CARFAX Vehicle History Report

The 2013 Ram Heavy Duty models, the 2013 Ram 2500 and 2013 Ram 3500, have reset the bar for pickup truck towing and further advanced the luxury heavy-duty pickup.

Changes applied to all 2013 Ram HDs include three different ratings for the updated Cummins diesel engine and cooling systems, a new transmission, minor exterior cosmetic changes, a heavily revised interior and electronics package, and two rear camera options. 2013 Ram 3500 trucks get a new frame and front suspension arrangement.

The changes for 2013 have netted Ram a maximum towing limit of 30,000 pounds, more than 6,000 pounds greater than their GM and Ford counterparts; a 2013 Ram 3500 Crew Cab 4WD dually will tow at least two tons more than an F-450 Crew Cab 4WD, its nearest competitor. The Ram 3500 tows like a medium-duty truck in a pickup wrapper.

Chrysler's 383-hp Hemi 5.7-liter V8 with 6-speed automatic is the standard setup. Most models offer at least two powertrain choices, though Longhorns are automatic only and Power Wagons are gas engine only.

The 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel comes in three variants: 350-hp/660 lb-ft with 6-speed manual; 370/800 with 6-speed automatic; and 385/850 with 6-speed automatic on the MaxTow package. 2013 Ram pickup diesels require diesel exhaust fluid, or DEF, aka urea, typically refilled at oil change interval but easy for the owner to add and available at parts stores and fuel depots.

Fuel economy for the 2013 Ram HD models appears to be up 15 percent to 20 percent over 2012 models.

Ram HD rides well and cruises quietly by heavy-duty pickup standards but you can't compare the ride to a car, nor noise from six tires, lots of airflow and trailer hardware. We found a Ram 2500 rode quite comfortably with 800 pounds in the bed, and four-door cabs towed comfortably into the 28,000-pound range. As with most full-size pickups, four-door cabs' better body mounts and a longer wheelbase help ride quality and isolation.

Equipment levels vary from the Ram Tradesman's rubber-vinyl coverings and crank windows to Ram Laramie's heated steering wheel and rear seats, heated/ventilated front seats, driver memory system, configurable instrument cluster and text-to-voice infotainment systems. All cabs are roomy but the MegaCab offers more cabin lounging space than any HD pickup.

The most capable Ram HD pickup will carry nearly 7000 pounds of cargo, the least capable Power Wagon around 1600 pounds. Gas-engine tow ratings have improved, approaching 14,000 pounds, and the only towing statistic where the competition has an edge is in maximum tow-behind (as opposed to fifth-wheel or gooseneck), and we're not fond of pulling 18,000 pounds on a tow ball. Most HD pickups pulling a trailer rated for anything near their maximum load capacity may require some sort of driver's license beyond the norm or an endorsement.

The Ram 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty models compete with Ford Super Duty, Chevrolet Silverado HD, and GMC Sierra HD pickups. Ram HD shares many interior elements and styling cues with Ram 1500 models, though they are not identical.

Ram HDs remain a compelling choice for anyone in need of a heavy-duty pickup truck. Ram Heavy Duty models are an excellent choice for anyone pulling big travel trailers, multi-car race trailers, big boats or a stable of horses. They are a good choice for anyone who has work to do, be it hauling construction tools and materials or substituting for a medium-duty when a primary business rig is on downtime.

The Ram Heavy Duty models got revised styling for 2010. What sets the 2013 apart are the upgraded head and tail lamps, additional chrome, available power folding mirrors and Longhorn's standard long running boards. A spray-in bedliner and simple fifth-wheel/gooseneck out-fitting help the truck end of things.

With a forward tilt to the grille and an upward, inward point to the headlights, grille and bumper the heavy-duty nose looks like a stout blunt instrument, rather like the point on an anvil. There are four choices in grilles, the pinnacle a chrome mesh arrangement.

While the style and lights are from the 1500 only the latter are the same parts. The HD's grille is larger to allow more cooling air in, the bumper is reshaped, and the hood has a larger central bulge and faux louver contouring, but the easiest way to distinguish a non-dually HD from the 1500 is the gap above the bumper; the 1500 has no such gap.

The previously optional upper-trim headlights are now standard on 2013 Ram HDs. 2013 Ram lux trucks get projector headlamps with LED ancillary lamps, and LEDs in back. Taken from the 1500, they should provide the same visibility improvements, and access covers are fitted for easier alignment and bulb changes.

Ram HD Crew Cab is comparable to competitor crew cabs in size and is about the same size as the Ram 1500 Crew Cab. The Ram HD Crew Cab has four forward-hinged doors.

The ultra-long Mega Cab uses the same rear doors as the Crew but adds inches behind the doors.

