2023 Ram 2500 Big Horn on 2040-cars

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A beginner's guide to plowing snow with a heavy-duty truck

I live in a desert, so the only things getting plowed around here are mud flows and brewer neighbors. But I enjoy machinery and haven't plowed any snow since a "loaded" truck meant one with A/C and a CD player, so I jumped at the chance for a plow primer in a Ram HD on a Canadian airfield. Running a plow is like welding – the basics come quickly but experience pays dividends. The first thing to deal with is a frequently changing horizon because, stout as they are, even three-quarter-ton heavy-duty trucks will move up and down in front considerably with a 600-to-800-pound plow hanging off, and fast plow hydraulics rival some low-riders for bounce effect. Getting going is easy unless you forgot blocks and the plow froze to the ground, rookie. If you have to drive to your plowing assignment, blade height needs some experimentation to find the best cooling airflow; if you think sub-freezing temperatures negate that concern, remember you've installed what amounts to a 20-square-foot air brake up front that the truck has to overcome, and blowing snow could block some cooling air passages. Whether it's a "straight" blade or V design, always have it tilted to the right lest you catch a hidden post, solid mailbox, or edge of a snow bank. Most plow operators I spoke to rarely exceed 45 mph in transit because of cooling, front suspension travel, and common sense, and you should go even slower if you don't have some ballast like chains, extra fuel tanks, or a salt spreader to balance the load on the back. With trucks' relatively slow steering and all that weight up high, oversteer is best avoided. With a little clean space to get a run, stick it in Drive to gather momentum and lower the plow simultaneously to float, where the weight of the plow rests on and lets it run along the surface. Momentum is good until you hit something you didn't know about, at which point the plow's breakaway systems limit damage but your truck could still hit something big; caution never hurts. Start out at 10 to 15 mph, depending on consistency and depth, making a clean wave off one side. If you have to push it straight, as you slow coincidentally raise the blade at the bottom of the pile to shove it up higher. Carry too much speed here and you'll stop with an unceremonious thud. Common mistakes cited among a few experts were people pushing banks of snow rather than plowing it, and rushing the shift between Drive and Reverse, throttling up before the shift is completed.

Ram 1500 to get Pentastar V6 option in top-shelf models

Ram has seen such positive customer feedback from its 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 and TorqueFlight eight-speed automatic transmission in the Ram 1500 that it's bringing the powertrain upmarket, and it's now going to be available in truck's Laramie trim level (Laramie Limited pictured above). The new choice means better fuel economy and lower pricing in one of the 1500's higher-end models.
A Ram 1500 Laramie Quad Cab 4x2 with the 3.6-liter Pentastar and eight-speed automatic will retail for $38,775, plus a $1,195 destination charge. It's a savings of over $1,000 over the trim's current starting price.
Ram says the decision to offer the V6 option was customer driven. "Today's V6 engine is a lot stronger than yesterday," said Nick Cappa of Ram Truck media relations to Autoblog. Cappa notes that dealers have reported buyers returning from test drives who can't believe there are only six cylinders operating underhood.

Ram raises a quick $1 million for farmers with Super Bowl ad

While Chrysler has been behind the Super Bowl's most talked-about commercials for the past few years, this is the first year the automaker has added an element of charity to its marketing plans for the big game.
Chrysler aired a pair of two-minutes ads during the Super Bowl this year, one for Jeep called Whole Again, and the other for the Ram brand called Farmer. As we mentioned earlier in the week, Jeep has promised to give up to $300,000 to the United Services Organization (USO). The brand, whose own history is forever tied to this country's military, will donate $1 for every tweet with the hashtag #joinOSR, or visit to Yahoo.com or the Jeep Operation SAFE Return website.
Ram had somewhat loftier goals, pledging to give up to $1 million to the Future Farmers of America. The plan was to donate $100,000 for every 1 million times the commercial was seen, shared or emailed from its website. Now we have word from Ram brand chief Fred Diaz that the million-dollar goal has been reached less than five days after the ad first aired.