Dodge Forum Review: 2017 Ram 2500 Laramie with the 4×4 Off-road Package
There’s more to Ram trucks than just the Power Wagon and the Rebel.
What’s the “the most capable off-road truck in America”? According to Ram, it’s the 2500 Power Wagon. How about the go-to model in the 1500 line for blasting down trails and crawling across rocks? That’s the Rebel.
The truck you see here is neither of those things. After thinking about the Power Wagon and Rebel, you could say the 2017 Ram 2500 Laramie with the 4X4 Off-road Package that I drove for a week is unremarkable. There’s no R-A-M grille or badass winch up front. The 3500 trumps the 2500 in terms of towing and hauling capabilities. Laramie is neither the most basic nor most luxurious trim line. Thanks to the optional Sport Appearance Group package’s black and body-color exterior accents, my test truck didn’t even have chrome on it (unless you count the lug nuts).
I wouldn’t call my Laramie media loaner unremarkable, though. The Laramie may not have the cool exterior graphics of the Power Wagon, but it’s still damn handsome, especially in the rich Delmonico Red that my review rig wore. Thanks to the Sport Appearance Group, the bumpers, grille bars, and door handles were covered in the same color. It also darkened the projector headlights and tail lamps, and added black grille inserts, badges, mirror caps, and 20-inch wheels, making the giant rig look as sleek as a 20-foot-long rig can look.
For being around the middle of the trim spectrum of the Ram 2500 lineup, my Laramie test truck was well-equipped. Granted, it was packed with options, such as the Convenience Group’s auto high beams (a pleasant surprise on a hoss heavy duty truck) and rain-sensing wipers, keyless entry and start, leather front buckets, remote start, and navigation for the 8.4-inch touchscreen. Add-ons or not, the only thing I really wanted when I was sitting in the (standard) heated/ventilated driver’s seat was more accurate steering. Off-center, it’s slow and vague and loose. Having two hands on the wheel of a vehicle is always a great idea. It’s an even better one in the 2500 Laramie.
Headroom and legroom in the back row was abundant. Under the bench seat, there were panels that I was able to fold out to form a flat load floor. I’m sure that comes in handy for a lot of Ram customers, but I would’ve preferred a total void under the back seat so that I could’ve kept my tripod and camera bags completely out of sight instead of trying – and largely failing – to stuff them under the deployed load floor.
The Ram 2500 is available with three engines: a 5.7-liter Hemi V8, a 6.4-liter Hemi, and a 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel I6. Ram equipped my review special with the big gas V8 and a six-speed automatic, a combination which proved more than capable of getting the 2500’s considerable weight up to speed in a respectable amount of time. When I needed to bring all of that bulk to a stop, the brake pedal was surprisingly communicative for being attached to something that will never be mistaken for a sports car.
Around town, the link coil suspension’s ride quality was as harsh as it was bouncy. Too bad none of my friends were moving when I had the 2500 Laramie. Perhaps a bed full of furniture would’ve smoothed things out a little.
That didn’t matter once I got to the Hidden Falls Adventure Park in Marble Falls, Texas, though. I knew a rough road was ahead of me. I was ready for it and so was the 2500. The 4×4 Off-road Package Ram outfitted it with included front tow hooks, a skid plate to protect the transfer case, performance-tuned Bilstein front and rear shocks, and Hill Descent Control.
I turned the crosshairs grille toward a challenging staircase-like formation of rock. I had taken the 2016 Power Wagon to the top of it last year. I decided I would make the same trip with the 2017 Laramie. I would complete it in a different way, though. Perhaps it was excitement or the Power Wagon’s reputation that made me charge up the terrain without a spotter or worrying about scraping the undercarriage. In the Laramie, I was more cautious, more strategic because it didn’t have the Ram Articulink front suspension or the knobby tires or amount of ground clearance that the Power Wagon had. I knew it could get me to where I wanted to go, but I didn’t feel invincible in it the way I did in the Power Wagon.
My friend Bryan was kind enough to spot me to make sure I didn’t drag the diff on a rock. At one point in the journey up, he piled up some rocks to help me get the front driver’s side tire up to the next stone landing in the staircase. Along the way, I occasionally felt the Firestone Transforce ATs losing their grip on the dirt beneath them, preventing me from moving forward. I let the truck settle and allowed the rubber to get a big bite of earth, then throttled my way higher into the park.
Bryan and I eventually reached the top of the natural stairs, where I posed the Laramie for the “hero shots” it deserved. Sure, the 2017 Ram 2500 Laramie with the 4×4 Off-road Package isn’t a Rebel or a Power Wagon. It might not have a cool name like those trucks, but it makes a hell of a name for itself out in the rough.
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