F250 Tremor for a Good Cause

Last Line of Defense’s Ford F250 Tremor is built for a bigger purpose.

In only a few short years, Mike Pfeiffer of Last Line of Defense has amassed quite the following, with more than 365,000 subscribers on YouTube and more than 138,000 on Instagram. There’s a good chance you’ve come across one of the Last Line of Defense’s (LLOD) vehicles while browsing through social media or have stumbled across his popular YouTube page. Through social media, he’s been able to share his gear reviews, tips and advice for survival in the outdoors, as well as his various project vehicles that range from a Toyota Tacoma to an all-new Ford F250 Tremor.

MIKE WANTED A LARGE TRUCK WITH A HIGH PAYLOAD AND A LOT OF POWER TO GO WITH IT. AND, BECAUSE THE TREMOR HAD A 7.3-LITER GAS V8 GODZILLA ENGINE THAT PUSHES 430 HORSEPOWER WITH 475 LB/FT OF TORQUE, HE GOT JUST WHAT HE WAS LOOKING FOR.

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Growing up as an “Army brat,” Mike was naturally exposed to travel and learned survival techniques along the way. After college, he found himself in the mountains of Colorado and has been there for the past decade, living at around the 9,000-foot elevation mark. His proximity to the outdoors makes it easy for him to explore the countless trails in his free time—when he’s not at his day job or behind the computer editing his next YouTube video. He often spends a night or two on the trails, where he’s able to escape and relax, as well as practice basic survival skills.

A Truck to Raise Donations and Awareness

With several project vehicles under his belt, Mike’s desire to build something that was not just “cool,” but also served a greater purpose, was conceived. He partnered with Diamondback Truck Covers and brainstormed what they could do to build the “ultimate adventure truck.”

What makes this F250 Tremor even more exciting is that they decided to eventually give it away.

HIS GOAL WAS TO KEEP THINGS RELATIVELY UTILITARIAN WITHOUT GOING OVERBOARD ON THE MODIFICATIONS … INSTEAD, HE FOCUSED ON UPGRADES THAT WOULD ENHANCE HIS TRIPS.

Mike said, “Let’s take it on some rad adventures and see how it does in my daily life.” He added, “After it’s built, and I’ve had a little fun with it and showed my audience how it performs, we’ll raffle it off, so my viewers have a chance at winning it! Let’s not stop there, though; let’s do something good with it, as well.”

The team made the decision to donate all the money raised from the truck giveaway to a cause that doesn’t receive the attention it deserves. They decided they would help raise awareness and donate the money to an organization called A21, a program that focuses on ending human trafficking.

“We decided to donate all the money raised to a cause that I don’t think gets talked about nearly enough; and that’s the wild problem of human and sex trafficking,” Mike pointed out. “There are more than 40 million slaves in the world right now.”

Picking the Right Truck

For the vehicle, they chose a brand-new 2020 Ford F250 Tremor. Mike wanted a large truck with a high payload and a lot of power to go with it. And, because the Tremor had a 7.3-liter gas V8 Godzilla engine that pushes 430 horsepower with 475 lb/ft of torque, he got just what he was looking for.

Mike then decided to build it to be versatile enough for overlanding adventures, weekend camping trips … and handle a little wheeling when needed. Of course, in true LLOD fashion, the truck would become an ultimate bug-out rig if the situation called for it.

A challenge they met was locating a truck. Much like everything else during the pandemic, vehicles were hard to come by; but, with some luck and perseverance, they located the perfect F250 Tremor on the East Coast as their platform. Thankfully, Mike’s friend, Talon, was willing to drive the truck from his home in Pennsylvania to Colorado. The project then got underway as planned.

Planning Proves Worthwhile

Mike spent a lot of time on the planning and preparation phase of the project. He took a plan-first approach and a ready-for-anything strategy. This paid off, because he encountered few issues, despite it not being a typical Toyota project for him.

“It’s just been a learning experience. I’m pretty knowledgeable in the Toyota world, but tackling a new platform means that it’s not really a 1:1. There are different companies, different considerations, etc. So, it was mostly just learning aspects of the big Ford.”

His goal was to keep things relatively utilitarian without going overboard on the modifications. He elected to keep the stock F250 Tremor suspension, because he felt it already provided the performance he needed. He also kept the factory engine stock. Instead, he focused on upgrades that would enhance his trips.

“I have a few more things to add, but I don’t think I’ll really change anything that’s on it,” Mike explained. “I’m a guy that usually doesn’t change/add/mod stuff until I find that I need it or that I think it’d really be a significant improvement.” He went on to say, “I’m undecided on doing any suspension stuff, because it sits and rides really nicely right now. I am going to be adding a little bit of weight to it, so pending how that goes, we’ll see.”

