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2021 Ram 1500 TRX vs. 2020 Ford F-150 Raptor | How they compare on paper

Now that the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX has debuted, it’s time to pit the off-road truck against its only true competitor: the Ford F-150 Raptor. Ford has left us in a weird spot with the Raptor, though. ItÂ’s currently in-between models, as the regular 2021 F-150 is out, but the 2021 Raptor hasnÂ’t been announced yet. Since the F-150 is moving into a totally new generation for 2021, the Raptor is bound to be much different a year (or even months) from now than it is today. Regardless, the Raptor as it stands today is still a worthy adversary for RamÂ’s new super truck. The TRX is much more expensive than the Raptor at its base level, but you can spec out a Raptor that comes close to the TRXÂ’s base price. That said, a TRX can crest $90,000. Neither of these trucks are cheap. So, letÂ’s get to the all-important specs and figures. The chart is below. WeÂ’ll note that Ford offers the Raptor in SuperCab and SuperCrew forms, but the TRX is only offered in Crew Cab size. For comparisonÂ’s sake, weÂ’ve chosen to provide figures for the SuperCrew that closely aligns with the Ram Crew Cab.   Powertrain ItÂ’s fairly obvious who has the advantage here. FCA just keeps spreading the Hellcat love around, and Ram is the latest brand to get a taste. The TRX has a whopping 252 horsepower and 140 pound-foot advantage over the Raptor. ItÂ’s also far quicker to 60 mph than the Ford. Nothing in the truck realm can touch the TRX in a straight line. Plus, the supercharged V8 produces much better noises than the F-150 Raptor and its boosted V6 is capable of.  Fuel economy for the TRX isnÂ’t out yet, but expect it to be even more horrendous than the RaptorÂ’s. If efficiency is even remotely important to you, neither of these trucks should be on your shortlist.  Both these trucks come with four-wheel-drive standard, and they both have a number of drive modes that alter the powertrainÂ’s characteristics depending on the terrain. Baja mode transforms the trucks into the desert runners that they both are at heart, but theyÂ’re plenty capable of crawling around rocks, too. We wonÂ’t know for certain which is best at specific tasks until we can get them both on (or off) equal ground. Suspension / off-roading capability The specs are freakishly similar when we compare ground clearance, approach/departure angles and water fording, but these two trucks use different strategies to get there.

Some 2014-19 Ram ProMasters recalled for shifter cables that could detach

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a recall for hundreds of thousands of 2014-2019 Ram ProMaster vans with a 3.6-liter engine. Campaign No. 20V036000 states that the shifter cables on these vans could disconnect from the transmission, which could lead to a variety of unsafe situations. The new recall comes after Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has issued transmission-related recalls for several other brand products in recent years. Jeep and FCA were thrust into the spotlight in 2016, when "Star Trek" actor Anton Yelchin's shocking death was linked to what was deemed an unintuitive shifter design. FCA recalled more than 1 million vehicles with a rocker-style eight-speed ZF shifter, including Jeep Grand Cherokees, Chrysler 300s, and Dodge Chargers. The design was unclear to some, and that confusion lead to dangerous rollaways. In 2017, FCA was back in the news when it announced a transmission recall for 1.8 million Ram trucks that had a faulty interlock that could result in the transmission shifting out of park. And in 2019, FCA announced two more transmission recalls, this time for 320,000 Dodge Darts and 51,788 Fiat 500s, both of which had cable bushings that could degrade due to temperature and moisture.  FCA's unsettling pattern has bled into the new decade, as 222,207 ProMasters have been recalled for an entirely separate transmission issue that could once again lead to a rollaway risk. The NHTSA estimates approximately three percent of these vehicles could have built with a transmission gear shift cable that was kinked during production. According to the recall document, "the vehicle population was determined to include all ProMaster vehicles equipped with a 3.6-liter engine from the beginning of 2014 MY production on April 23, 2013, through September 14, 2019, when the vehicle manufacturing process was revised." If the shift cable separates, the shifter is no longer connected to the transmission. The driver, then, would not be able to shift properly, or the transmission could be in a different position than believed. If the driver thinks the vehicle is parked, but it is actually still in drive or neutral, the vehicle could unintentionally move. As a precautionary measure until the vans are checked and fixed, FCA suggests owners use the parking brake when parking these vehicles. FCA will begin notifying owners on March 13, 2020 and plans to replace the damaged parts free of charge.

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.