It has been high-adventure to road-test the ongoing battle for pickup supremacy, between the Ram TRX, which upstaged the Ford F-150 Raptor, and the new Raptor R, which came back to grab the slight edge over the T-Rex in drag-racing elapsed times. But if you would love to have one of those kings of the hillside but would prefer to find a compromise between them and the normal run-of-the-road Ram or F-150, there are a couple of perfect offerings for you.

And, by good fortune, I had the opportunity to test-drive both of them in close succession since the late-arriving spring found Northern Minnesota. Before the lilacs finished blooming and went away, I spent a week with the Ram 2500 Heavy Duty Rebel, a near-monster equipped with all sorts of upgrades over the basic Ram including beefed up suspension — and a 6.7-liter Cummins Turbo-Diesel, an in-line 6 that develops 370 horsepower and 850 foot-pounds of torque, yet is tame enough for a normal day of roaring on the street.

A few weeks later, measured by the seasonal departure of my favorite lupines, I spent a week with a Ford F-150, painted Avalanche, which is pretty much white, with a much more subtle graphic “Tremor” on the flanks compared to the wild black-on-orange Raptor R. Ford had done away with V8 engines in the F-150 and used a variety of 4 and V6 EcoBoost turbocharged engines that work very well and efficiently in the full-sized pickups.

But when the TRX-Raptor duel escalated, Ford revised the V8 out of the Mustang GT500 as its weapon of choice. So now that they made the V8 fit, Ford decided to insert the slightly detuned 5.0-liter V8 into the F-150 and called it the new Tremor. Picking a winner is too close to call, and totally subjective, depending on the buyer. So you decide.

Ram 2500 Heavy Duty Rebel:   There is a distinct macho look to the Rebel, which is fitting a vehicle that can be bought with a gas V8 or the Cummins Turbo-Diesel. It is built to duplicate the heavy-duty Ram’s great towing ability, and it also is designed as a sporty way to go off-roading. The combination is ideal for putting the beefed-up shocks and coil springs with stabilizer bars front and rear and optional air-suspension at the rear.

Ram knows that Ford has pretty much got the pickup field covered, so it has loaded up its already impressive interior features with items like an iPad-sized information screen and a 17-speaker Harmon Kardon audio system, in case you want great music while you’re towing that trailer or powering through the underbrush while taking your boat to the cabin. The tester was a very classy dark Graphite Crystal color, which makes the blacked-out grille and the black leather bucket seats complementary more than contrasting.

All that suspension stuff raises the Ram a couple of inches, and the engineers decided to not add the half-step running board to make it easy to climb into the leather-lined cockpit. The reason is that if the Rebel is intended to be taken off-road, those running boards are a nuisance, and you might bang them when you go over the rocky terrain the Rebel is designed to clear. Getting in is at least a stretch, and requires you to kick high to get your leading foot on board, grab the grab-handle and vault yourself up and in. Getting out is certainly easier, but as you swing your legs out and plan to drop down there is a moment when you realize you should have parked near a softer landing site, or maybe you might have brought a parachute. It’s that same little thrill you get whenever you are in an older elevator that makes a sudden drop in its first few feet of descent.

If you choose the Ram HD Rebel with the gas V8, you can own it for as little as $69,000. If you go for the 6.7-liter Cummins Turbo-Diesel, like my tester, you can find the sticker price climbs to $91,730. For that you get almost twice the torque and surprisingly smooth operation with good fuel economy of nearly 20 miles per gallon.

Ford F-150 Tremor: Ford has been making the Tremor for a while, and it is popular enough that the company also has added a Raptor Tremor and a Ranger Tremor, and why not a Maverick Tremor?

With all the pieces in hand to raise the chassis and stabilize it, Ford also made the Tremor capable of added tow weight and a lot of creature features, such as the console-housed work station. You can fold the shift lever forward and down into the front edge of the console, then open the console and fold down a flat surface that you can use as a desk for writing, by computer or by hand (remember that?).

The bed has a power tailgate lock, and the trailer towing package has integrated trailer sway and braking controls. The electronic 4-by-4 can be engaged on the fly, which is handy for going from off- to on-road driving. The LED headlights and built-in foglights are nice touches, too.

The 5.0-liter V8 is an interesting upgrade, because it not only has an advantage in potency over the smaller EcoBoosts, but it has the melodious sound of that high-revving Ford V8 that will coax you into looking forward to entering a freeway and running the revs up to swiftly get up to the speed limit — and also hear that sound that might prompt you to turn down the 8-speaker B & O audio system. The fact that Ford also puts a lightweight running board on either side makes its added height no challenge, as you can step up easily and comfortably hop in, and step down on your way out. If you take the Tremor off-road, well, the risk of banging it on tough terrain is worth the convenience, in my opinion.

Base price of the tester is $61,110, and as-tested rose to $72,145 with the Tremor features and graphics and all. But remember, with all the different Tremor models, the F-150 Tremor is one of the rare times when the name has to work to rise to the level of that revving engine.