Ford F-150 Tremor vs. Ram 1500 Rebel vs. Chevy Silverado Trail Boss: Off-Road Pickup Brawl

• Chevrolet, Ford and Ram all offer off-road versions of their full-size pickups that aren't as extreme as the Raptors and ZR2s of the world.
• The Silverado 1500 Trail Boss, F-150 Tremor and Ram 1500 Rebel are all incredibly competitive and offer lots of off-road kit.
• To find out which is best, we took these trucks to the Southern California desert for a series of tests.

Meet the contenders

The Chevy is the oldest truck here, but it's important to remember that it comes with a significant price advantage. As tested, this Trail Boss is $68,550. That's well below the out-the-door prices of our Tremor ($81,865) and Rebel ($81,835), and that's even before you get to the fuel savings that come with the Silverado's optional diesel engine.

Here's a quick rundown of how each truck stacks up.

2025 Chevy Silverado 1500 Trail Boss

• Engine: turbodiesel 3.0-liter I6
• Output: 305 hp, 495 lb-ft
• Transmission: 10-speed automatic
• Approach, breakover, departure angles: 29.8, 22.6, 24.7 degrees
• Ground clearance: 11.3 inches
• Off-road equipment: monotube suspension, 2-inch lift, auto-locking rear differential, surround-view camera system, 31.5-inch Goodyear Wrangler Territory M/T tires

2025 Ford F-150 Tremor

• Engine: twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6
• Output: 400 hp, 510 lb-ft
• Transmission: 10-speed automatic
• Approach, breakover, departure angles: 27.8, 21.1, 24.1 degrees
• Ground clearance: 10.7 inches
• Off-road equipment: front and rear locking differentials, 1-inch lift, twin-tube dampers, Raptor transfer case, surround-view camera system, one-pedal trail control, trail turn assist, modular front bumper, 33.2-inch General Grabber A/T tires

2025 Ram 1500 Rebel

• Engine: twin-turbo 3.0-liter I6
• Output: 420 hp, 469 lb-ft
• Transmission: eight-speed automatic
• Approach, breakover, departure angles: 27.8, 21.6, 23.7 degrees
• Ground clearance: 11.1 inches
• Off-road equipment: rear locking differential, 1-inch lift, Bilstein off-road dampers, air suspension with off-road height, surround-view camera system, 33.2-inch Goodyear DuraTrac A/T tires

We took these trucks out into the Southern California desert to put them through three challenges designed to test different aspects of off-road performance: a rocky hill climb, an articulation test, and a high-speed run through a sandy riverbed.

Test 1: The hill climb

We started all the trucks in the same settings: high-range four-wheel drive with traction control off and each truck's off-road drive mode engaged. For the trucks that had rear locking differentials, we left them disengaged to start. Usually, we wouldn't recommend attempting a hill climb without turning everything on so you don't tear up the trail for the next person, but for our testing, we wanted to see what the trucks were capable of doing at the bare minimum. And the moment they lost traction, we stopped and layered in more aids to keep from digging holes in the ground.

We kicked things off in the Chevy Silverado, the outlier of the group thanks to its diesel engine. The Chevy's low-end torque delivery was fantastic; even without moving down to low-range four-wheel drive, the engine and driveline delivered and distributed its power predictably and smoothly. The Trail Boss' lack of a driver-selectable rear locker means it's possible the rear axle did lock while we were climbing the hill, but there's no way to really know that from the driver's seat.

The Chevy's suspension was not as compliant as we'd; we were tossed around in the cabin. Plus, those pronounced bulges on the Silverado's hood really limited forward visibility. Thankfully, the Silverado had a forward-facing camera view on the central touchscreen, allowing us to see what was directly out front.