Crew Cab and Mega Cab both come with a 6-foot, 4-inch box. You can get an 8-foot box on any Crew Cab except Power Wagon. The short box looks stubby behind the imposing Mega Cab and you'll want to consider a slider hitch if you tow a fifth-wheel; you can not get a Mega Cab long-bed as it would be a unwieldy anywhere outside the Great Plains.

Dual rear wheel models (DRW), including the Mega Cab, use a single outside panel for the wide rear fenders to eliminate seams and fasteners that might prove problematic long term. And the bed sides are steel, for easier straightening than fiberglass if you ding one.

In terms of sleekness, the Ram slots between the GM HD and Ford Super Duty pickups: Perceptively bigger and more angular than the Silverado HD yet smoother than the Super Duty. Very mild fender flares of various colors are used on some trims. Power Wagon models get a graphics package and plenty of wallpaper.

Roof clearance lamps, government-mandated for vehicles like dual-rear-wheel pickups that exceed a certain width, use clear lenses for a better-integrated look. Upper trim level mirrors have puddle lamps, and the towing mirrors have turn signal repeaters and a separately adjustable, much larger wide-angle element at the bottom (in tow position); in the retraced position the outboard wide-angle element is very useful in traffic, tight trails and parking areas as you can view both rear tires. Worth noting, you can adjust the electric mirrors without having the truck switched on. The towing mirrors are very good, providing an excellent view rearward and some offer power folding.

A RamBox is optional on 6-foot, 4-inch bed models. The RamBox houses large lockers along the top of each bed-side for stowing anything that will fit, including fishing rods and long-handle shovels or about a gross of your favorite beverage cans on ice. Downsides are a drop in payload and no use of over-rail bed covers.

A tailgate lock is standard. However, the tailgate is not heavily damped, so it will thud if you just let it go (and get a helper if you remove it). On trucks with rearview cameras, the lens is far enough from the latch so you won't scratch it opening the gate, and it gets decent protection and snow/ice rejection from the tailgate's upper lip. A secondary rearview option places the camera near the center brake light atop the rear cab for easier kingpin hitching, and the load can be checked in motion (the standard camera image display moves to the inside mirror). Bed rails are protected from load scuffing, and the bed is contoured for 2x4s and 2x6s to make it dual-level. A spray-in bedliner is a factory option.

On trucks with satellite service for audio or navigation, the antenna is on the left front of the roof where clearance lights sit. It should be safe from contact with contractor racks or cabover campers (though those pieces may block the antenna's ability to receive signals).

The paint palette for Ram HD is a few shades better than average, with some very bright colors that mimic Mopar musclecars or safety and construction equipment. You can be seen or blend in to your heart's content.

At minimum a Ram Heavy Duty is more than 19 feet long, six-and-a-half feet wide, six feet tall, needs nearly 3.5 12-foot traffic lanes to execute a U-turn and is 5800 pounds of sink-in-hot-pavement truck. If you haven't got a lot of weight to carry or pull, a 1500 will probably serve better. If you need to tow or haul, however, you've come to the right place.

Once accustomed to the outside dimensions, the Ram HD is not hard to drive. You need to allow a bit more space for stopping distance than the average car but that's easy given the visibility from the higher driving position. The steering is reasonably quick, and the 3500 4WD's steering feels almost as good as the rack and pinion on the independently sprung 2WD 2500 (the 3500 is now a solid front axle on 2 or 4WD). You'll be twisting the wheel more than a car to make the same turn, and the Ram changes direction easily and we couldn't overwhelm the steering pump (making it sluggish and heavy) in parking lot maneuvering or threading a 4WD through mud, trees and rock.

There are good reasons why many enthusiast magazines don't do handling tests on HD pickups because handling and precision are relative terms. The Ram changes directions admirably and has predictable characteristics, but start horseplay in a vehicle where the rear axle alone weighs as much as a big Harley and you'll learn the hard way what those strange terms on NASCAR broadcasts mean.

What stands out the most on the current Ram is the quiet cabin and smooth ride quality, which have come a long way since the pre 2009 models. We found all three cabs quiet and solid, but the Crew Cabs and Mega Cabs were superior and nearly shudder free. Part of this solid feel is suspension tuning and part of the smoothness is the advanced body mounting system.

There is now no single aspect of the Ram HD that will wear you out. At 75 mph on moderately good pavement we floored the pedal on a diesel and the engine wasn't heard over the road noise and wind noise wasn't heard above either. We could still converse in regular tones, even with riders in the rear seat. Since it revs higher, the Hemi comes across no quieter than the diesel except at cold idle.

The 5.7-liter Hemi V8 is available only on single-rear wheel trucks with an automatic transmission. The Hemi develops 383 horsepower at 5600 rpm and, like any good truck engine, it makes more torque than horsepower, with 400 pound-feet at 4000 rpm.

