Powerful Ram ‘quite driveable’
My son Austin had just returned home from hunting boar in Oklahoma when he joined me in doing a walk-around of the 2017 Ram Power Wagon.
He was already suitably impressed, but when we got to the winch mounted prominently in the front bumper, his face changed.
“This truck is freaking awesome!” he said, not exactly using the word “freaking.”
Since the Power Wagon name was first applied in 1945, it has represented the ultimate in pickup truck ability, utility and, for lack of a better word, ostentation.
The 2017 model is no exception. Lifted more than two inches — it gives new meaning to the term “jump in” — there’s no mistaking it for an average Ram. Add in the winch, the 2500 rating, the fourwheel drive and the passes-everything-but-a-gas-station power of the 6.4-litre Hemi V-8, and there’s nothing about this truck that would appeal to those with delicate sensibilities.
What is impressive, however, is that with all this power, height and amenities, it’s actually quite drivable.
Of course, it’s never far from mind — at least when it’s empty — that you’re driving on only the tops of the springs, just like other 2500-series trucks, but it’s not punishingly rough.
Helping that on-road feel is a three-link front suspension, specifically tuned to limit body roll. Such is important enough on regular trucks, but doubly so when a truck is lifted as much as the Power Wagon.
Various creature-comfort toys — leather seats, heated seats, heated steering wheel, premium sound system, satellite radio — help ease whatever sting might be left, too.
The winch Austin liked so much is useful for far more than merely unsticking the truck. Need to move a shed? Pull some deadfall out of the way? It is, arguably, a safer choice for pulling stumps than trying to drive the stump out. Been too many YouTube videos about how that doesn’t always work out. There’s 90 feet of 12,000-pound aircraft cable wound on the winch’s spindle.
Yet the front of the vehicle may not be the ultimate location for a winch. First, you can’t use it to haul something up a make-shift ramp into the bed. Secondly, if you do get stuck, a front-mounted winch may mean having to use it twice: once to pull yourself forward through the mud and again after you’ve turned around. Ultimate might be to have one in the bed as well as the front.
Off-road amenities abound, including locking front and rear differentials, as well as an electronic-disconnecting front stabilizer bar to maximize wheel articulation, particularly useful for rock-crawling exercises.
Optional cameras provide both a rear-view feature for reversing, as well as an optional camera to view the truck bed, allowing drivers to ensure the load is secure without turning around (which would be of limited use, anyway, since you can’t see much from the driver’s seat).
One thing that definitely has other truck makers face-palming themselves is the Ram Box accessory package, which puts two sizable, lockable cargo bins in the sidewalls of the truck bed. Best part is those locks participate in the keyless entry system, so they lock and unlock from the key fob.
It is true that if you’re looking for the ultimate off-roader, you’re not looking for a pickup. Instead, you’ll be looking for something more compact, something that more easily navigates bushes, tight turns and cramped spaces.
But if you have significant cargo needs, and destinations requiring more than typical pickuptruck off-road ability, the Power Wagon might just be the one for you.
Kelly Taylor is a veteran, award-winning automotive journalist and member of AJAC (Automobile Journalists’ Association of Canada). roadnoises@outlook.com.