Our Ford F-150 Tremor test truck came equipped with the 402A High Equipment Group. This $11,170 package included a whole raft of creature comforts, but most importantly for this test, the automatic four-wheel-drive transfer case out of the F-150 Raptor and a 360-degree surround-view camera system. The Tremor didn't really end up needing help from the additional transfer case settings or its rear locker — it simply crawled up the hill with ease.

The Ford was by far the most comfortable of the trucks while driving over the ruts and the loose dirt. We were also impressed by the even and smooth power delivery from the F-150's twin-turbocharged V6.

The Ram 1500 Rebel was the only truck of the group to feature an air suspension. We raised the Rebel all the way up to its off-road setting, in order to make sure it could make it over the large rocks strewn across the hill. That increased the ground clearance but also shortened the length of travel you get with each spring, and as a result, the Ram had the worst ride going up the hill. It also didn't make it up the hill without needing to activate low-range four-wheel drive and lock the rear differential.

Test 2: Articulation and flexibility

Up first this time was the Ram, which we again put in its highest suspension setting in order to lift the nose onto a large rock without scraping the bumper. The Ram's rear coil springs showed their downsides here, as this setup was generally flexible, though the trade-off was a better on-road ride. The Ram's underbody protection was quite good, with skid plates to cover the fuel tank, transfer case, oil pan, and that vulnerable area just behind the front bumper.

The Ford went next and it was much easier to load onto our large subject rock; its very impressive rear articulation meant it went much farther than the Ram. The F-150 Tremor had skid plates over all of the same important goodies, though its front skid plate was much more robust than the one on the Rebel.

The Chevy Silverado put up a surprising result. It should have had roughly the same suspension flexibility as the Ford, but we were unable to get it even past the Ram's mark because, without being able to manually lock the rear, it started to dig holes in the dirt so it wouldn't drive past a certain point. Its approach angle also meant it was harder to place up on the rock, and underneath, it didn't have a full skid plate for its fuel tank.

Test 3: The river wash run

After two slower tests, it was finally time to speed things up. The Ram led things off, and that was bad news for the other two trucks because the Rebel's engine proved to be an absolute monster — and that's the standard-output version of the 1500's new Hurricane inline-six. Throttle response was instantaneous and you wouldn't know that the Rebel had the least torque of the three test trucks. Its suspension handled the bumps the best of the three trucks, and that was in both of the Ram's standard and off-road ride heights. As unhappy as the truck seemed at the hill climb, it was the complete opposite while running through the wash.

This was going to be a tough test for the Chevy, with its diesel providing a lot of torque but much less horsepower than the other two trucks. Its throttle response was the laggiest of the trio; we had to predict when we'd get through a corner and get on the gas a second or two early to get the power served up. The Silverado's suspension also made the ride very rough — it would easily get unsettled over bumps that the Ram 1500 Rebel would smooth out.

The F-150 Tremor also fell short of the Rebel's performance here. The Ford's throttle response was not as good and, like the Chevy, we had to be on the throttle well before we'd hit the corner's apex just to get the power flowing. The F-150's suspension was also really bouncy, with a lot of impacts feeling like they were being transmitted directly into the cabin.

And the winner is ...

First place: Ford F-150 Tremor

The Ford won two of the three tests, giving it the overall win in this comparison. And while we only focused on off-road matchups here, we'll note that Ford continues to offer the best interior comfort and technology suite of any full-size truck.

Second place: Ram 1500 Rebel

The Ram makes a strong case for itself thanks to that engine. It's crazy to think that there's an even higher-output version of this inline-six, which you can get in the Ram 1500 RHO. In our testing, the Rebel had the best on-road ride of this group by far, as well as the most premium-feeling cabin materials. If we had to take one truck on a long road trip, it'd be this one.

Third place: Chevy Silverado 1500 Trail Boss

The Chevy may have lost, but it wasn't a disappointment. The Silverado's diesel engine impressed with its low-end torque, and this truck offers a value proposition the other two can't match. The Silverado lineup as a whole is in dire need of an update, but once that happens, it'll be more competitive.