Melbourne – When Ford engineers set out to validate the Ranger Super Duty, they didn’t just want to confirm it could tackle mud. They set out to create a test that would turn it into a worst-case scenario – and then push well beyond it.

The result was the “mud-pack” test, developed specifically for the Super Duty. The aim: load the vehicle with as much heavy, performance-sapping mud as possible.

“Mud is one of a truck’s greatest enemies,” said Rob Hugo, product excellence and human factors supervisor at Ford Australia. “It adds weight, blocks airflow, insulates heat, and can jam up components like fans and alternators.”

For miners working in remote sites or off-roaders in deep clay, those aren’t theoretical problems – they’re daily risks. To replicate them, Ford built a dedicated mud course at its You Yangs Proving Ground. Featuring deep ruts, bog holes, sticky clay and open sections for high-speed splatter, it was designed to coat the Ranger inside and out.

One lap wasn’t enough. Over several days, engineers repeatedly drove the truck through the muck, letting layer after layer build up. Eventually the Super Duty was carrying more than 600kg of dried, clinging mud – about the weight of a full-grown Brahman steer – smothering components and challenging cooling systems.

The goal was simple: find the breaking point. For the Super Duty, that point never came. “We packed more mud onto this vehicle during development than we ever have before,” Hugo said.

It’s the kind of abuse most owners will never see, but for those who work in the harshest environments, it’s proof their truck can take it.

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/YuLpOJJI-jI