RAM 2500 2017 Tow Test

For those hauling a heavy caravan, boat trailer or horse float, the latest RAM 2500 substantiates the old adage of there being no substitute for power.

Imported by American Special Vehicles (ASV), the iconic Mexico-built RAM trucks are comprehensively re-engineered and remanufactured to right-hand drive on a purpose-built production line in Melbourne.

Given their ability to haul fifth wheel caravans weighing up to 6942kg and make easy work of the latest crop of heavyweight off-road vans, they are ideal heavy-duty tow tugs and are supported by a three-year, 100,00km warranty and a nationwide dealer network.

The reality is, if you want to tow one of these monster vans, there is little choice but to go truck shopping. Even Lovell’s latest GVM upgrade for Toyota vehicles tops out at 4200kg for the LandCruiser 79 Series Cab Chassis single cab and 3800kg for the 200 Series wagon.

But should you – or could you – consider a RAM for lighter towing duties? In terms of dollars, it’s a no-brainer as the $139,500 (plus on-road costs) ask for the basic RAM 2500 Laramie is not much more than you’ll pay for a GVM-upgraded Landcruiser Sahara or a Land-Rover Discovery TD6, and somewhat less than the cheapest Range Rover.

Stands out in the crowd
If you’re worried about ‘street cred’, you shouldn’t be. Our ‘Brilliant Blue’ RAM drew more positive looks and comments in the main streets of toffy Noosa Heads and Port Douglas than the latest Rangie could ever hope for.

And it’s not just its sheer size, massive 3577kg kerb weight and 6.7-litre straight-six Cummins turbo-diesel engine - producing 276kW of power and small town-moving 1084Nm of torque - which has people talking.

The RAM has something few other vehicles can claim – a road presence demanding respect, whether it’s the bulging bonnet, the command driving position putting you on eyeball level with many professional truckers, or the serious real estate its 6 x 2 metre size requires. Yes, the RAM is not just a truck; it’s a statement.

It looked very much in charge, ahead of our 4.5 metre Trakmaster off-road caravan and just a few kilometres behind the wheel confirmed its size, while clumsy in a shopping centre carpark, was an asset on the open road.

The RAM’s laden weight, with a large toolbox of recovery gear, our Engel fridge, Weber Baby Q, assorted chairs, tables and ground-matting in the vast 1939mm x 1295mm tray, totalled nearly a tonne more than our relatively lightly-laden Trakmaster behind.

All of which meant the RAM was totally unmoved by the turbulence of oncoming B-Doubles and Road Trains and immune from the suction effect of overtaking large vehicles – not that we experienced much of the latter. I think in 4200km of towing on major coastal or inland roads, we were passed by less than half a dozen trucks and not many more cars.

Wide load
The RAM’s two-metre body width was also an asset ahead of our 2.1-metre-wide caravan, as the Laramie’s large mirrors gave us a clear view behind, without the need for extensions.

Not surprisingly the RAM’s 3797mm-long wheelbase results in a massive 13.38 metre turning circle which means you often require several bites to get into most car spaces and look for a ‘chop-out’ from a side street or wide road shoulder when performing U-turns.
But, when touring, its unexpected benefit was that our caravan tracked exactly the same arc as the RAM around corners.

Whereas you normally have to take care regarding your caravan cutting a corner or riding over the rim of a roundabout, we simply pointed the RAM where we wanted to go and the caravan followed obediently in its wheel tracks.

More good news: as you’d expect from a Big American, the RAM is effortless to drive.

Yes, you need the long side-step and the A-pillar grab handle to hoist yourself into its big, five or occasional six-seater leather-clad cab, but once you’re there, everything is at your command. The list includes six-way adjustable, heated and ventilated front seats, an electrically adjustable steering column, power-adjustable pedals, tilt/slide sunroof, sliding electric rear window, a nine-speaker Alpine audio system with sub-woofer and a dashboard with a large 20cm central screen displaying comprehensive vehicle information and vision from not one but two rear cameras (one for the cargo area and another for reversing and trailer hitching).

OK, your travelling companion may be much further away than usual, but the extra sound deadening added by ASV in Melbourne - as part of its re-engineering of the RAM for Australian conditions - is impressive, so conversation is still possible at all speeds.

Wired for appliances
One feature we particularly liked was the 240-volt, 100amp three-pin power socket in the dashboard which allowed us to run our Engel 45-litre portable fridge while travelling and also for short periods when stationary (provided the accessory switch was left on).

All this technology has been transferred seamlessly from left to right-hand drive by ASV, with the exception of one regularly-used feature: the foot-operated parking brake is on the right-hand side. This means you have to learn to left foot brake, or transfer your right foot from the brake pedal – annoying when you’re trying to hitch up.

Hitching up is otherwise easy via the tailgate-mounted rear camera and you can then turn your attention to the RAM’s other thoughtful towing aids. Use a standard 50mm ball, or DO-35 pin if you want to tow up to 3500kg; use a larger 70mm ball or DO-45 pin if you want to pull up to 4500kg and connect to a load bed-mounted turntable if you want to enjoy its full 6942kg potential.

