Heavy Duty Dodge Ram Review

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Summary

One would argue that all trucks are made "heavy duty", but the 2007 Dodge Ram HD takes it to another level, and is meant specifically to serve contractors, workers, landscape crews, even families with heavy towing needs. Yes, the Ram HD is more truck like then many of the modern trucks today which ride and comfort and drive with ease, yet it is civilized on the road and does its job well.  No one is going to buy this truck for its luxuries, but instead for its power, size, and durability.  The heavy-duty Dodge Rams were last redesigned for 2003.  New for 2007 are a new diesel engine and automatic transmission plus some minor refinements.

Full Review 2007

The Ram Mega Cab was rolled out for 2006.  Mega Cab is built on the Heavy Duty chassis and is powered by the Hemi engine. The extra-large Mega cab was created by re-proportioning the relationship between cab and bed on a long wheelbase truck, adding 20 inches to the cab and shortening the bed to 6 feet, three inches. So what the Mega Cab gives is just what its name says: mega space. The back seats are roomy and comfortable with reclining seatbacks, separate rear heating and air conditioning outlets, reading lights and a center armrest with cup holders, and available DVD entertainment. And there's space behind the back seats for cargo. Folding down the back seats reveals a huge cargo area (72.2 cubic feet) with a flat load floor. The rear doors open big and wide, making it easy to load stuff inside. 

Heavy Duty Power

The Cummins turbo diesel is an excellent engine; it is quiet, powerful and responsive. It provides engine braking down long highway grades, thereby leaving the brakes cool, fade-free, and ready for stopping. The diesel's power and fuel economy make it an excellent choice for owners who tow heavy trailers long distances.  The diesel's power and fuel economy make it an excellent choice for owners who tow heavy trailers long distances. The Cummins is an inline six-cylinder built like a tractor-trailer engine, with exceptional longevity and low-end grunt, and it's frequently used in trucks and motorhomes that carry 2-10 times what a Ram HD pickup will.  The 5.7-liter Hemi V8 is an overhead-valve, pushrod V8, with a cast-iron block and hemispherical combustion chambers. It develops 345 horsepower at 5400 rpm and makes more torque than horsepower, delivering 375 pound-feet at 4200 rpm.

Driving the Ram

Driving the Dodge Ram HD you wouldn't expect a smooth ride and easy maneuvering. As a general rule, the more weight a heavy-duty pickup carries, the more the ride improves. Considering its size and fuel economy, it doesn't make sense to buy one unless you're towing and hauling heavy loads.  Parking a truck as big as a Mega Cab requires some care and attention. The 2WD Mega Cab comes with rack-and-pinion steering, while 4WD models come with a recirculating ball system.

2007 Design

The Dodge Ram HD offers a striking presence.  From the front, a more refined crosshair grille with strong, full-chrome collar remains instantly recognizable as a strong Dodge Ram signature.  From the side, the Mega Cab makes an even more dramatic impression. Very wide rear doors are unique to the immense Mega Cab, with a very large proportion of window glass to door. Behind this huge cab, the bed looks small, but it remains significantly large: 6 feet, 3 inches in length and 51 inches wide between the wheel wells. 

Ram Cabin Features

The result of this reworked truck is a lot of cab space, with six seats and plenty of head, shoulder, leg and hip room.  With the front bucket seats, a center console extends from the dashboard. Bench seat models still have a shallow floor console which may not be comfortable for the center rider.  The back seats are roomy and comfortable with reclining seatbacks, separate rear heating and air conditioning outlets, reading lights. The instrument panel cluster is located under a prominent dash brow to reduce glare and improve visibility of six white-faced gauges, the latter numbered on diesel-engine models. A substantial four-spoke steering wheel houses cruise control buttons and available stereo controls.  Several power outlets are provided for the front seats.  A third outlet is available in the center console.  Interior door handles are large and heavily built, consistent with the large size of the Ram doors.   Behind the passengers is a power sliding rear window for flow-through ventilation.  By folding down the back seats a huge cargo area with a flat load floor is created. The rear doors open big and wide, making it easy to load stuff inside. The interior is remarkably quiet, even as we ran the air conditioning, which offers minimal fan noise on the lower settings.

07 Ram Lineup

The 2007 Dodge Ram HD comes in three trim levels, ST, SLT and Laramie, and three cabs (regular, Quad, Mega) with a range of engine choices, payloads and towing capacities. A TRX4 (mild off-road) and Power Wagon (more severe off-road) model are offered only on 2500-series trucks.  There is a marked distinction between trim levels. In ST trim, the dash is textured plastic with synthetic-look inserts on the SLT. The Laramie package makes extensive use of wood trim inside, with less plastic, for a more distinctive appearance.  The Mega Cab 1500 is the light-duty configuration, but still has the heavy parts underneath and can haul payloads of up to 2,430 pounds and trailers of up to 8,750 pounds when equipped with 4.10:1 axle gears.  The 2500 comes standard with the Hemi V8 with six-speed manual or available five-speed automatic, optional with the Cummins 6.7-liter Turbo Diesel and a six speed manual or six-speed automatic.  The 3500 is more expensive because the Cummins diesel is often standard equipment, especially on dual rear wheel models.  The Ram Quad Cab may be big, but the Mega Cab is bigger. It has the power and weight to tow heavy loads for long distances. For better ride and handling, the 2WD 1500 Mega Cab will be the choice. For best control handling heavy loads, the 3500 Mega Cab dually 2WD with Cummins would do the job. For heavy hauling, and accessing rough terrain when you get there, the 4x4 regular or Quad Cab 3500 single-rear wheel would be just the ticket.

Safety Features

Because of the added length of the second-row seating area, the air bag system had to be redesigned with larger side curtain air bags. Each side air bag has its own impact sensor in order to trigger the air bag on the side where impact occurs.  Safety features also include three-point belts in all seating positions with constant-force retractors, LATCH child-seat anchors, child-protection rear door locks, and four-wheel anti-lock brakes.

 Conclusions

While there are countless makes and models of trucks available, the 2007 Dodge Ram HD is unique in that it serves a special purpose.  It does not have to necessarily compete with others in comfort and features, because this is not what the HD is about.  Caranddriver.com says "If you like torquey fun, this one's for you, especially in burly diesel spec." "The cathedral of all pickup trucks; a steel Mecca for those who worship big numbers." adds PickupTruck.com What this truck does, it does well, by transporting passengers and cargo wherever they may need to go with surprising ease.