The 6-speed automatic transmission shifts as it should, and if your primary truck need is carrying things or ultra-cold-weather plowing it is often a better choice than the diesel. Yes, it will use more fuel, but the gas engine weighs less and the $8000 saved can buy lots of gas. We could cruise along at moderate rpm doing Texas highway speeds and although the Hemi has cylinder deactivation for improved mileage it won't happen much in a 4WD pickup with the aero package of a houseboat and more than three tons' weight. We would expect everyday mileage in the low-double digits, and be happy to reach the teens before getting on a highway.

The Cummins turbodiesel is a proven option. Every version has big cooling upgrades (two radiators, two ATF coolers on autos, thick intercooler) to allow high tow ratings. Torque is up to 660 lb-ft at 1500 rpm on the manual, the standard automatic is 370 hp and 800 lb-ft, and the MaxTow high output engine is 385 hp and 850 lb-ft. If your occasional trailer is not more than 20,000 pounds or so, it might be wiser to choose the 370/800 engine and 4.10:1 axle ratio which rates about the same tow rating as the 385/850 with 3.42:1 but costs thousands less.

Ram has added DEF (diesel exhaust fluid) to Cummins models, matching Ford, GM and previous Ram Chassis Cabs. With that and new engine tuning Ram claims a 15 percent to 22 percent fuel economy improvement. Our limited road drive in a loaded 2500 showed that an accurate claim, but as always your driving style and load will have far greater effect on your economy. The DEF fills next to fuel, and even factoring DEF costs, per-mile fluid costs should improve by double-digit percentages.

Diesel exhaust brakes are now multi-stage. You can choose maximum retarding whenever your foot's off the accelerator or an auto mode that aims to maintain the speed set, such as holding downhill speed to 60 mph rather than slowing until you disable it. The service brakes were strong enough to stop a 30,000-pound trailer from 45 mph on level ground without smoking when we stressed them by disabling the trailer brakes.

The Cummins inline six-cylinder is a medium-duty truck engine, with exceptional robustness, longevity and low-rpm grunt. Torque is what gets a load in motion, and with the Cummins making nearly as much torque when you let the clutch out as the Hemi does at 4000 rpm, it is the obvious choice for heavy towing. Many RVers report better fuel mileage towing with their Cummins than a Hemi gets in an empty truck. On essentially the same drive that saw 12.8 mpg in an empty Hemi 2500, we recorded about 20 mpg in a heavier, dual-rear-wheel Cummins automatic.

The integrated trailer brake controller is available on most models and hard to beat. Besides adjustable gain you can choose from light or heavy, electric or electric-over-hydraulic trailer brakes. We tried both heavy settings and each was capable of locking six or eight tires on a 14-plus-ton trailer with gain set at 7-7.5 of 10.

The new frame now uses a Class V (2.5-inch) conventional receiver hitch. A massive mid-bed crossmember makes adding a fifth-wheel or gooseneck and tie-down points much easier, and a Mopar accessory installed at the dealer will be covered under the truck warranty. Rear trailer plugs are standard, an in-bed simple to add in.

The Power Wagon needs to be considered a separate model based not only on equipment but also performance. It comes only with the 383-hp 5.7 gas engine but with shorter gears to maintain climbing performance with the big tires. Locking differentials and a front antiroll bar disconnect give excellent low-speed off-highway performance. It's also quite good at speed across a gravel road or dry wash, though not a direct match for Ford's F-150 Raptor, which costs about the same with the 411-hp 6.2-liter engine, has a regular or Crew Cab, but offers roughly 80 percent of the payload and towing capacity of a Power Wagon.

With the MaxTow package the top ratings for the Ram are 30,000 trailer and 37,600 combined. Tow ratings for the Ram HD range from 10,540 pounds to 30,000 pounds; adding a larger cab, more lux or 4WD will tend to lower the tow rating. However, even the fanciest, largest Ram HD can be loaded with passengers and payload and still pull 10 tons.

Maximum payload varies by similar parameters although sometimes the 4WD version carries more. Load capacity runs from 1510 pounds (a CNG Crew Cab 2500 long bed) to more than 6900 pounds (2WD regular cab long bed 3500 dually).

Note that virtually all pickup truck tow ratings apply to a truck with a driver and only the mechanical options required; any cargo, people, or aftermarket equipment on board (winch, tool box, fifth-wheel hitch, etc.) will have to be subtracted from the max ratings. Double-check everything if you will be pushing the limits.

The Ram Heavy Duty cabin is basically the same as Ram 1500; the main differences are features, shifter locations and floorpan.

