Top 10 Dodge Ram Pickups at the Carlisle All-Truck Nationals
Here are some of our favorite Dodge Ram trucks from the past few years of the huge Pennsylvania show.
Each year in August, scores of trucks, vans and SUVs of all shapes and sizes pour into the Carlisle Fairgrounds in Pennsylvania for the All-Truck Nationals and every year, Dodge and Ram trucks are well represented. We have hunted down walkthrough videos from five of the past six years of the huge truck show, picking out ten of our favorite Dodge and/or Ram brand models from 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, skipping 2013 because we couldn’t find any high enough quality videos from that year.
We have included the full videos at the end of this piece and in them, you can see the huge spread of vehicles at the Carlisle All-Truck Nationals, including every brand imaginable and every type of truck – from flawless restored classics to 80s mini-trucks to late model monster machines. However, for those readers who don’t want to sit through the videos, here are ten of our favorite Dodge or Ram brand vehicles from the All-Truck Nationals.
The Classics
Let’s start with some of the old school Dodge trucks, including the coolest Dodge van in any of these videos.
From the 1940s through the 1960s, the Dodge Power Wagon was one of the most rugged trucks sold in America. At the 2016 Carlisle All-Truck Nationals, one of these cool classic Power Wagons was displayed with one of the 4th generation versions of the Ram 2500 Power Wagon – shown at the top of this piece.
This 1st generation Dodge Ram just looks like a super-clean half-ton truck from the late 1970s, but under the hood is a 572-cubic inch Hemi crate engine, likely making this one of the quickest classic Mopar trucks at the show in 2016.
There are far fewer vans than trucks, but this old school Dodge Van named the Jolly Green Giant was a showstopper at the 2015 All-Truck Nationals.
90s Dodge Trucks
The 2nd generation Dodge Ram was introduced in 1994 and that truck introduced the curvy modern era of Mopar pickups. While they are getting up there in years, Dodge trucks from the 90s are still a common model in Carlisle – including the 2nd generation Dakota.
There aren’t many Dodge Dakota pickups on display, but this 2g R/T with a Shaker hood looks great with the contrasting orange and black livery.
At the 2012 Carlisle All-Truck Nationals, this high-riding black truck with metallic pinkish-purple flames stood out about the crowd.
When the 2g Ram was new, Dodge was heavily involved in the world of monster trucks and some of those old school, high-riding performance trucks make an appearance in Carlisle.
The Hottest 2000s
The 3rd generation Dodge Ram and 4th generation Ram (no more Dodge) are the most popular Mopar-powered trucks at the Carlisle All-Truck Nationals due to them being the newest. It was tough, but we picked out four of our favorites from 2003 through 2017.
Slammed trucks aren’t for everyone, but this Cummins-powered early 3rd generation Ram 3500 is low enough to fit in with the lowered trucks, but it isn’t ridiculously low.
This 4th generation Ram Heavy Duty has common upgrades including a lift kit, huge wheels/tires, a custom grille and LED-trimmed headlights, perfecting the murdered-out look.
This bright red 4th generation Ram HD looks like it is ready for any off-road situation while also looking awfully pretty at the All-Truck Nationals.
Finally, the custom bright green paint is what draws you over to this 4th gen Ram HD, but the long list of custom upgrades from front to back makes this one of the coolest trucks from the 217 event.
The 2018 Carlisle All-Truck Nationals are being held on August 3rd through the 5th, with spectator admission for the whole weekend starting at $25 while the cost of a show vehicle is $50 for non-judged show, while the judged classes cost $65 to enter.
Check out the videos below of those All-Truck Nationals mentioned above for a look at the full scope of the huge event.