2019 Ram Heavy Duty: We’re Heading to Las Vegas to Drive it
This week, The Car Guide heads over to Las Vegas to drive FCA’s latest work trucks, the 2019 Ram 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty.
The War is On
2019 marks the return of professional-grade trucks from the three main American carmakers. General Motors recently pulled the drapes off its Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD, and Ford has already given us a sneak peak of what we should expect from its 2020 Super Duty, promising a more powerful truck than ever before.
- Also: FCA Unveils the 2019 Ram 1500 Classic Warlock and Ram Heavy Duty pickups
- Also: Heavy-Duty Pickups: How Big Is Too Big?
Inevitably, Ram responds with a heavily updated machine, a truck that saw light for the first time at this year’s Detroit Auto Show, just over a month ago.
The heavy-duty truck segment is a place where big numbers speak, and each of the new players offer just that. The GM cousins can both be powered by a 6.6-litre turbo-diesel V8 good for 445 horsepower and 910 lb.-ft. of torque, and can tow between 30,000 lbs. and 35,500 lbs. (13,607 kg and 16,102 kg).
Ford still hasn’t published official numbers for its next Super Duty, but promises even more power from its 6.7-litre diesel engine, as well as an all-new 7.3-litre petrol-powered V8.
Ram also has big numbers to show off. Still powered by a 6.7-litre Cummins turbo-diesel six cylinder, the Ram Heavy Duty 2500 and 3500 trucks pump out 400 horsepower and a colossal 1,000 lb.-ft. of torque. Max towing is rated at 35,100 lbs. (15,921 kg), with max payload set at 7,680 lbs. (3,884 kg).
A gasoline-powered, 6.4-litre HEMI V8 will also be offered for the big Ram, good for a claimed 410 horsepower and 429 lb.-ft. It’ll be couple to an eight-speed automatic gearbox, while the diesel engine gets grafted to a six-speed automatic.
We’ll get a chance to test out all variants of this new machine, including the off-road-ready Power Wagon under a warm Nevada sun. So stay tuned.