(a 6 minute read)

The newly redesigned 2017 Ford Super Duty owns recreation! Get ready to experience touring, towing, and off-road maneuvering in comfort and style.


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I have never considered myself a truck-driving man, but recently Ford invited me to Denver to be their guest at a media drive featuring the All-New 2017 F-Series Super Duty.

During the 2-day event, I had the opportunity to drive various Super Duty models and trim levels on a variety of routes, including:

  • a steering and braking course at Mile High Stadium
  • a touring excursion to Eldorado Canyon State Park
  • a street towing route through urban and rural areas
  • and a white-knuckle ride-along on a 4X4 off-road course.

The 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty


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The 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty has been completely redesigned from the ground up for the first time in eighteen years. As a result, it has been dubbed the toughest, smartest, and most capable Super Duty ever. The team of designers and engineers responsible for the redesign were on hand at the media drive to introduce their creation. This was without question the best way to learn about the upgraded capabilities of the Super Duty’s newest class-exclusive features.

At first, as a travel writer attending an automotive event, I felt a bit out of my element as the experts elaborated, casually tossing around terms like “torque” and “chassis” and “powertrain.” But that’s what fact sheets are for, to illustrate and simplify the jargon for Average Joes like me. Soon I was on a quest to discover how the Super Duty could benefit our audience of road travelers and outdoorsmen.

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The 2017 Ford Super Duty Owns Recreation


As a roadtripper and outdoor enthusiast, I was curious to learn how the 2017 Super Duty would function as a recreational vehicle, with tasks such as towing travel trailers and maneuvering through off-road obstacles.

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Promotional materials distributed and displayed at the media drive boasted how the 2017 Super Duty “owns work.” Would this cutting-edge vehicle own recreation, as well?

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Test Drive at Mile High Stadium


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The test-drive track at Mile High Stadium was designed to compare the 2017 Super Duty’s class-exclusive adaptive steering to the steering of the Chevrolet Silverado HD and the Ram HD. Simply defined, the Super Duty’s adaptive steering changes the ratio between the number of steering wheel turns the driver makes and how far the front wheels turn, essentially requiring less rotations to perform the action.

The second section of the course, and also the most exciting part, was the braking demonstration. We were instructed to, when given the signal, floor the accelerator, speed across the designated section of track, and brake upon reaching a marked sign.

I am not qualified to conduct critical reviews between the operation of various vehicle makes and models, but I was clearly impressed with the way the Super Duty maneuvered easily between the cones and the smoothness with which the trucks came to a halt. I was also intrigued experiencing the various trim levels between the XL, XLT, Lariat, King Ranch, and my personal favorite, the top-of-the-line Platinum. Easing into the driver’s seat, brought back wonderful memories of the week I spent driving the 2016 Ford Explorer Platinum highlighted by our weekend trip chasing waterfalls in Florida.


Eldorado Canyon State Park


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The following morning, our excursion took us on a tour of Eldorado Canyon State Park, located in the foothills of the Rockies between Denver and Boulder. Driving the Lariat F-250 Super Duty on a section of highway gave me the opportunity to experience Adaptive Cruise Control, one of the driver-assist technologies that automatically slows and resumes speeds as sensors detect proximity to other vehicles.

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The cool mountain air coupled with the scenic grandeur of jagged peaks and roadside waterfalls put me in my element. The canyon was the perfect backdrop for Super Duty photo ops and could only have been better had we packed a picnic lunch and spent the day “watching” rock climbers and hiking mountain trails.


Off-Road 4X4 Course


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Call me chicken, but I wasn’t quite ready to climb behind the wheel on the 4X4 route, even though a Ford expert was in the passenger seat giving step-by-step guidance as the Super Duty competently wove its way through every obstacle on the course. The back seat ride-along was enough to send my heart racing, but given another chance to drive, I would do it!

Ascending the steep berms on the off-road course were more challenging than they appear in the video below, and what you don’t see is that we had to back down twice as the driver learned the proper maneuvers before cresting over the top.

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No 4X4 off-road course would be complete without a mud obstacle, and I can tell you the Super Duty handily owned the mud pit!

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The Towing Route


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My apprehension kicked in again when considering the towing route. But I overcame my inexperience, and ultimately this drive became the one that demonstrated for me the true greatness of the 2017 Ford Super Duty. The drive was so effortless that I caught myself forgetting I was pulling a 17-foot horse trailer. Waiting until the trailer tires were even with corners before making turns was a minor adjustment to make.

When it comes to towing, the 2017 Super Duty has a wealth of technology to assist the driver including Trailer Reverse Guidance, Trailer Tire Pressure Monitoring, Blind Spot Information System, Lane Departure Warning, and the 360-degree Advanced Camera Systems.

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Whatever your recreational towing needs may be . . . Airstream, pop-up, fifth wheel, boat, ATV, toy hauler . . . the 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty owns it!


2017 Super Duty Models and Pricing


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The 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty will be available in 15 models ranging from the standard F-250 XL ($32,535 MSRP) to the top-of-the-line F-450 Platinum ($77,125 MSRP and pictured above), that one press released dubbed a “tuxedo with work boots.” Having test-driven these vehicles, I can attest that this assertion is true.

Now, what to do with my tuxedo taste and work boots wallet?


We Would Love to Hear From You


We enjoy dialogue with our readers, especially when they share off-the-beaten-path destinations and useful travel tips. Have you driven the 2017 Ford Super Duty? If so, we would love to hear about your experience. We invite you to leave your comments and questions below, and we always respond!


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Helpful Links


All-New 2017 F-Series Super Duty

Eldorado Canyon State Park

The All-New 2017 Ford Super Duty Owns Recreation! 1
Howard Blount is founder and editor of the travel web site Backroad Planet. He has traveled internationally since boyhood and lived abroad in Mexico, Chile, and Paraguay. Now his passion is navigating the roads-less-traveled of this amazing planet in search of anything rare and remote. On the stuffy side, “Mr. Blount” has been a writer, consultant, and published author with the likes of Simon & Schuster and McGraw-Hill. Recently retired from a 35-year career as a middle school teacher, Howard enjoys spending his time on anything that includes mountains, waterfalls, dachshunds, gospel choirs, books, restored classic movies on Blu-ray, HDTV, autumn, sandhill cranes, hot springs, Florida springs, rain and other gloomy weather, log cabins, cracker shacks, abandoned sites, unearthed history, genealogy, museums, documentaries, To Kill a Mockingbird, scenic and historical sites, castles, cathedrals, the Civil War, cold sheets, National and State Park Passports, quotes, the Rambos, Dionne Warwick, Steely Dan, Doobies, Diet Pepsi, Fish City Grill, anything Apple, all things British, Jesus, and lists. And on a random note, Howard is a fourth cousin once removed to Truman Capote.
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