Watch A Ford F-450 King Ranch Dually Pickup Drift Surprisingly Well On A Rally Course

Rally cars are lightweight, lithe little things for springing across bumpy dirt tracks at gut-churning speeds. The Ford F-450 is pretty much the opposite of that in all regards. It’s a gigantic, heavy truck designed for hauling big loads, usually on sealed roads. But that didn’t deter Team O’Neil from asking the question—will it rally?

That someone in the headline is none other than Wyatt Knox, one of the best drivers out there who is, it seems, back at Team O’Neil to make more of these ridiculous videos. He was the one lucky enough to get behind the wheel for what is a truly hilarious test. The gang has put plenty of non-rally vehicles through their paces on an off-road stage before,  tackling everything from a Porsche Cayman to the beloved Crown Victoria. The F-450, though, sets a new bar. At 8,500 pounds, it’s easily the heaviest vehicle they’ve ever tried to wheel in anger in the mountains. Even better, it’s a diesel King Ranch model with a dually rear end. It doesn’t get less rally-spec than that!

The video starts on the skidpad, with Wyatt noting that traction control, stability control, and ABS were all turned off. Our host praises the brake bias, noting a good balance from front to rear—which is key for car control on loose surfaces. He notes the 10-speed transmission hunts a little, but that it drifts surprisingly well in two-wheel-drive on gravel.

He’s able to hold a slide with great drift angle without too much trouble or excessive body roll. “It just feels planted,” says Wyatt, crediting the wide dually rear end and smooth tires for helping matters. “It’s a giant, giant rig, but it goes really good. It’s got more than enough power to drift around all day long on gravel.” The tires are worthy of particular note, too. They’re rugged and stiff thanks to a high-load rating, having been designed for towing on the highway. Compliance for dealing with difficult terrain wasn’t really a factor; likely zero regard was taken during their development for performance when driving through dirt, stones, and mud at rally pace.

In any case, Wyatt makes skating the F-450 about look easy. A great deal of that is likely down to his skill and experience; he gets a very elegant performance out of the giant truck beyond what we might have thought possible. He likens driving it on the slalom to driving a big BMW, in some respects. “It’s way easier than it should be,” says Wyatt. “All the fundamentals are the same… it’s just bigger.” He does explain, though, that while it works well in rear-wheel-drive, four-wheel-drive was a disaster by comparison. The front-end undergoes crazy wheel hop when turning under throttle, and the truck just doesn’t want to play ball.

Out on the rally stage, he gets the truck dancing on gravel with ease. It’s not fast, by any means, but it’s perfectly stable in a slide when Wyatt needs it to be. He’s clearly having a ball and enjoying the spectacle of wheeling such a massive truck through the tight forested course. He’s not going easy by any means, either, ripping great chunks out of the highway-spec tires in the process.

There are some hair-raising moments, though, particularly where the truck’s weight plays a role. “When you really commit to something and throw it in there, there’s not a lot of wiggle room at all,” he explains. “If it doesn’t go well and you need to brake, you’re not gonna stop.” Occasional understeer and the lack of swift decisions from the 10-speed auto aren’t appreciated, either. He also gets in a fight with the seatbelt at one point when it locks up, taking some time to release and frustrating his efforts to steer. Really, though, these are all understandable given the F-450’s day job. It’s a truck that was built to haul, not haul ass.

Unsurprisingly, the truck recorded the slowest time Team O’Neill have for summer runs on the course. However, it wasn’t as bad as you might have thought. At 2:11.78, it came in only around four seconds slower than a Kia Sedona, and six seconds slower than a 2013 Dodge Charger police cruiser.

Would we recommend rallying a Ford F-450 like this? No, of course not. We’d suggest you sort out the front suspension to cut the wheel hop to make the most of the four-wheel-drive system, which is otherwise dead weight. Beyond that, you’re going to want better tires and probably ditch the dually setup for a simple wider rim at the back. Do that, strip out the interior and add a rollcage, and then you’ll be truly ready to hit the stages. Be sure to drop us a tip when you do.

Image credits: Team O’Neil via YouTube screenshot