There are pickup trucks and then there are pickup trucks. I’m talking about ones with dual rear wheels, diesel engines that push up to 1,000 pound-feet of torque and that can tow over 33,000 pounds. Well, that’s exactly the resume of this all-new Ram 3500 Heavy Duty. And on top of that, it can be optioned like a luxury sedan.
The 3500 is the biggest, most capable truck that Ram sells and for 2019 it brings with it many of the polished innovations first seen on the all-new 1500; fusing the brawniest mechanical elements with those of a luxury rig. Like all trucks, Ram’s Heavy Duty series can be configured in a multitude of cab, box and engine layouts in both 2500 and 3500 payload capacities. But they don’t get any bigger than this one – the 3500 Mega Cab 4X4 dually weighing over 4 tons and measuring 21’ long with a 6’4” box. Payload: 5,420 pounds. Max Trailer Weight Rating: 33,020 pounds, thanks to the twisting force of Ram’s newest high output turbo.
That thing got a Hemi? Well, it does unless you chose one of the available 2 diesel engine options. And this one here is the high output 6.7-liter Cummins inline-6 that produces 1,000 pound-feet of torque. But, it also adds about $12,000 to the price.
Making 400 horsepower at 2,800 RPM and its groundbreaking 4 digit torque yield at 1,800 RPM, this engine gets up to 33psi of turbo boost working through an Aisin 6-speed automatic that’s specific to this high output version. It also uses a new controller with faster processing speeds that Ram says delivers quicker, more precise shifts. Hard for me to say if that’s a tangible improvement because flooring this is akin to waking a bear from a nap – it takes some time for things to start happening.
If you want to take this truck all the way you’ll need to select the Max Tow Package which also requires the dual rear wheels. With it, you’ll get this 5thwheel hitch which is good for 30,000 pounds.
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