I just got done reading your 2013 Truck of the Year. While the Ram is certainly a handsome truck with great features, one number in particular stands out in its specs: payload. How can a truck with such a wimpy payload of 1176 pounds possibly be voted TOTY?? Its alleged 10,000-pound towing capacity is a ridiculous number; the truck's payload will easily be surpassed by the tongue weight of a 10,000-pound trailer alone. In fact, your test trailer weighed 7500 pounds. What was its tongue weight? Optimal tongue weight is around 15 percent of the weight of the trailer. In the case of your 7500-pound test trailer, that measures out to 1125 pounds. The truck's payload is maxed out without a driver or passenger! If that test trailer were a travel trailer, you couldn't even load a single piece of firewood into the bed of the truck. Useless!!
Ram really should address the payload rating for its half-ton truck. People who tow campers, boats, or landscaping trailers will quickly overload the truck's GVWR by simply hitching up. For this simple reason alone, I will not even consider the Ram for my needs.
Furthermore, all manufacturers need to come up with a real towing package for their trucks. Telescoping mirrors, increased payloads, a rear axle ratio of at least 4.10, and LT tires should be included in any towing package.
Dan Quinlan
Buffalo, New York
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Dear Reader,
You're right: Payloads in half-tons have been going down for a while. G.R. Whale wrote a "Whale Watching" column on that very subject a few months ago. And we totally agree with your opinion on tow packages.
-Truck Trend
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