I have to say, when I first saw the Dodge 3500 Mega Cab taking up most of my drive way, the first word that popped into my head was leviathan. There are big trucks and then there’s the Dodge 3500 Mega Cab. At nearly 20 feet long and weighing over three and a half tons it is in fact one big truck. Driving this behemoth around town is interesting to say the least but parking, well that was adventure to say the least.
The 2010 Dodge Ram 3500 is all-new for 2010 and is available in three trim levels: ST, SLT and
Laramie which is what the tester was. The Ram Heavy Duty features a new suspension with what Dodge calls hydra mounts that contribute to an improved ride. When equipped with the 6.7-liter Cummins Turbo Diesel engine, the Ram Heavy Duty offers the only standard exhaust brake in the segment.
Once inside the
Laramie trim sheathed us in an almost luxurious interior. Options included leather seating surfaces, dual-mode automatic climate control, adjustable pedals, navigation, Bluetooth, trailer brake controls and heated and cooled seats. Soft-touch leather and higher grade plastic was used and attractive double-stitching was used on the dash and center console contributing to a feel of luxury. Passenger room is abundant in the front seat with a center console that can act as an office with room to stow a lap top and manage files if you work in the field. If you have to haul people around, there’s a pretty fair amount of room for rear seat passengers in the mega cab.
Nice as it is on the inside, this truck is all about working and powered by 6.7-liter Cummins turbo diesel, there isn’t too much this truck can’t do. While 350 horsepower doesn’t seem like a lot, just focus on the 650 lb-feet of mountain moving torque this engine puts out and you know the Dodge 3500 is all about the job. Properly equipped this truck can pull up to 17,000 lbs with a payload rating over 5,000 lbs. Mega is the right adjective for this truck.
As far as driving the truck goes, emergency stopping is about the only time you really sense the size and weight of the truck. On the highway it’s hard to beat. It’s big and comfortable and has plenty of oomph to pass when necessary and cruises down the highway on a pretty compliant suspension with very little of the bouncing around one might expect from a heavy duty truck.
All this luxury and muscle doesn’t come inexpensively though. The tester based at $50.645 the added goodies priced out at a lofty $56,355. Make no mistake, you get a serious amount of bang for your buck including a 5 year 100,000 mile limited power train warranty as well as a 5 year 100,000 mile limited warranty on the Cummins diesel engine components and of course the base 3 year 36,000 mile warranty.
There are a lot of choices in the big truck market but after driving the Dodge 3500 Mega Cab for a week, I know this truck can just about do it all. So if you’re looking for something that will provide a serious amount of muscle and want it in a nifty package this truck will definitely fill the bill. It’s the Budweiser Clydesdale of pickups.
As far as driving the truck goes, emergency stopping is about the only time you really sense the size and weight of the truck. On the highway it’s hard to beat. It’s big and comfortable and has plenty of oomph to pass when necessary and cruises down the highway on a pretty compliant suspension with very little of the bouncing around one might expect from a heavy duty truck.
All this luxury and muscle doesn’t come inexpensively though. The tester based at $50.645 the added goodies priced out at a lofty $56,355. Make no mistake, you get a serious amount of bang for your buck including a 5 year 100,000 mile limited power train warranty as well as a 5 year 100,000 mile limited warranty on the Cummins diesel engine components and of course the base 3 year 36,000 mile warranty.
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