Ram 3500

The 3500 is a heavy-duty version of Ram’s full-size pickup, the 1500. It’s available in three cab styles. The two-door Regular Cab provides a single bench seat with room for up to three people, while the four-door Crew Cab and even larger Mega Cab offer two rows of seating with room for up to six. The Crew Cab can be paired with either an 8-foot long bed or a 6.3-foot short bed; however, the Regular Cab and Mega Cab pair only with the long and short beds, respectively. A dual rear wheel axle (aka “dually”) is available for all versions. Properly equipped, the 3500 can tow up to 37,100 pounds (with a gooseneck hitch) and haul as much as 7,680 pounds of payload.

Ram offers the 3500 in six main trims, including the base Tradesman (known as the ST prior to 2014), the slightly better-equipped SLT (which was discontinued in 2019), the mid-level Big Horn (badged as the Lone Star for the Texas market), the very well-equipped Laramie, the luxurious Longhorn, and the top-of-the-line Limited. While the entry-level Tradesman and SLT versions are basic work trucks with minimal features, the Big Horn and especially the Laramie and above offer lots of creature comforts, including available leather upholstery, heated and ventilated seats, factory navigation, and parking sensors. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration first appeared in 2018, and the following year ushered in some additional high-tech options, including a 12-inch infotainment touchscreen, wireless smartphone charging, and adaptive cruise control.

Under the hood, the 3500 boasts three available engines. A 5.7-liter V8 making 383 horsepower was the base engine until 2019, when a (previously optional) 410-hp 6.4-liter V8 became the standard mill. But the big daddy is the available 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel inline-six. Its output ranges from 350-420 hp and 650-1,075 lb-ft of torque, depending on the year and configuration. To maximize towing capacity, buyers should look for examples with both the turbodiesel engine and the optional heavy-duty Aisin six-speed automatic transmission, which is required to handle that engine’s max output. Power is routed to the rear wheels unless the vehicle is equipped with optional four-wheel drive. Manual transmission fans will be pleased to know that the 3500 could be equipped with a six-speed stick-shift through 2018 (later than any other full-size American pickup), when it was dropped in favor of the available six- and eight-speed automatics. No hybrid or electric variants of the 3500 have been offered.