The Ram 1500 Ramcharger full-size pickup truck can pull up to 14,000 pounds and has a total of 663 horsepower thanks to its two electric motors. The range is increased to 690 miles by a Pentastar 3.6-liter V-6 engine paired with a generator and a 70.8-kWh battery that can travel 145 miles without luggage. The Ramcharger is a plug-in hybrid because the engine only makes energy. However, it is really a series hybrid because it only has an electric motor for propulsion. The problem with all-electric pickup trucks is that they can’t do the things that most people use pickup trucks for, like hauling and towing. What’s wrong is more with towing than it is with the smooth, steady pull that electric motors provide when pulling and towing. Also, you don’t have to downshift to go up hills, and the high-rpm whining and loud cooling fans that come with it are gone. What is the problem in particular? It can be challenging to add weight, especially to the load on a trailer. You can only use half of the tow range. Due to the shorter range, you’ll feel like you have to fill up to the brim when you get there, so recharge times are twice to three times longer than you’d expect. There are few pull-through quick charge stations, so you’ll probably have to take your trailer off the road to charge it. Also, there are a few options if you want to tow your Airstream to a faraway, off-grid site because fast chargers are usually placed along interstates. Ramcharger shows up to help The Ramcharger isn’t a fully electric car, so it’s elegantly made to avoid all of these problems. Anyhow, not really. Yes, it has two electric motors that power it all: one at the back with 319 horsepower and one at the front with 335 horsepower. When both are turned all the way to the left or right, they can make a maximum of 615 pound-feet of torque and 663 horsepower. In this way, the Ramcharger is a fully electric truck, and it tows just as smoothly as a fully electric car like the Ford F-150 Lightning or the Rivian R1T. The company says that 663 hp is the correct maximum output, but we told Ram that 335 hp plus 319 hp is only nine hp short of 663. There are different ways to power those motors. Some lithium batteries can give you up to 145 miles of pure electric range. These batteries are 92 kWh in gross capacity and 70.8 kWh in usable capacity. When the battery’s functional part runs out, the system goes into a “charge sustaining” mode. In this mode, a 3.6-liter gasoline V-6 engine connected only to a generator provides the power. Since the Ramcharger is built the way it is, it is a plug-in hybrid. However, it is a plug-in series hybrid, which means the engine only powers the generator and never the wheels. This is helpful because when it’s powered by gasoline, it works like a normal diesel-electric locomotive. When we last checked, train engines were very good at pulling things behind them. The ground doesn’t have any weight on it It is said that a 70.8-kWh battery can power 145 kilometers on a single charge. Some electric cars have a longer range in town than on the highway, though, because their powertrains are direct-drive and only have one gear. The range will be longer in cities and shorter on highways. Even though the Ramcharger is always powered by electricity, the 690-mile range is still vulnerable to the same problems. These numbers, which are more like development goals than actual ratings, mean that you can drive 545 miles on gasoline and still be electric. However, Ram has not said what the expected gas fuel efficiency is. However, they say that the fuel tank holds 27 gallons so that we can guess. Calculations show that if their goals are met, they can get a combined fuel efficiency of 20 mpg, with slightly better fuel economy in cities and on the highway. Pulling on Flat Ground When pulling something, the battery’s 145-mile range is probably cut in half. But the generator keeps the car moving after that. The generator in question can consistently put out 174 horsepower. A Ram powertrain engineer we talked to said this is enough, even though it seemed hard to keep going fast while carrying 14,000 pounds. On a level highway, you can drive a trailer with a maximum load at 65 mph until the fuel tank runs out. It works a lot better when pulling at least 7,000 pounds. Because the ground is rolling, some power is put back into the battery while easing off and regenerating on the downslope, and some is used in the space on the upslope. If the load goes up, the generator may run at its full 255-horsepower capacity. There is always enough power in the battery to support it, though, so short bursts that need more power should always be possible. Towing from a Higher Place On the way to the hills? When you choose the Tow mode, the normal set-aside percentage for maintaining charge goes from 16% to 35%. Most of the time, the generator will run at a higher power level, and the V-6 engine and generator will start up faster together. Because of this and the bigger battery reserve in Tow mode, Ram says the Ramcharger should be able to handle the long, steep hills in the Western West with ease. We’ve towed EVs up long western slopes, and the climbs are shorter than you might think. There are spikes in electricity use, but they don’t last for dozens of kilometers. Top always has more than we thought it would, and there are ups and downs. On the other side, you’ll get a lot more. An engine and generator will also help. Possession in Real Life As with many personal pickups, buyers plan to tow and carry, but they only sometimes follow through, especially when it comes to the maximum weight that can be taken or towed. Because they move air all the time, the 145-mile battery range will make this an electric truck that works well most of the time. The 14,000-pound trailer that the V-6 generator is produced to support won’t put much of a strain on road trips that don’t involve towing. How will towing work in real life? The all-electric drivetrain will keep the main drive smooth, steady, and shift-free. But how will the sound of a V-6 generator working hard change the experience? That is still being worked on, but we will be able to do it early next year when we get a sample that is ready for mass production. It’s one of the most important things we don’t know. But that’s not nearly as good as the Ramcharger’s best feature for hauling: you’ll never have to waste time looking for a charger while you’re on the road, whether you’re towing or not. An 87-octane gas pump is all you need.