Rolling Down the Trail

One of the first modifications he made to the F250 Tremor was the addition of 17-inch Black Rhino Abrams wheels wrapped in 39×13.50 BF Goodrich KM3 tires for extra grip on the trails. Helping to add clearance for the large wheels and tires is a Fab Fours open fender system flares that can allow for up to 40-inch tires with only a leveling kit. While Mike was able to do most of the build himself, he also relied on Tru Automotive (Denver, Colorado) to help with the fender system. This company also added the Fab Fours Matrix bumper that has increased clearance to match the fenders.

For excursions that take him off the grid to tackle trails deep in the mountains, storage and organization are important aspects that he didn’t want to ignore.

Mike outfitted the inside of the truck bed with a CargoEase OBA cargo slide and a BuiltRight Bed Slide Rack system. Inside the bed, he installed MOLLE/PALS mounting systems on the side walls to hold multiple items in place. A Diamondback HD truck bed covers and protects the truck bed. Mike paired that with Front Runner load bars to hold an iKamper Skycamp 2.0 rooftop tent.

Mike equipped a Front Runner Slimline 2 roof rack up front on the F250 Tremor to hold additional items, including Pelican Cargo boxes for gear storage. The roof rack also holds a KC Hilites Pro 6 lightbar and C2 sidelights to help illuminate the trail and the surrounding areas at night. Additional lighting includes KC Hilites Flex Era 4 fog lights and ditch lights. Inside the cabin is a Switch Pros switch controller that helps control all the lighting.

Bad-Ass Inside and Out

The interior is fairly stock, but with the addition of 67designs phone and accessory mounts. For communication, Mike relies on Rugged Radios GMRS and miscellaneous HAM gear, on which he’s a licensed operator. A Dometic CCF-T center console fridge keeps beverages cold and within an arm’s reach while he’s driving.

As someone who’s always prepared, Mike recognized that a full-sized spare is crucial, because anything can, and will, happen. So, housing the spare wheel and tire is a RIGd Ultraswing Mega-fit swing-out, hitch-mounted tire carrier.

Final Touches

The final touch was adding his personal style to the project. He achieved this via a Multicam black vinyl wrap by Image Craft in Arizona. This helped complete the F250 Termor’s look and made it stand out from the crowd.

“Honestly, I love driving the thing everywhere. It gets horrible gas mileage, but everything else about the driving experience is just a dream. Oh, and parking it isn’t awesome if you’re in the city. But luckily, I try to never leave the mountains,” Mike admitted.

THE DECISION WAS MADE TO DONATE ALL THE MONEY RAISED FROM THE TRUCK GIVEAWAY TO A CAUSE THAT DOESN’T RECEIVE THE ATTENTION IT DESERVES. THEY DECIDED THEY WOULD HELP RAISE AWARENESS AND DONATE THE MONEY TO AN ORGANIZATION CALLED A21, A PROGRAM THAT FOCUSES ON ENDING HUMAN TRAFFICKING.

Mike only has a couple of things left to finish on the F250 Tremor before he takes it on a few more adventures. Then, he’ll ultimately raffle it off to help increase awareness and makes the donation to the organization. One of those last touches will include a Smittybilt XRC winch.

Mike would like to give a huge thanks to all the build partners and sponsors.

“The truck is a dream; it’s an absolute dream. But I’m so much more stoked about how it’ll help raise awareness and money for a cause that’s super-close to my heart.”

Check out this Tremor and follow Mike Pfeiffer’s adventures on Instagram: @lastlineofdefense.

UPGRADES

2020 Ford F250 Tremor

Engine: 7.3-liter V8 Godzilla

Suspension: Factory Tremor Suspension

Wheels & Tires: 17×9.5 Black Rhino Abrams Wheels and 39×13.50 BF Goodrich KM3

Interior Accessories: Dometic CCF-T Center Console Fridge; Switch Pros Switch Controller; 67Designs Phone and Accessory Mounts

Exterior Accessories: Multicam Black Vinyl Wrap; Fab Fours Open Fender System flares, matched with the Fab Fours Matrix Bumper; Smittybilt XRC (not yet installed); KC HiLites Flex Era 4 in the fogs and ditch brackets; Front Runner Slimline 2 Roof Rack with KC HiLites Pro 6 lightbar and C2 side lights; Pelican Cargo; Diamondback HD Truck Bed Cover with Front Runner load bars; Kamper Skycamp 2.0; CargoEase OBA cargo slide in the bed; BuiltRight Bedside Rack systems; RIGd UltraSwing Mega-Fit Swing Out Hitch Mounted Tire Carrier with Full-Size Spare