Even more impressively, with any of these combinations, you still have the RAM’s 913kg payload available for a boat rack, an outboard engine, tools, a generator, fish freezer and other assorted caravanning or camping gear you might want to take on holiday.

Built for towing
As you’d expect of a vehicle designed to haul, there’s a built-in electronic brake controller on the lower dashboard, with a slide to adjust the braking force.

However, really adding to the RAM’s towing ability is the standard two-mode exhaust brake activated via a dashboard switch. ‘Automatic’ (green light) cuts in automatically when you lift off the accelerator, helping to smartly reduce speed when you hit town speed limits with a caravan attached.

If you then hit the brake pedal, it gives full exhaust braking and prevents speed increasing, which is really useful if you’re heading down a steep hill.

The ‘Full Exhaust Brake’ mode (amber light), as its name suggests, applies full exhaust braking to slow you from any speed.

And the final player in this braking technology trio is a separate button marked ‘Tow/Haul’ which effectively enhances the exhaust braking effect by making the shifts in the six-speed transmission more aggressive, particularly when down-shifting via the ‘+’ and ‘-‘ switch on the steering column mounted transmission selector.

If you’re heading down a really steep hill, like the one dropping you into the Lockyer Valley from Toowoomba in Queensland, or the Bulli Pass, south of Sydney, then descent speed can be capped to a safe limit without any need to touch the brake pedal.

Also really cool is the monitoring of the exhaust braking via one of the screens on the central dashboard monitor.

Dual-range capability
The dual range Chrysler six-speed transmission features a dual-range Borg Warner 4WD transfer case with shift-on-the-fly control. As we spent all of our towing time on dry bitumen, we left the transmission in its two-wheel-drive mode, but 4WD – either high or low range – would need to be engaged on slippery or sandy surfaces.

With ‘only’ a 250kg ball load and less than 100kg in its load bed, the RAM’s five-link coil sprung rear end reacted badly to the undulating and generally poor inland New South Wales and Queensland roads. The bucking and pitching was at odds with the drama free experience just three months earlier when the same caravan was hitched to my Land Rover.

The RAM also steers more like a truck than a large SUV and is a little less precise in this area than a Landcruiser 200 Series, which in itself is another dimension removed from the relative precision of the latest Land-Rover Discovery. It’s not a problem and the long wheelbase at least ensures proficient tracking on smooth surfaces.

We did venture onto a corrugated side road at one stage and I can confirm this condition is not RAM territory. This is a big, powerful bitumen tow tug and not an off-roader; less than smooth surfaces will set it dancing and steering, while braking on these roads requires some early decisions to be made.

Obviously, the suspension settings are designed with much heavier loads in mind, but after the final 875km travelling day of our tow test, my neck and shoulders were quite sore.

Optional storage options
Perhaps we should have carried a heavier load to truly evaluate the RAM’s capability, but the optional RamBoxes and adjustable load bed barrier fitted to our review Laramie encourage people to carry less.

Two 152cm-long lockable boxes capable of holding 243 litres of cargo straddle the wheel arches on each side of the RAM, with drain holes in each box allowing them to be filled with ice and used as beer fridges (holding up to 140 cans per side), or as bait boxes/fish-freezers.

A clever multi-adjustable load divider in the load bay allows quite small items, such as shopping, to be quarantined to the rearmost section of the tray, where it can be accessed easily via the rear tail-gate.

What’s the point?
So, is there any point to the RAM unless you’re planning to haul a large caravan, or 5th wheeler? Strangely, yes.

The biggest surprise of our 4200km round trip from the Gold Coast Hinterland to Port Douglas and back was the fuel consumption delivered by the big Cummins diesel.

Step on the accelerator and it’s easy to get an instantaneous reading approaching 30L/100km, but drive it sensibly around the posted open road speed limit, with the rev counter hovering between 1300-1400rpm in sixth gear, letting the big straight six’s massive torque do the work, and it’s truly impressive.

Arriving in Port Douglas via the coast-hugging Bruce Highway, with its interminable roadworks and irritating 50km/h town speed limits, we achieved 18.2L/100km over 2012km at an average speed of 75km/h.

The entire 4177km round trip, returning via the slightly longer - but easier - inland route, with relatively few towns, roadworks and traffic, dropped our overall consumption further to 15.7L/100km at the same average speed.

To put those numbers in perspective: that’s less than one litre per 100km worse than our 850kg-lighter Land-Rover achieved with the same caravan and payload.

Then, without the caravan or other items, the RAM averaged 8.5L/100km for the 67km trip back (mainly by freeway) from our home to Brisbane. The Land-Rover would not have done better on the same road.

So, do you need a RAM? Unless you’re planning some heavy haulage, or really want some road respect, probably not. But for some inexplicable reason, it was a buzz.