Ram Pickups Bring Home 2 Trophies from TAWA Texas Truck Rodeo
Ram 1500 Rebel, 1500 Laramie Longhorn Southfork, 2500 Limited Tungsten & 2500 Power Wagon get competitive at TAWA’s annual roundup.
In its modern commercials, Ram Trucks associates itself with guts and glory. Every October, its marketing, public relations, corporate communications, and engineering representatives try their hardest to make a Ram pickup synonymous with the coveted title of “Truck of Texas.”
Early last week, Ram brought several of its models down to the sprawling and picturesque Longhorn River Ranch for the Texas Auto Writers Association’s annual Texas Truck Rodeo. Over the course of two days, 74 of my fellow journalists and I drove dozens of crossovers, SUVs, and trucks on and off road and gave them exterior, interior, performance, value, and personal appeal scores to determine which vehicles won the top spots in nearly 20 categories.
The 2018 Ram 1500 Rebel competed against the 2018 Ford F-150 XLT and King Ranch siblings, 2018 Nissan Titan Midnight Edition, and 2018 Toyota Tundra Limited Crewmax 4×4 in the Full-Size Pickup Truck Class. Its bigger brother, the 2018 Ram 2500 Limited Tungsten, went head-to-head against the 2017 Ford F-250 King Ranch in the Heavy Duty Pickup Truck division. In the Luxury Pickup Truck class, the 2018 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn Southfork battled the 2017 Nissan Titan Platinum Reserve Crew Cab 4×4 and the 2018 Limited versions of the Ford F-150 and F-250. The almighty 2017 Ram 2500 Power Wagon faced competition from the 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor and the 2017 Nissan Titan PRO-4X in the Off-Road Pickup Truck category. Ram even brought a 2018 5500 Tradesman Chassis Cab dump truck to compete for the #1 Commercial Vehicle ranking against rivals from Ford, Mercedes-Benz, and Nissan.
ALSO SEE: What Forum Members Have to Say
For on-road testing, my colleagues and I drove country back roads which had speed limits of around 60 mph. On the ranch, we had the choice of three off-road routes. Level 1 was a peaceful, winding cruise over gravel. Level 2 was slightly less pleasant. Level 3 was the roughest trail and included a short chain of whoops, a steep drive down into and out of a pit, and miles of rocky elevation changes and turns. It also featured a turnoff that led to a “gauntlet” trail with larger rocks, a stone ledge to conquer, and an energizing demonstration of the Power Wagon’s off-road prowess and equipment.
Having seen the Laramie Longhorn Southfork at the State Fair of Texas a few weeks ago, I was eager to get some drive time in it. I likened its interior to a James Bond movie. You’re supposed to see the enormous sums of money spent on making a 007 flick on the screen. When you get inside a Southfork edition Ram, you see the money required to buy one in its stitched leather (even on the A-pillar grab handles), real wood accents, galvanized-look trim, and convincingly suede-like headliner. Considering how many Laramie Longhorns Ram sells in Texas, they had a great idea making the seating surfaces in the Southfork a light color. Those should keep shorts-wearing travelers from scorching the bottoms of their thighs on hot summer days.
I considered it illegal to not drive a Rebel while I was at the ranch, so I jumped into one and ran the Hemi-powered rig through the most difficult course. Thanks to its air suspension and knobby tires, it didn’t break a sweat. I wasn’t expecting to be surprised by what it did or didn’t do. I just wanted to drive it because it’s loud and fun.
I’ve driven the 2016 and 2017 versions of the Ram 2500 Power Wagon on pavement and trails numerous times, but the Texas Truck Rodeo gave me a chance to experience the apocalypse-proof monster in a different way. Before starting the series of whoops, I engaged 4LO and electronically disconnected the front sway bar, which allowed the Power Wagon to keep all four of its meaty tires on the dirt instead of tripod-ing like other vehicles at the event did.
The truck’s ample ground clearance allowed me to clear the large chunks of rock and tree stump fragments I encountered on the gauntlet path. Its lockers helped me claw over everything else. I stopped at a landing near the top of the rough trail. Another Power Wagon stood on the next-highest landing. A Ram trucks representative came down the hill to tell me what to expect. The winch cable from his truck was looped through a coupling that he was going to loop my truck’s cable through before connecting the end of the cable to one of my truck’s front tow hooks.
While simultaneously keeping my right foot steady on the gas pedal and my thumb down on the 12,000-pound winch’s controller to pull the cable in, I slowly crawled up the hillside until the other truck had me securely held in place. Without having to worry about sliding back, I pulled in the winch cable and evenly throttled my way up to meet the Ram rep’s Power Wagon on the next clearing. In all honesty, the Power Wagon didn’t need the winch at all to make it to that point, but Ram created a helluva way to get there. Kudos to the engineers for their 4LO throttle tuning. It allowed me to easily and calmly perform the truck version of patting my head and rubbing my stomach at the same time.
Unfortunately for Ram, that wasn’t enough to help the Power Wagon to defeat the versatile and fun Raptor for the best Off-Road Pickup Truck award. The rodeo’s top prize, the trophy for the “Truck of Texas,” went to the facelifted and revamped 2018 Ford F-150. However, the Power Wagon’s 2500 Limited Tungsten sibling did come out on top in the Heavy Duty Pickup Truck segment. The same goes for the 1500 Laramie Longhorn Southfork in the Luxury Pickup Truck class.
Ultimately, TAWA members didn’t associate a Ram pickup with the words “Truck of Texas.” I doubt any of them mentally link the company itself with the word “quitter.” No one should. Ram has won the award in the past. Perhaps it will reclaim the title with one of its next-generation trucks.
