Brawny, heavy duty hauler is made for work
RAM 2500 LARAMIE: Towing is its major strength, but adding options can quickly drive up the final price
Heavy duty pickups aren’t for city slickers. They’re big and brawny, and they’re made for hauling heavy loads, not groceries.
That doesn’t mean that if you rely primarily on your vehicle for hard work that you have to give up comfort and convenience. At least, not too much. Make no mistake, the 2017 Ram 2500 Laramie Crew Cab is a diehard workhorse, but it’s also just accommodating enough when it’s not hauling anything that it can be used every day.
Our tester truck is equipped with the Cummins 6.7-litre turbodiesel engine and a six-speed automatic transmission, which add a hefty $11,500 to the base model’s $44,445 price tag ($83,165 as tested). Opting for the six-speed manual saves you $3,500 when choosing the big diesel, but it also lowers output because the in-line six comes in different states of tune, depending on the transmission. Equipped with the manual, the Cummins diesel claims 350 horsepower and 660 pound-feet of torque. If you want the real pulling power, however, you must opt for the automatic, which bumps output to 370 hp and 800 lb-ft of torque.
Temperatures hovered near freezing during our test period and one aspect of the diesel engine is that you must wait a bit for the glow plugs to do their job before it fires up. At -2 C, this took about 15 seconds after pushing the start button, so it’s really no big deal. There’s no mistaking the Cummins engine for anything else but a big diesel, because unlike some more modern diesel engines that produce no more noise than their gasoline counterparts, this power plant rattles noticeably.
It also has adjustable exhaust braking, which should prove quite useful when pulling a trailer.
Once the truck is moving, the automatic transmission shifts so smoothly it belies the truck’s work capability. The Ram 2500 4x4 boasts a maximum trailer-weight rating of 8,155 kg, beating out the new aluminum-bodied Ford F-250 by almost 1,360 kg when similarly equipped, the Chevrolet Silverado HD by 1,587 kg, and the Nissan Titan XD diesel by almost 2,720 kg.
This added pulling capacity comes at a cost, however, and the Ram 2500 has a firmer, choppier ride those three heavy duty pickups. It’s the Ram’s biggest shortcoming, though probably not that big a deal for someone who works with it.
It’s a long way up into the cab of the big Ram, especially on this 4x4 version, which sits 10 cm taller than the 4x2 model, so I’d recommend splurging on the optional $700 side steps to make hopping aboard less laborious. Our tester was also equipped with the Sport Appearance package, which adds $1,600 to the price tag, but also gives this Ram a menacing bumper-to-bumper blackout treatment.
The interior of the Laramie is well appointed, cavernous and comfortable. The leather seats and steering wheel heat up quickly, though it would be handy if it were equipped with easily accessible, dedicated buttons to turn them on.
On the flip side, a very convenient feature is the power fore-and-aft adjustable pedals, activated by a button mounted on the steering wheel column. The bucket seats in our tester are part of a $1,400 option package that include seat heat and venting, power adjustability, second-row heating, a dash-mounted 115-volt power outlet, a huge storage compartment in the console and flatload floor storage in the rear.
The Uconnect infotainment system’s large 8.4-inch touch screen is convenient and handy to use; it doesn’t take long to find the finer settings within the menus. Aside from the seat and steering wheel heat controls, it has a relatively logical interface.
The bed is available in 6-foot-4 and 8-foot lengths. Our short bed unfortunately lacks the very handy Rambox storage compartments. Although they increase overall bed space, we’d have opted for these $1,195 lockable storage bins, which are cleverly integrated into the bed sides.
An optional high-mounted camera ($325) offers a view of the bed contents, allowing you to see how your cargo is doing without having to turn around while driving.
Of course, this behemoth sucks back the fuel, and our tester measured 19.4 L/100 km of mostly city driving, while the rather optimistic computer read 16.5. But the benefit of such a big diesel is that fuel economy isn’t affected much when carrying a load or hauling a trailer.
If you haul heavy loads regularly, this is the truck for you. Just be wary when ticking off the options, because they’ll drive the price up rather quickly.