Ram 3500 Limited Mega Cab

A solid offering, if a bit behind the times

Ram Truck reveals the most powerful pickup: 2018 Ram 3500 Heavy Duty launches with chart-topping 930 lb.-ft. of torque.
Ram Truck reveals the most powerful pickup: 2018 Ram 3500 Heavy Duty launches with chart-topping 930 lb.-ft. of torque.

St. LOUIS-The road had been long, but surprisingly comfortable, as we rolled into Friday-afternoon, rush-hour traffic.

The metro interstates were crowded, but the Ram 3500 Limited Mega Cab 4x4 (can't you just hear Tim "The Tool Man" letting that build into a grunt?), an $81,900, luxury-equipped, one-ton dually workhorse powered by 6.7-L Cummins Turbodiesel (AAARRGHHROOO?!?!) and capable of hauling a 31,210-lb. fifth wheeler, was moderately agile and afforded superb visibility.

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AP

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Mouallem talks with European Union foreign-policy chief Catherine Ashton during a break Wednesday in peace talks in Montreux, Switzerland.

Most of all, it was big; and people stayed out of its way, which seemed to tickle Beautiful Blonde Bride, my petite lovely wife who not once volunteered to pilot the six-wheeled beast. We were finally on our way for a long-planned visit with her Brilliant Big Sister (not to be confused with my Brilliant Little Sister who is a big sister, but that is a long and not-so-interesting digression.)

Certainly, a truck that rides, handles and sounds similar to a school bus was not our first choice for a 1,000-mile adventure, but that's my crazy life. I can't control what happens on the stop before mine. Things break, people have accidents, tires go flat, services need performing, so one is never absolutely certain what is going to show up in the driveway Tuesday morning until the nice man arrives.

It all ended well. Our first serendipitous discovery: Fewer cylinders in a diesel mean the same thing as fewer cylinders in a gas engine. Engineers have learned that they can get the same horsepower and torque out of fewer cylinders by pushing through more air. That improves efficiency, which, among other things, translates into better fuel economy.

Not long ago I tested a new Ford one-ton powered by 6.7-L V8 and got about 12 mpg combined, 14-15 on the highway. Although heavy-duty pickups are not required to do EPA testing, several places, like fuelly.com, compile real-world numbers. By the way, we got about the same numbers as I did on the big Ford diesel.

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AP

A police officer runs from protesters Wednesday in central Kiev. Ukrainian opposition leaders asked protesters Wednesday to refrain from confrontations with police for 24 hours.

That sort of fuel consumption on a trip to St. Louis would be a deal-breaker for a couple of English teachers, so I set the big Ram at exactly the speed limit. This pleased Loving Bride no end; to be honest, I kinda found it a relaxing way to drive, too.

Rolling down the Interstate at 70 mph, the big rig consistently delivered 18 mpg. Just as importantly, the Cummins Turbodiesel is a sipper of DEF-Diesel Exhaust Fluid. For those who haven't driven a diesel in a while, they now come with two gauges: One for fuel, another for DEF, which improves performance, reduces fuel consumption and results in better air quality. When we tested Nissan's new diesel, we were shocked to see it glug down $15 jugs of DEF like a kid sucking down popsicles at a Fourth of July picnic.

At the end of the week, the Ram's DEF gauge had hardly moved. This is a good thing. Lower operating costs is one of two significant competitive advantages the Ram one-ton has over those from Ford and GM.

The other is work, particularly in 2018 models, which go on sale this month. Ram engineers and Cummins upped boost limits through a variable geometry turbo and flow rate increases through the fuel system, enabling the Inline 6 to produce an additional 30 lb.-ft. of torque, to 930.

That crowns Ram as this week's king of the torque mountain. General Motors' 6.6-L Duramax puts out 910 lb-ft and Ford's Power Stroke hits 925. With a regular tow hitch, the 2018 Ram 3500 diesel can pull up to 20,000 lbs.

When equipped with a new, in-house, fifth-wheel hitch design ($1,395), the Ram 3500 allows customers to move away from Class 4 and 5 trucks to haul trailers that would have otherwise been limited to 24,000 lbs. and pull up to 31,200 lbs.

Ford beats that, thanks to military-grade aluminum bodies and reinforced high tensile strength frames. Ford took 800 lbs. out of the body and put it back into the frame. With a gooseneck, the Ford one-ton can haul 32,500 lbs.; 21,000 lbs. with a conventional hitch. 

That's a lot of mass moving down the highway. One wonders if perhaps it is time to require a CDL to drive these rigs.

With nothing hooked to the back, the Ram 3500 drives a little like Jessica Rabbit. Remember her line, "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way?"

These trucks drive in their own way. Three-point turnarounds are more like five points. Every maneuver is sort of like carpentry: measure twice, steer once. Mirrors need to be checked twice. Everything has to be done a little more slowly and with a little more care.

Which brings us to another area that puts Ford on top of this particular world: Safety and technology.

The Ram does not offer the type of safety technology that ought to mandatory on these big rigs. Adaptive cruise control, which discourages tailgating, and lane-keep assistance to dampen lane wandering, are helpful on cars but invaluable on bigger rigs.

Also not available is Ford's terrific camera systems which, at the tap of a button, can give one an instant birds-eye view of the vehicle and anything around it. Not only is that a safety item when maneuvering around toddlers, but if you've ever picked up lumber at Lowe's, you know a lot of these guys can't get it between the lines.

More importantly, Ram, how do you sell a truck for $82,000 and not include 21st century technology?

Ford also offers trailer backing assist. One sits in the driver's seat and, through the back-up mirror, twists a knob to "steer" the trailer where it needs to go. That could avoid a few dents.

All three major American manufacturers are putting out prodigious work trucks, capable of tackling big jobs. Is the Red River getting a little close? Just hook one of these up to a river bank and giver 'er a little tug.

 At the moment, the consensus is that Ford is technologically ahead of the field. General Motors seems to be headed for a fresh redesign in 2019.

Fiat Chrysler America announced a few years ago that it would redesign its HD models this year, but in December pulled back, saying it needed to save money. That leaves Ram engineers doing the best they can with what they have.

It also means dealers have more money to put on the hood to close these deals, and FCA will most likely continue to sweeten incentives to maintain market share while it negotiates with potential buyers. Several news agencies reported this week that at least one Chinese automaker had made an offer for the company.

Bottom line: At a lower price, with plenty of work capability and with good fuel efficiency, the Ram diesel one-ton ain't a bad deal.

 

 

 

 

 

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