Ford Ranger Super Duty gets submerged, for science!

Ford showed off the ranger Super Duty’s powerful water wadding ability last week at Ford’s You Yangs Proving Ground near Geelong. 

At the site, Ranger Super Duty’s engineers had constructed the perfect controlled environment for testing rain, hail or shine. 

A rectangular concrete basin, 50 metres long, that can go from bone dry to more than a metre deep in minutes. 

“We had to prove this truck could go to the next level of capability and decided to target 850 millimetres, it had to be about more than just what looked good as a concept,’ says Drew O’Shannassy, Ranger Super Duty program engineer at Ford Australia. 

“We started shallow – 50 millimetres – because each depth tells a different engineering story.”  

“With significant force acting on the front of the vehicle during deep water wading, every seal must perform flawlessly so that not a drop of water gets where it shouldn’t,” O’Shannassy said. 

Ford’s long awaited Ranger Super Duty is aimed at the toughest customers. The icon has immersed itself in that customer base over the course of the Ranger Super Duty’s ongoing but near-complete development.  

After hundreds of interviews with those doing the tough jobs in extreme locations, the aim was to build a heavy-duty truck, standing on the shoulders of the Ranger. 

“Our controlled water bath allows us to repeat our tests for accurate validation, but the real proof comes when conditions become unpredictable.” 

Wet ‘n’ wild

It was this philosophy that led to O‘Shannassy and his team taking the pre-production Ranger Super Duty to Victoria’s High Country.   

The Crooked River Track near Dargo is home to 27 consecutive river crossings. Fluctuating water levels.  Flow rate changes from crossing to crossing. Bottom conditions shift from rocky to muddy to sandy.  

In other words, conditions perfect for seeing if Ranger Super Duty’s lab results would translate to the real thing.  

“The first crossing always gets your heart pumping,” Vehicle Integration engineer on Ranger Super Duty, Tim Postgate said.  

“You’ve done all the maths, run all the controlled tests, but there’s something about watching the nose of the truck disappear into rushing water that makes engineering very real.” 

However, crossing after crossing, the Ranger Super Duty proved its 850-millimetre 1 capability, thanks in part to a collaboration with Safari’s engineering team, which saw the two icons work together to design a snorkel that balances airflow optimisation whilst maintaining peak engine performance. 

“For customers who need to get from A to B, even when B is on the other side of the river, Ranger Super Duty’s snorkel and 850-millimetre 1 wading capability aren’t for show” Postgate said.  

“They’re peace of mind for the unexpected realities of nature.”