No way was Dodge going to stay out of the heavy-duty pickup truck market.  When the all-new Ram pickup debuted last year, it was only as a half-ton truck.  Dodge chose to wait a year before unveiling its updated and upgraded heavy-duty truck.  Now it’s time to go toe-to-toe with Ford’s Super Duty and General Motors’ HD Sierra and Silverado pickups.

Heavy-duty trucks are the body-builders of the automotive world.  Style doesn’t matter much with them.  Smoothness doesn’t either.  These trucks are born to tow and haul huge loads, and anything else they manage to do in the meantime is just icing.  With available gross combined vehicle weight ratings (GCWR) of 20,000 pounds from Ford and 22,000 from Chevy indicating massive trailer-towing capability, it’s certainly not a ring to jump into unprepared.  That’s why Dodge is introducing the Ram 3500 with two new engines in addition to the updated body and frame that graced the Ram 1500 last year.

The styling hasn’t been changed, as it was plenty tough enough.  Last year’s redesign took the Dodge Ram’s big-rig resemblance and amplified it, with larger proportions all around, a taller grille, and larger headlamps.  The new Ram stands tall and proud, but the design remains relatively clean and simple.  Subtle car-like touches like a deeply sloped windshield and bubble-style headlights make the Ram the most modern-looking of the heavy-duty full-size pickups compared to the boxy Ford Super Duty and Chevrolet-GMC twins.  The Ram 3500 is available in regular two-door and Quad Cab cab configurations, with a choice of six-foot three-inch or eight-foot beds on Quad Cab models.  Dodge is notable for not including a four-door “extended cab” model with reverse-opening doors like Ford and Chevrolet do; all Quad Cab Rams have proper full-size doors all around.

The interior is spacious, and designed for work.  The upright dashboard keeps well away from work-tired knees and elbows.  The black-on-white gauges aren’t as straightforward as Ford or Chevy, with a bit too much Intrepid in them, but at least the Ram 3500 is fully instrumented.  On manual transmission-equipped trucks, the baseball bat-sized shifter leaves no doubt as to what you’re driving.  You might need the reminder, as the Ram is impressively quiet inside.  That sloped windshield and aerodynamic design do wonders for reducing wind noise.  The tall cab offers generous headroom, and the rear seats fold up and out of the way to reveal a carpet-free storage shelf for tools or other gear.  Adjustable pedals?  Got ‘em.  Center shoulder belt in two-door models?  Got it.  The Ram 3500 is also the first heavy-duty pickup to offer side-curtain airbags.

The heart of the new Ram 3500 is its choice of new powerplants.  Lift the hood and you’ll find Dodge’s tried and true 8.0 liter V-10, the all-new 5.7 liter HEMI V8, or a 5.9 liter Cummins turbodiesel.  We drove both the HEMI and the Cummins High Output Turbo Diesel, and were impressed with both, for different reasons.  The 345-horsepower HEMI is a massively powerful motor, and it wants to lay rubber like a muscle car.  Thanks to the Ram 3500′s weight and trucky suspension, it’s not the equal of Ford’s hot-rod pickup the Lightning, but the HEMI’s distinctive roar is definitely a reason to tromp on the gas.  It’s not much of a work engine, however; even with 365 ft-lb of torque on tap, it’s more suited to impressing onlookers than with hauling.  When it comes to serious work, the 5.9-liter Cummins High Output Turbo Diesel is the better choice.  305 horsepower may not sound like much, but 555 ft-lb of torque will not be argued with–and it’s available at only 1400 rpm, which is practically idle speed.  “Unstoppable” is the first word that pops to mind when driving a Cummins-equipped Ram.  The Cummins is a common rail fuel-injected diesel with a pilot injection system.  A smaller preliminary fuel charge begins the combustion early, which helps to keep the familiar diesel “clatter” to a minimum.  This also improves cold starts.  The big diesel can tow to the tune of 23,000 pounds GCWR.  If you’re not towing anything and you’ve got the standard six-speed manual transmission, you can amuse yourself by putting it in fourth gear and letting it idle up to speed, without any throttle.

The Ram 3500 isn’t rough or violent over the road, but the ride is definitively trucky.  We drove the biggest Ram 3500 available–a Quad Cab four-wheel drive with dual rear wheels.  Unladen, the rear end will wiggle around a bit on wet or uneven pavement, even with the additional weight of the dual rear wheels.  The ride isn’t harsh, though, and a quick recirculating ball steering rack (4×4 only) makes even the biggest version of the Ram 3500 easy to pilot around town–although it doesn’t reduce the turning circle by much.  The four-wheel drive Ram 3500 features live axles front and rear, with helper springs at the rear.  Two-wheel drive Rams get independent front suspensions and more carlike rack and pinion steering.

No matter how you look at it, the Ram 3500 is not a truck to be trifled with.  Our test truck, a Quad Cab, four-wheel drive Ram 3500 dually with the powerful High Output Cummins Turbo Diesel, stickered for $44,635.  Ram 3500 pricing starts at $31,970.  Oh, and be sure you bring something for it to haul:  a boat, a 35′ fifth wheel trailer, a ton of bricks…

Specifications:
All specs are for the 2003 Ram 3500 HD, which we tested.
Length:         249.7 in.
Width:            96.0 in.
Height:            79.0 in.
Wheelbase:        160.5 in.
Towing capacity:    23,000 lb (GCWR)
Base price:        $31,970
Price as tested:     $44,635
Engine:         5.9 liter inline six cylinder turbo diesel
Drivetrain:         six-speed manual, four-wheel drive
Horsepower:         305 @ 2900
Torque:         555 @ 1400
Fuel capacity:        35 gal