Build Showcase · Diesel
Project Ironclad
2022 Ford F-250 Super Duty 6.7L Power Stroke · Houston, TX
The Brief
A Working Truck That Wheels Hard
Marcus came in from Katy with a specific problem: he needed his F-250 to haul a 14,000-lb equipment trailer to job sites during the week and have enough suspension travel and ground clearance to run the Guadalupe Mountains on weekends. He didn't want two trucks. He wanted one truck that didn't compromise on either.
Marcus hauls equipment trailers weekly — everything from Bobcat skid steers to towable generators. He needed to preserve his payload and tow ratings, which ruled out any lift that compromised the frame geometry or required suspension changes that would throw off the truck's factory-rated capacities.
At the same time, a suspension-level diesel trip to Guadalupe Mountains National Park — specifically Dog Canyon and the Salt Basin dunes — demands clearance that a stock truck just doesn't have. The factory 275/65R18 tires have too little sidewall flex in the rocks and too much spinning in the sand.
The solution wasn't a maximum build. It was a smart one: a coil-over conversion up front paired with add-a-leaf in the rear, 37-inch all-terrains, full skid coverage, and recovery gear rated for 20,000-lb GVW. We kept his receiver-hitch setup untouched, retained the integrated trailer brake controller, and ensured all lighting upgrades are DOT-compliant for road towing.
The Build
Spec Sheet — Project Ironclad
A diesel working truck build has constraints that a daily driver or dedicated trail rig doesn't. Tow ratings, GVWR, and payload capacity are not adjustable — they're physics. Every spec decision here was run through that filter: will this compromise what the truck was built to do? If yes, we found a different path. If no, we went as aggressive as the platform supports.
The Result
It Does Both. Actually.
Marcus took the truck to Guadalupe Mountains three weeks after pickup. Dog Canyon on 37s aired to 18 psi — the truck cleared every ledge crossing that had turned him around on a previous trip in stock trim. The ARB front locker locked once, briefly, on a slab crossing near the Pine Springs trailhead. That was the hardest moment of the trail. The truck didn't think about it.
On Monday he pulled an excavator to a job site in Cypress. Trans temps stayed in the normal operating range on I-10 in stop-and-go. Fuel economy dropped from stock — that's physics with 37-inch tires — but the 4.10 regear reduced the drop significantly over an uncorrected 3.55 on big tires. The 6R140 stopped hunting between 6th and 7th on the freeway.
"I've had this truck for a year and it's been on three trail runs and probably 40 job site hauls. It hasn't missed a beat on either. That's what I came to Iron Ridge for — I didn't want to choose." — Marcus V., Katy TX
The ADD armor has earned its keep. The transfer case skid took a hit on a buried limestone shelf on the Contrabando trail in Big Bend Ranch State Park — a hit that would have caved a factory skid plate. The frame-mounted Road Armor sliders have contact marks on both sides. The truck shows its miles. It hasn't broken because of them.
Gallery
Project Ironclad — In the Field
Ready to Build Your Super Duty?
We build diesel trucks that don't choose between the job site and the trail. Talk to our team about what your F-250 or F-350 can do with the right platform upgrade.
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Ford Super Duty Diesel Build Questions
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Do I need to regear my F-250 if I put 37-inch tires on it?Yes — and it matters more on a diesel tow truck than almost any other platform. The 6.7L Power Stroke makes its torque low in the rpm range. Running 37s on stock 3.55 gears effectively raises your final drive ratio, pushing the engine out of its powerband at highway cruise and under tow loads. The 6R140 transmission compensates by hunting between gears and allowing converter slip, which raises trans temps. A 4.10 regear corrects for the tire diameter delta, restores the engine to its designed operating range, and reduces converter slip under tow. We also recommend an SCT or EZ-Lynk tuner to correct the speedometer, shift points, and trailer brake calibration after the gear change.
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Will a 6-inch lift on my Super Duty affect my tow rating?Done correctly, a coilover-style lift should not reduce your factory tow or payload ratings. The critical variables are: (1) using an add-a-leaf rear setup rather than lift blocks, which preserves the factory spring rate under load; (2) keeping the receiver hitch geometry within the factory-spec drop range; and (3) maintaining the front axle alignment within factory spec using caster-correcting UCAs. We build all our Super Duty lifts with those three requirements met before anything else. What will change: your trailer hitch ball height will need adjustment, and if you're towing a gooseneck, you'll want to verify kingpin height with your trailer manufacturer.
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What load range tires should I run on a lifted F-250 diesel?E-range (10-ply) minimum for a Super Duty single-rear-wheel diesel. The GVWR of a loaded F-250 SRW requires a minimum per-tire load index that most D-range tires don't meet — especially when towing and weight transfers to the rear axle. We spec E-range KO2s or equivalent for every diesel tow build. The sidewall is stiffer than a lighter-rated tire, which reduces the off-road "flex" you'd get with an E-range on a lighter platform, but it handles the load without sidewall failure risk. If you want the most flex possible and you're not regularly towing near your limits, we can discuss D-range options and the load math for your specific use case.
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How long does a full lifted diesel truck build take at Iron Ridge?A full coilover suspension lift, regear, armor, and lighting install on a Super Duty typically takes 5 to 8 build days, depending on parts availability and the scope of the regear. The regear alone — pulling both diffs, installing ring-and-pinion, setting lash and backlash, resealing — is a two-day job done properly. We don't rush lash setup on a tow truck. Improperly set backlash on a diesel that tows heavy will fail early and loudly. We stage parts before the truck comes in so we're not waiting on shipments mid-build. Contact us to get lead times on your specific platform and parts selections.
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Can you build my diesel Super Duty to tow and still trail run?Yes — that's exactly the build category we specialize in with diesel trucks. The platform can do both if the suspension geometry is preserved, the tires meet load requirements, the gearing is corrected for tire diameter, and the armor doesn't interfere with receiver hitch geometry. Where we see tow-and-trail builds go wrong is when builders maximize trail capability without accounting for load capacity — running load-C tires, deleting rear springs, or using hitch drops that put the ball in the wrong position for gooseneck towing. We engineer these builds from the tow spec first, then maximize trail capability within that envelope. Book a consult and bring your trailer specs.
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Do you build diesel Super Duty trucks from The Woodlands and Katy?Yes. We serve the full Houston metro area and regularly build trucks from Katy, The Woodlands, Sugar Land, Conroe, Humble, and across the region. Our shop is on Westheimer in Houston — about 30 minutes from most of the western and northern suburbs. Most customers drop the truck off on a Monday and pick it up at the end of the week. We can coordinate with your schedule around job site commitments — just let us know in the booking notes that you're working a weekly haul schedule and we'll prioritize accordingly.
Where We Build
Serving the Houston Metro
Iron Ridge Off-Road is located at 6420 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77057. We build diesel trucks from all across the region — if you haul or wheel in Texas, we build for you.
Your Diesel. Built Right.
Book a free consult. We'll go through your tow schedule, your trail goals, and your platform — and we'll tell you exactly what it takes to build a truck that does both.
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