The RAM 3500 Laramie Heavy Duty ute, to give it its full name, is named after a town in Wyoming (and a western movie set in the town). The original Laramie is a real cowboy town of the Wild West – and the 2023 RAM 3500 ute is rugged and resilient enough to suit this ethos – and it also has some good old-fashioned cowboy courtesy as well. This is a ute that, while big, tough and capable, would always take its hat off indoors and call a lady “ma’am”.

As the RAM 3500 calls itself a heavy-duty vehicle, it’s not surprising that it’s the biggest of the big boys in the RAM range. There’s room in that double-cab ute for your whole posse (i.e., five plus the driver), along with plenty of room on the deck for the dog(s) and enough towing power to take the horse trailer as well – up to 8 tonnes maximum braked towing capacity.  They could almost have called this a Noah’s Ark. The difference between the RAM 3500 and its smaller 2500 brother is that the 3500 has a greater gross vehicle mass, as it can take a bigger payload. This is 1759 kg overseas but may be set to 902 kg for the Australian market, meaning that it’s as big as a pickup can be without requiring a truck licence. Yes, it’s that big!

You can see why American fans of the RAM 3500 would refer to this as a truck. It practically is one. The RAM 3500 sits proudly on 18-inch polished aluminium tyres, and it’s a shade over 6 m long. Given that it’s this big – and can tow such a big load – it needs to have a big engine to match. Sure enough, it’s got a 6.7-litre Cummins turbodiesel – an electronic high-pressure common rail turbodiesel, to be specific.  This can certainly deliver the goods (figuratively and literally) in terms of power, at it peaks at 276 kW at 2800 rpm.  However, it’s the torque that will blow you away (it blew me away): 1152 Nm at 1700 rpm. I’ll repeat that: 1152 Nm. It’s a figure that you could give in kilonewtons. I’ve come across tractors with less torque, and the RAM 3500 would be equally at home in a muddy field pulling things.  I probably wouldn’t actually try ploughing with one, but that’s mostly because the connections for agricultural machinery aren’t suitable for your average towbar (which comes as an accessory for the RAM 3500 that’s well worth getting).

The engine in the RAM 3500 comes hitched up to an automatic six-speed transmission system with electronic shift on the fly. This connects to the drivetrain, which you can set to two-wheel-drive or four-wheel drive (with high and low ratios).  Needless to say, the RAM 3500 has superb off-roading capacity, featuring plenty of ground clearance (237 mm for the front axle and 222 mm for the rear axle) and the ability to handle an approach angle of 22.9°, a departure angle of 25.8° and a breakover angle of 22°.

The RAM 3500 also comes fitted with all the driver aids that give it good manners when it’s on the road, as well as performance off it.  Specifically, it’s kitted out with trailer sway control, hill start assistance, stability control and adaptive cruise control.  On the safety front, to rein in all that power (and delicious torque), it’s got ABS brakes with EBD function that play nicely with the forward collision warning system.  A lane departure warning feature is there for you to use around town – but probably isn’t needed if you’re tackling rough tracks featuring potholes, which is the natural home of the RAM 3500. What’s more, the RAM 3500 has not just parking assistance and a rear parking camera but backs this up with 360° cameras, which is better all-round visibility than a horse.

Although the RAM 3500 sounds tough and rugged (it is), it’s not particularly Spartan inside. Spartans would never have approved of those heated and ventilated driver and front passenger seats or the heated steering wheel – but I guess a lot of us will appreciate these features, especially if we’ve been using this pickup around the farm on a beastly cold wet day.  Other creature comforts include the dual-zone automatic climate control and the generous amount of cabin storage (including cupholders for everybody). The seating arrangements are a classic three in the front, three in the back configuration, with child seat mounts in the rear row.

The RAM 3500 might have some no-nonsense old-fashioned off-roading ability, but it’s also thoroughly suited to the modern world, providing four USB points and four USB C points, Bluetooth connectivity and compatibility with both Apple’s CarPlay and Android Auto.  These communicate with the built-in navigation system (for the roads, obviously, not off it), and with the 10-speaker sound system. You can adjust quite a lot on the infotainment system via the steering wheel (the sound system, the phone, the voice recognition system and the instrument panel, as well as the cruise control); if you prefer, however, there’s a 12-inch touchscreen.

The RAM 3500 looks an ideal vehicle for the country, where it would work hard and play hard.  However, it’s likely to be equally at home in town and would make a great ute (truck!) for a tradie, especially if heavy loads are involved.

The 2023 RAM 3500 models include the:

• 2023 RAM 3500 Laramie Heavy Duty

For any more information on the new RAM 3500 or, for that matter, any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181.  If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quote requests out to our national network of RAM dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours.  Private Fleet – car buying made easy!