Materials and trim are appropriate by model line, be they the base truck or a Laramie Longhorn Mega Cab with Ram's head embosses on the seatbacks and console. We found no fit-and-finish issues. The Longhorn's low-gloss woodwork is unique, and few shiny surfaces generate glare to bother the occupants. Although a vinyl floor is standard on only the base Tradesman model you can order it with a more upscale interior if it's only your boots that get filthy. Thick mats designed for muck and slush are standard on the Outdoorsman but are available through Mopar accessories.

The Regular Cab has plenty of room for two people, three across if you don't mind the floor hump or have a manual gearbox. The biggest guy we could find who claimed to be 325 on a good day had no qualms about space.

The Crew Cab offers essentially the space of the front seat as the Regular Cab in the back seat as well. Most Crew Cabs have a split folding rear seat and a center armrest, and all of them have three complete baby seat anchor sets and three adjustable headrests that reach high enough for adults. The back seats flip up for cargo space, now with a flat floor underneath. Coat hooks are above the rear window. The rear window can be powered open/close and a defrost-able window is available on most models.

The Mega Cab is nine inches longer than the Crew Cab. It has an extra five inches of rear seat legroom (more than some Rolls-Royce sedans) plus space behind the reclining seatback, and with the seats folded flat offers up 72 cubic feet of lockable cargo space, considerably more than behind the middle row in a Chevy Tahoe SUV. But plan on a lot of AC use in warm climes, as the only vents in back are on the floor.

We found the seats quite comfortable and widely adjustable, whether in the buckets or the front bench split 40/20/40. The seat cushion and backrest adjust as a unit, unlike the separate component approach that makes you go back-and-forth to get both pieces where you like. Lateral support is notably improved over earlier models without adding any difficulty to entry and exit. Big 4WD trucks are by design tall but side steps are available. Power adjustable pedals are available that combine with a tilt wheel and power seat adjustments to accommodate most of the population. You can get a heated steering wheel and ventilated cooling front seats to maximize driver comfort.

Instrumentation varies by trim. Base models have temp/fuel on gas engines, fuel and DEF diesel exhaust fluid level on diesels, but details about cooling and pressure are available in the digital display between mph and rpm. Upper trims add two more instruments and a central 7-inch TFT (thin-film transistor) that's configurable and call up myriad information and graphics; e.g. exhaust braking horsepower, trailer brake gain, economy a few ways, etc. Regardless of gauge display all menus run from steering wheel spokes, and most models have audio controls on the back of the wheel spokes.

The center dash screen also varies in size from a simple radio-and-settings 3-inch touchscreen to the 8.4-inch with navigation. No vehicle is perfect but the Ram's voice options work quite well and echo other Chrysler products with the same screen. We had no visibility issues with any version screen with sun washout or using polarized lenses, and it's quiet enough for easy hands-free phone or text-to-voice.

Switchgear is relatively straightforward, with audio and navigation controls above climate controls in the center stack, plus operating controls for the Tow/Haul mode, exhaust brake and so on; it gets busy on top-line models with all the switch blanks filled. The Light Tire Load switch on 2500 models allows you to set the tire pressure in the rear tires on an unloaded 2500 notably lower than the front, for better wear and ride comfort without the low tire pressure warning light coming on. On electric-shift 4WDs the switch is on the left side of the center panel and includes a Neutral position for being flat-towed. The trailer brake controller is below the headlight switch to the left about knee-high, and some drivers reported the steering wheel partially obscured it.

Side pillars are larger than in some cars but seating position means they don't intimidate. The bodywork is reasonably well defined for close quarter maneuvering by new-truck standards, and the rear park sensors and/or cameras will get you within inches.

Interior storage is extensive with forty-odd places to put things of myriad sizes. Upper and lower door pockets are complemented by a variety of shapes from the broad tray on the dash that we emptied on the first corner to the under-floor storage areas behind the front seats; you can't reach these from the driver's seat but the liners are removable for cleaning and locks are available.

The audio and entertainment systems bring plenty of options and sonic performance that benefits from a relatively quiet interior. Partial credit must go to the noise and vibration tuning that includes liquid-filled body mounts that help make this the quietest Ram heavy-duty yet without adding much weight.

The Ram HD has been so strengthened the top level is essentially a medium-duty tow rig with a premium car cabin, and a $70,000 price tag to go with it. Load limits are high and towing ability is unequalled, whether you're farming, a hot-shotter or double-towing a big fifth-wheel and a dinghy behind it. At the lower end, a $40,000 Hemi Crew Cab 4WD makes a useful workweek truck to get the job done, and occasional weekend family tow-rig or big-box hauler that won't break the bank.

NewCarTestDrive.com correspondent G.R. Whale reports after test drives in Texas, California and Detroit; with Mitch McCullough reporting from San Diego.