I recently got a chance to spend a week each in two Rams, which gave me a chance to try some options unavailable or opted against when we configured Guffman. One was a Ram 2500 Power Wagon that let me try out the front bench seat, the whopper 12.0-inch vertical infotainment screen, the RamBox bed, and the gas V-8 (our Cummins diesel I-6 is too long to package in the PW’s steeper approach-angle nose)—not to mention the winch and diff-locks. Then I spent a week in a Ram 1500 EcoDiesel to compare the junior oil-burner’s drivability with our truck’s.
The Power Wagon’s 40/20/40 front bench features a backrest that folds down to form an armrest with three cupholders. Opening its lid reveals a change dispenser, a USB port, and a 10x8x3-inch stowage bin. Underneath the seat cushion is a bigger storage bin. A floor-mounted bin next to the transfer-case shifter could hold a cell phone or pens and pencils. The bench seat makes sense in the Power Wagon, since that floor shifter precludes Guffman’s awesome center console, but we live out of that console on trips and we’ve never needed a sixth seat belt.
Guffman’s transfer case is push-button operated, but the PW replaces those buttons with axle-locking and stabilizer-disconnect buttons, plus a rotary shift knob that replaces the column shifter that our Aisin automatic requires. The four USB jacks and AC plug are located down near where the center stack meets the floor, along with a shallow bin and another coin dispenser. (How much change does anyone wrangle in a truck that’s this awkward to parallel park at a meter?)
We saved $1,995 by not getting the 12.0-inch vertical screen. I thought I’d miss it, but during my weeks in the other Rams, I never found a must-have combination of Apple CarPlay on one half of the screen and something else indispensable on the other. Settings are a bit easier to access with the larger screen, though, and storing multiple trailer brake gain settings is a cinch, so your priorities may differ.
I also don’t miss the $995 Rambox bed, which seriously diminishes the space available to carry bulk loads of mulch or sand. I do miss the $295 Rambox Utility Group’s handy cargo divider, without which I’m forced to restrain luggage at the back of the bed using ratchet straps and the like. In a truck that can carry nearly 2,500 pounds, the bed needs ample room to accommodate it.
The EcoDiesel I sampled was in a 1500 Off the Grid SEMA show vehicle equipped with Ram’s new multi-function tailgate. That amazing piece of engineering is not yet available on the 2500/3500 series, but as the most useful of today’s crop of fancy tailgates, it should be. The Ram OTG was equipped to near its gross vehicle weight (which is near Guffman’s curb weight), and that engine’s 260 hp and 480 lb-ft struggled against the mass and the aero load of the camping gear at highway speeds, returning an un-diesel-like 13.5 mpg—about what the 6.4-liter gasser in that Power Wagon reported. For the record, Guffman is sipping along at 17.5 mpg of diesel and about 1,250 mpg of DEF/AdBlue. Neither of these powertrains could match our Cummins’ smooth surge of torque, not to mention its purposeful grumble.
Bottom line: We remain satisfied with the equipment we ordered on Guffman, though Detroit editor Priddle’s high-rise hubby reports brushing his head on the ceiling, suggesting maybe we should have skipped the $1,095 sunroof.
Our first scheduled service stop is approaching. We’ll cover that next time, and we’ll don Guffman’s winter coat (grille cover) to stay warm as he heads for northern Canada.
