2019 Ram Heavy Duty First Drive: Putting 1,000 lb-ft of Torque to Work

Super-Premium Luxury

During this first portion of the drive, I also got to enjoy the level of luxury in the 2019 Ram Heavy Duty lineup. This Laramie Longhorn is one the brand’s premium trimline, offering many of the same features as the Limited models, but with a distinct western theme. It is the perfect luxury truck for the horse owner, as it pulls the biggest trailers without issue and the interior trim matches the design of many other aspects of the equestrian world.

There is unique filigree around the gauges in the driver information cluster, there is uniquely-branded wooden trim, the seats are wrapped in plush two-tone leather with unique badging and embroidery and there are Longhorn scattered throughout the cabin. The front seats are heated, cooled and power controlled, while the padding makes these the most comfortable seats in the one-ton segment. The rear seats are also heated, offering the ability to recline thanks to the massive rear seating area of the Mega Cab.

In short, the Laramie Longhorn trim creates a cabin in the 2019 Ram 3500 that you would have previously only found in a premium European luxury sedan, but this cabin is in the hardest-working truck on sale in America.

Pulling 35,100

Once I got the 2019 Ram 3500 Limited Longhorn and the horse trailer to the midpoint of our day, I had the chance to drive more examples of the next generation Heavy Duty. Most notably, I drove one of the new Ram trucks with the new “max tow” package, allowing the big truck to pull 35,100 pounds. No other truck on sale today can pull that much weight in SAE testing, and to showcase how well the 2019 3500 pulls that massive load, we had an 8-mile drive course that essentially took us down a mountain to a turnaround, then we drove back up that same big hill. The road had a six-degree slope with an array of tight turns, but the simple course put the braking system and the engine to the test.

The “max tow” Ram 3500 is a regular cab Tradesman package with the high output Cummins engine, the Aisin six-speed automatic transmission, dual rear wheels and rear-wheel-drive. This truck was mated to a flat fifth-wheel trailer that was loaded with a front-loader and a huge stack of concrete blocks, with the trailer and the load weighing a combined 35,100 pounds. While I have towed many different trailers with many different trucks, I have never pulled a load this heavy and in dealing with this weight for the first time, I was doing it with a rear-wheel-drive truck in the snow on a relatively steep hill.

I started at the top of the hill, where the snow was fairly heavy and the roads were getting slick. The speed limit was 35 miles per hour, and to maintain that speed, I used the engine brake with support from the integrated trailer brake. Ram has the best OEM engine brake I have tested and it does a terrific job of keeping speeds down on a long downhill drive with a monster load out back. At one point, I let the speed climb a bit on a long straight stretch, but as soon as I engaged the engine brake, the truck slowed right back down to manageable speeds, showing that this big truck has no issue slowing down all of that weight in rough conditions.

I got to the bottom of the hill without incident, at which point I turned around and began the four-mile, 6-degree incline climb back up the hill. My goal was to maintain 35 miles per hour on the climb and I had no problem doing so. The only time when I dropped below 35 on that climb was an area where the road was covered with snow and I had to navigate across a narrow bridge.

I slowed for that section and on the other side, I had to wait until the road flattened out to get back up to 35, but the truck still maintained 33 miles per hour in that one short section. To be clear, I made this long uphill drive without any manual shifting, letting the truck make the decisions and do all of the work with the weight out back. Even though few people will ever need to tow this much weight, the 2019 Ram 3500 handles 35,100 pounds just as well as it pulls the lighter four-horse trailer.

Power Wagon Fun

Finally, before heading back to Las Vegas for dinner, I had a chance to do some off-roading in the 2019 Ram 2500 Tradesman Power Wagon.

2019 Ram Heavy Duty First Drive: Putting 1,000 lb-ft of Torque to Work continued…

Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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