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2022 Ram 1500 TRX Off-Road Test | High atop Mt. Ridiculous

I slide to a quick stop on the mud-slicked trail. Up ahead, a pair of trees on either side force the track into a pinch point, one narrower than I was expecting. A Wrangler looks like it’d pass through with ease, but IÂ’m driving the 2022 Ram 1500 TRX, the widest off-road truck in the business. I eyeball the gap with some apprehension as a fellow off-roader pulls up to me in their side-by-side.  “We typically fit our full-size trucks through that gap,” he assures me. I gesture at the TRX, which is essentially a full-size truck in ultra-wide panorama mode, and voice my width concerns in return. Still, his confidence gives me some resolve, and I decide to trust the park regular and send it. And by send it, I mean idle along slowly watching each side of the truck — itÂ’s a long way over to the passenger side corner — to ensure I donÂ’t return RamÂ’s test truck with slightly narrower fenders than when I received it. Ultimately, the strangerÂ’s advice proved itself, and I just made it through the gap and onward to the next part of the trail where I promptly crashed through a big ‘ole mud puddle with a triumphant V8 bellow.  Big ‘ole mud puddles are the main source of entertainment at The Mounds ORV Park, too. There are all sorts of different sizes and depths for you to try out, which is exactly what I did with the 702-horsepower TRX, trusting its 32-inch wading depth to be my friend for the day. The TRX hardware is firmly in the realm of absurdity, allowing it to attack just about any terrain or surface – assuming it can physically fit through. The 6.2-liter supercharged V8 supplies 650 pound-feet of torque to all four wheels that lets it power out of mud and muck by aggressively flinging it skyward as though it has a vendetta against both the sky above and Earth below. This sort of driving is best done in Mud/Sand mode, as it sets the four-wheel-drive system, throttle response, transmission, suspension and steering into their ideal settings to have the most fun in the slick stuff. It works as advertised. Going 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds in a truck so large is already a mind-altering experience, but having the traction and ability to properly launch off-road is where the TRX truly sets itself apart. Those 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler Territory all-terrain tires, developed specifically for the TRX, dig into the mud and dirt, shooting you forward with far less scrambling and scrapping for purchase than youÂ’d expect from such a sloppy surface.

2014 Ram Promaster pricing starts at $26,030*

Looking to get back into the thick of things in the commercial van market, Chrysler has set the pricing for the Fiat Ducato-based 2014 Ram Promaster. When it goes on sale by the end of this year, the new Promaster will have prices that range from $26,030 for the Promaster 3500 chassis cab cutaway with a 136-inch wheelbase and topping out at $36,150 for the long-wheelbase, high-roof 3500 cargo van (*prices don't include the $995 destination charge).
While pricing was released for a total of 14 build configurations (including the addition of a 2500 cargo van equipped with rear windows that was not previously announced last month), Chrysler has still not announced how much it will cost to get the optional combination of the EcoDiesel engine and the six-speed automated manual transmission and if it will be available in all styles. To see the full pricing breakdown for each Promaster model and body configuration, scroll down for Chrysler's official press release.

Ram readying radical two-way split tailgate?

Ram may be preparing a new sort of tailgate that could rethink the way we access the bed of the company's pickup trucks. Rather than the typical fold-down tailgate that we know so well, patent drawings show a tailgate that combines the functionality of a traditional fold-down design with a 50/50 split that can, individually, be opened like a barn-door design or dropped flat like a standard tailgate.
Now, Ram is far from the first to toy around with something like this. The most obvious example is the Honda Ridgeline, which features a single-piece tailgate that is double-hinged so that it can open traditionally or be swung out to the side. The big news here is the split and the fact that each half can be used independently of the other. Unlike the Honda, the individual halves would be operated via touchpads.
The implications of this new design aren't entirely clear right now. It seems possible that the rendering could just be for a concept vehicle, but production is certainly possible as well - Ram has shown a real willingness to innovate in the pickup segment as of late, with features like coil-spring rear suspensions, light-duty diesels and the Ram Box bedside storage system.