All three will float up this beach aired down, the family in back and a cooler in the bed. What you’ll notice is the ride over the ruts with an empty bed, how high you climb in, and what each one sounds like with the window down. A spec sheet can’t tell you any of that.
The opinions on this page come from Beach4x4, our rental company in Kill Devil Hills, whose 4x4s run the Carova beach every day of the season. The Beach Test Drive is our drive-before-you-buy program: a new vehicle, this beach, nobody selling. Planned for summer 2027.
Ford F-150 Tremor
No dealer has placed one with The Beach Test Drive yet. Want to drive one on this beach before you buy? Say so; dealers place the vehicles people ask for.
The Ram 1500 is the only one of the three with coil springs in the back instead of leaf springs, which is why it rides softest with the bed empty. Trail Boss figures are for the redesigned 2027 Silverado, which arrives at the end of 2026.
What the beach will tell you
Full-size pickups on sand are all about the same once the tires are down to 18 or 20 psi: they float. The differences you’ll carry home are in the ride, the step up, and the sound. Highway 12 below is North Carolina Highway 12, the two-lane road up the Outer Banks; the drive from Kitty Hawk to the Corolla beach ramp is about 45 minutes of it.
Ram 1500 Rebel
The soft one
The Rebel is the only one of the three with coil springs in the back instead of leaf springs, and it’s the one thing you’ll feel every mile: an empty bed doesn’t make it skitter over the patched pavement the way the others do.
A one-inch lift, so a step up but not a climb. Inside, it’s the one that feels least like a work truck.
Aired down on 33-inch all-terrains with the rear locker in, it floats, and the Bilstein shocks take the ruts. Ram’s available air suspension lifts it for the soft stuff if the truck has it.
Room for the chairs, the cooler and the boards, and a tailgate to sit on while the kids find the horses.
The driver who wants the softest ride of the three and the nicest place to sit for five and a half hours.
Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss
The tall one
Leaf springs in the back and mud-terrain tires: with the bed empty, the ride is firmer than the Rebel’s and the tires hum. Forty-five minutes of Highway 12 is the honest test of whether you mind.
A two-inch factory lift and 34-inch tires on the new 2027 Silverado, so this is the tall one. You climb in, you look down at the Rebel, and the kids love it.
Aired down, with the Z71 package’s off-road suspension and skid plates, the Trail Boss is a known quantity on this beach.
Same job, higher up. Bikes, boards and the big cooler, with the tailgate as the kitchen counter.
The driver who wants the tallest, toughest-looking truck on the sand, and a 4x4 that already earns its keep here every day.
Ford F-150 Tremor
The one with the trail tech
Leaf springs in the back, like the Trail Boss, so an empty bed rides firmer than the Rebel. The 3.5-liter EcoBoost is strong and quiet; the available 5.0-liter V8 is the one you’ll hear with the window down.
Taller than a regular F-150, on 33-inch all-terrains with a long-travel front suspension underneath. It feels like a Raptor’s little brother, because that is roughly what it is.
Trail Control is cruise control for the sand: set 10 miles an hour and steer. Trail Turn Assist tightens the turn at the dune line, and the locking rear differential is standard.
A 5½- or 6½-foot bed, and a tailgate that does everything but cook.
The driver who wants Ford’s trail tech and a V8 option, and would like to drive a Tremor on this beach before buying one.
The few numbers that matter on sand
Current model year, from the factory. Trims vary; the one you rent or drive depends on who put it on the sand.
| Ram 1500 Rebel | Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss | Ford F-150 Tremor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Factory lift | 1 in. | 2 in. | Raised ride height; long-travel front suspension |
| Tires | 33-inch all-terrains | 34-inch mud-terrains (2027) | 33-inch all-terrains |
| Rear suspension | Coil springs; air suspension available | Leaf springs | Leaf springs |
| Shocks | Bilstein monotube | Monotube (2027) | Off-road twin-tube |
| Rear locker | Electronic, standard | Auto-locking, standard on the current truck | Electronic, standard |
| Trail tech | Rough Road Cruise Control on the Rebel X | Hill descent control | Trail Control, Trail Turn Assist, Trail 1-Pedal Drive |
| Engines | 3.0-liter twin-turbo six, 420 hp, on the Rebel X | 2027 Silverado: 2.7-liter turbo, 3.0-liter diesel, 5.7-liter V8, 6.6-liter V8 | 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 standard; 5.0-liter V8 available |
| Seats | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Here in 2027 | On the wanted list | 2027 wanted | Not placed yet. Ask. |
Rebel from Stellantis’ 2026 Rebel X release and Ritchie Bros.’ half-ton comparison; Trail Boss lift, tires, shocks and engines from Chevrolet’s 2027 Silverado release, the locker from the current truck; Tremor from Ford.
Watch them side by side
Edmunds drove these back to back. Their video, their opinions. It is here because it is the best one we found; we make nothing from it.
Ford F-150 Tremor vs. Ram 1500 Rebel vs. Chevy Silverado Trail Boss off-road comparison test. Edmunds, on YouTube. Model years shown: 2024 and 2025. Plays from YouTube when you press play; YouTube’s terms and cookies apply then.
Why the Carova beach is the test
Homes in Carova are reached over the sand, so this is real four-wheel drive on soft and packed sand, not a loop around the block.
About 45 minutes up Highway 12 through Duck and Corolla each way. How it rides at 45 miles an hour matters as much as how it floats at 35, the beach limit.
A few hours on the sand is long enough. If you are still torn, you drove two good vehicles.
Frequently asked questions
Which one is better on the sand?
Both will do this beach, aired down and in four-wheel drive. The difference is how each one feels doing it, and that is what the drive experience is for.
Can I drive both on the sand before I decide?
Yes. The Beach Test Drive, our drive-before-you-buy program planned for summer 2027, puts shoppers in new adventure vehicles for five and a half hours on the Carova sand, and lets a second driver take a second vehicle the same day. Until then, Beach4x4, our rental company in Kill Devil Hills, rents 4x4s for this beach by the day or the week.
Do you take sides?
No. Nobody rides along and nobody steers you toward one. The reviews and the video we link are theirs, not ours. If neither one is right, you found out on the sand, not after you bought one.
Will there be a Tremor to drive?
The Rebel and the Trail Boss are on The Beach Test Drive’s list for 2027. No dealer has placed a Tremor yet. Tell that program you want one; dealers place the vehicles people ask for.
Sources
- Stellantis, 2026 Ram 1500 Rebel X release
- Ritchie Bros., F-150, Ram 1500 and Silverado 1500 compared (May 13, 2026)
- Chevrolet, 2027 Silverado 1500 release (June 16, 2026)
- Ford, 2026 F-150 Tremor
Prices on this page are the makers’ published starting prices on the dates shown and change with every model year. Dealers in The Beach Test Drive program sell to its drivers at the factory invoice, which is a different number; that program explains it. Opinions on how each trim feels are ours, drawn from the published equipment lists and from running four-wheel drives on this beach.
Related: Which 4x4 for the beach? All the comparisons · The F-150 on Outer Banks beaches · Which Ram 1500 trim? · Which Silverado trim? · Best tires for sand · How to air down