Yahoo Autos 2013 Ram 2500 / 3500 HD
Truth be told, we only crested the vaunted 30,000 towing mark in a regular cab Tradesman Edition 3500 (that’s the small, three-person cab with base, rubber floor-mat trim); the four-door Mega Cab 3500 with high-zoot Laramie trim is limited to a trailer weight of “only” 28,980 pounds. Gross combined vehicle weight rating (truck, payload, and trailer) for the Tradesman is 37,600 pounds and the Mega Cab’s is down 100 to 37,500, so if you’re flirting with the limit, but require seating for five, you might want to limit your trips to the gravy bar at the Cracker Country Buffet. The 2500 and the 3500 are available in a truly mind-bending number of cab, bed, engine, trim, and axle-ratio combinations, and the manner in which they are configured significantly impacts the tow rating of a given truck. A few incorrectly checked boxes could effectively neuter the 30,000-pound tow rating of our Tradesman to a measly 16,520; buyers with specific towing requirements are advised to double-check their work before signing off on the order sheet.
Compared with the 3500, the 2500 feels positively chuckable. In reality, it’s nearly as tough and just as unwieldy-for a truck-as its big brother, but unloaded and in single-rear-wheel configuration, it’s light enough to make a discernible difference. Even with a full payload of straw in the bed, it proved adept at wheeling along at freeway speeds. Just for grins we took a spin in a Hemi-powered 2500 (the Hemi is also available in the 3500 for 2013). It does the job, but with only 400 lb-ft of torque on tap, the gas V-8 lacks the grunt of the Cummins oil burner for serious haulers.
Building a truck to handle extreme loads isn’t exactly rocket science, but to do it while retaining a modicum of drivability requires some finesse. Our time at the wheel was relatively free of jiggle and impact harshness, due in part to the updated frame made of high-strength steel, buttressed by eight cross members and fully boxed rear rails. Wider front rails permit the tweaking of the front spring placement, which improves roll stiffness. After some seat time, we began to feel like the bull that navigated the china shop without damaging a single item.
The Laramie Longhorn we spent the majority of our time in contained more tooled leather than Porter Wagner’s closet. The hide is soft to the touch, but we hope it’s up to the task. The Western theme continues in the instrument panel, including the tach and speedo gauges, which, combined with their smallish digits, can be a bit difficult to read. Much nicer is the fully programmable seven-inch TFT display between them that allows users to select from a menu of operating parameters-turbo pressure, oil pressure and temp, trans temp, fuel filter life, and more-and place any four of them at the corners of the display for monitoring.
Variety, it’s said, is the spice of life, and you’ll get no argument from Ram. In addition to the aforementioned hardware options, Ram buyers can pick from Tradesman, SLT, Lonestar, Big Horn, Laramie, and Laramie Longhorn trims, and that’s before delving into the à la carte menu. If you’re looking to move mountains in style, Ram’s got what you need-just make sure you choose wisely.
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