The half-ton, full-size pickup truck is a uniquely American phenomenon. You get vehicles much like our heavy-duty, diesel-powered towing monsters at job sites everywhere on the planet. And you get some smaller, nimbler, mid-size trucks. But half-ton, full-size? Unheard of.

A cynic might say the segment banks on its appearance more than its capabilities. The new Ranger Super Duty proves that Ford never needed a full-size package to fit all the capability of a half-ton. But they won’t even bother marketing it in the U.S., because who wants to be seen in that thing?

The 2026 Ford Ranger Super Duty is the truck we always knew was possible—but never thought we’d actually see. It tows nearly 10,000 pounds. It’s built compact as a tank. And it does everything an entry-level F-150 can do, but in a smaller package. It’s like Ford read the half-ton truck’s spec sheet and thought, Wait, why do we need all this extra bulk? Then Ford turned around and said, Nah, Americans would never go for it. Let’s sell it in Australia instead.

A half-ton’s muscle, with mid-size efficiency

The Ford Ranger Super Duty is what happens when you build a mid-size truck for real work, not just street presence. Here’s what Ford squeezed into its not-so-little global workhorse:

• Max Towing Capacity: 9,920 lbs (that’s full-size truck territory)
• Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR): 9,920 lbs
• Gross Combined Mass (GCM): 17,637 lbs
• Drivetrain: Expected compact diesel engine
• Suspension: Heavy-duty setup with an eight-lug wheel design (same as an F-250 Super Duty)
• Wheels & Tires: 18-inch wheels, 33-inch all-terrain tires
• Body Modifications: Snorkel, industrial-strength bed, high-clearance front bumper
• Where You Can Buy It: Australia, Asia, Africa… basically anywhere but North America

How the Ranger Super Duty stacks up to a Ford F-150

To really hammer home what Ford just did, let’s compare it to the cheapest full-size F-150.

• The entry-level 2024 F-150 XL 4×4 comes with a 3.3L V6 making 290 hp and 265 lb-ft of torque.
• That F-150? Max tow rating of 8,200 lbs. Less than the Ranger Super Duty.
• The F-150 is eight inches wider, two feet longer, and nearly 500 lbs heavier than a Ranger Super Duty.
• Payload? Ford hasn’t given final specs, but the Ranger SD’s beefed-up suspension almost guarantees it will exceed the heavier (extended cab) F-150’s limited payload

So, to summarize: This smaller truck tows more than an entry-level full-size, carries as much, and likely gets better fuel economy. But it’s not coming to America.

Why we can’t have nice things

Ford has the numbers. They know that, in the U.S., people don’t buy trucks based on capability. They buy them based on image.

A Ranger that tows like an F-150 but looks like a Ranger? That’s a problem. The whole point of an American half-ton is to take up as much road as possible while still calling itself “light duty.”

If Ford brought the Ranger Super Duty here, it would force buyers to ask some uncomfortable questions. Do I actually need this full-size truck? What if I could fit my truck in a normal parking space AND still tow my boat?

The Ranger Super Duty is Ford’s little secret

Automakers love half-ton trucks because they can slap a luxury price-tag on them and rake in some cash. The average F-150 price now hovers around $60,000. A Ranger Super Duty is in danger of undercutting that.

So, instead of selling Americans a tough, smart truck that outworks half-tons at a lower cost, Ford is keeping this one off the menu. And that’s all the proof you need that modern pickups are more about image than function.

Ford just showed us that the half-ton truck was never about capability—it was about size. The Ranger Super Duty is proof that a humbler, more efficient truck can do the job of an F-150. But Ford won’t bring it here, because we’d rather have big than capable. See spy shots of the Ranger Super Duty in the video below: