This RAM 2500 Cummins has been a tireless workhorse, but we haven’t off-roaded it — until now.
Our long-term Ram 2500 Cummins has proven to be an excellent tow-rig and studio truck. Since we purchased it a few months back, we’ve never taken it off-road. Honestly, it’s kind of heavy, and not particularly set up for bouncing around in the rough. Keep in mind, it has side-steps, and it sits on large 20-inch wheels with more road-friendly tires.
Fortunately, it has a proper two-speed transfer case and a torquey turbodiesel engine. That helps when towing in muddy situations, and out at Tumbleweed Ranch. This truck is rated to tow up to 17,790 pounds, so it’s pretty serious about pulling.
This Cummins makes 850 lb-ft of torque, which is a healthy amount, if not as massive as the High Output’s 1,075 lb-ft. It makes 370 horsepower, and it’s connected to a six-speed (68RFE) automatic transmission. Still, there are torquier versions that make more. Regardless, with that mill, and the heavy-duty underpinnings, this Ram tips the scales over 7,400 pounds. That’s a lot of mass for off-roading.
Equipped with Firestone Transforce A/Ts, which have proven to be solid, they lack a chunky sidewall for rock bashing. Being that this is a heavy rig, airing down on 20-inch wheels could present a problem off-road. Aside from the possibility of a rock snagging the sidewall, the prospect of changing such a heavy wheel and tire off-road is daunting.
Andre opted to keep things simple as he braved the three obstacles. This isn’t just because you viewers have asked us to go off-road (you have), but there’s more to it. We are just about to do a build on this truck to make it into a more off-road-worthy, overlander. In other words, we want to take it to parts unknown and see if it’s up to the task. This truck cost us about $68,000, so we truly do not want to destroy it in the bush.
Check out how the truck fared below:
