A supertruck summer driver
The Ram 1500 TRX’s aggressive looks and powerful features are the fun-focused package tailored for this Hamiltonian’s needs
Some have summer convertibles; Darcy Southam has a summer truck.
Due to his line of work, the Hamiltonbased business owner has subscribed to truck ownership for years. However, this was the first year he picked up a vehicle that was more fun than utilitarian. Looking for an upgrade to his current truck, he stumbled across the Ram 1500 TRX. Advised to consider driving the TRX only in fair weather, Southam relegated his Chevy Silverado to winter beater status.
Although there have been production disruptions due to semiconductor microchip shortages, Southam was fortunate enough to secure one of the first releases, picking up his truck from Johnston Chrysler in February. It’s still one of only a handful on the road. Southam tells us what he loves most about the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX.
“So this vehicle is a little bit different (than others) because it’s not overly practical,” said Southam. “It’s not very fuel efficient, and the box in the back has a tire in it so it’s not really used for a truck’s practical purposes. I just honestly bought the vehicle because it was such an impressive truck – the engine it has, the size, and just the sheer appearance of it. We’ve always had people either give us thumbs up or wave at us and you can definitely feel people staring at the truck and admiring it for its beauty and its sheer size.
“(My partner, Achla Dhalla, and I) upgraded and got the beadlock tires, which basically means that you can deploy the tires really low and the tires won’t separate from the rim. It’s meant for racing; and the truck tires won’t pop if you go over a rock,” Southam said of his TRX that’s been fully-loaded with the level 2 equipment package. “It’s got Bilstein shocks, a heads-up (driver information) display, a RamBar and a (bed-mounted spare-)tire in the back, which were upgrades.”
Although the pandemic has hampered road trips south of the border, Southam has already taken the truck to Niagara Falls and wine country.
“Yeah, I’m not taking it so much to downtown Toronto, but we’ve taken it pretty much whenever we go out on the highways. It’s a beautiful truck to take travelling. It’s big and wide. It’s honestly quite luxurious and very comfortable, and probably the most comfortable truck I’ve ever sat in. My partner’s got a Mercedes, and I would say the truck that I have is more comfortable than her
Mercedes. It’s just so wide and so grand feeling it. It’s beautiful.
“I was not always a truck person, I’ve been a car person, but I would say over the last 10 years, I’ve become a truck person. Owning my first truck is a different experience, it’s like owning your first vehicle. Once you own a truck, it’s bigger, it feels better, and you feel more in control. You don’t realize how much you use the box to store things in — to throw things in and to haul things around. But yeah, I probably would never go back to owning a car again, I think I’m definitely a truck guy forever.” Renée S. Suen is a Toronto-based lifestyle writer/photographer and a freelance contributor for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @rssuen
This article was edited for space and clarity. Want to be featured in Why I Love My Vehicle? email us at wheels@thestar.ca.