough to get used to it.
I even preferred a 2wd passenger car over any pickup when I lived up north. Softer springs, better weight transfer and Michelin X tires.
That was so long ago.

 

[gtotco]

Your wifes crv has skinnier tires, thats a big reason its better in snow.

Too many put fat tires on their truck, then complain it sucks in the snow.

I have standard size tires but yeah hers are skinnier. It’s really compound though her CR-V with all seasons is bad (same width) but great with snow tires. Truck has 3PMSF A/T tires which I think will just never be as good in snow because even though it’s a softer compound it can’t compete with real snows.

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