I drove our long term Super Duty FX4 up to Oceano Dunes SVRA this past weekend to hang out with some advertisers as well as staffers from our sister magazines.  The weather was great, the crowd not too thick, and the campfire discussion spirited.  What I didn't expect, however, was to have fun 'wheeling our giant red one-ton firetruck.

The only reason I drove it out into the dunes was to get some photography for our long term reports, but what I found after airing down to 15 psi was that it's actually a very capable and fun toy in the sand.  The dunes are surprisingly bumpy and the reason sand rails have two feet of supple suspension travel.  I figured the F-350, with it's tuning geared towards hauling and towing, would be especially punishing.  Boy was I wrong, and what else is a big game changer in the dunes?  Power, and lots of it.  650 pound feet makes for effortless hill climbing when you've got more than enough power to keep the tire speeds up in the deep stuff.  This is one kick-ass truck.  I can only hope Ford will forget we have it so we can keep it.