The all-new 2019 RAM Power Wagon is a big truck. It’s also packed with the latest technology, luxury, and off-road capability options, not to mention a big Hemi V8. The new RAM HD trucks, including the Power Wagon, will hit dealers in April.
The 2019 RAM Power Wagon aims to retain its crown as the ultimate heavy-duty off-road truck in America. The new truck offers all the great off-road features we’ve come to expect with the Power Wagon and adds more power, luxury, and refinement.
Power Wagon Off-Road Features
Basically, think of the Power Wagon as a really big, heavy Jeep Wrangler with a 6.4L V8 Hemi under the hood. It offers the off-road goodies you that you’d find in a top-spec Wrangler Rubicon — and then some.
With the Power Wagon, you get standard off-road features: custom-tuned Bilstein shocks, hill descent control, selectable locking front and rear differentials, 4.10 axle ratio, front disconnecting front sway bar, tow hooks, skid plates, and a WARN 12,000-pound winch with synthetic line. You also get bigger wheel well liners and fender flares to cover the 17″ Power Wagon-specific cast aluminum wheels wrapped in 32.7″ Goodyear DuraTrac AT tires.
Power Wagon Luxury & Tech
You can also expect the new Power Wagon to offer the latest in luxury and technology. The whole new line of RAM HD trucks benefited greatly from all the interior advancements in the latest RAM 1500 trucks.
The biggest and boldest feature is, of course, the available 12″ UConnect touchscreen. It’s an impressive piece of tech. Step it up with an optional 17-speaker audio system for seriously bumping sound. And buyers can add a host of other tech features, like a multitude of cameras.
Safety and driver aids abound as well. You can get blind spot monitoring, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and park assist. The Power Wagon also comes standard with an integrated trailer brake controller and optional trailer tire pressure monitoring.
Think Outside the Box
While RAM only offers the Power Wagon model truck in a crew cab with a 6′ 4″ truck bed, there is a way to get one a bit different. RAM offers the Power Wagon Equipment Group on any 4×4 2500 RAM truck.
This means that if you wanted to build a basic Tradesman 2500 4×4 regular cab long bed with less luxury and technology that is still very off-road capable, you could. Or, on the other end of the spectrum, you could build a super-luxurious Limited trim level Mega Cab truck that still had all the Power Wagon off-road accessories.
No Diesel for You!
What you can’t get is a diesel Power Wagon. That’s a shame, as torque is very useful when tackling terrain off the pavement and hauling big loads of fun adventure toys.
The latest Cummins 6.7L High Output being offered on 2019 RAM 3500 trucks is the first truck from the factory to crack the 1,000 lb-ft of torque ceiling. It puts out an insane 1,000 lb-ft of torque and 400 horsepower. Even the base Cummins in the 2019 RAM HD trucks offers an impressive 850 lb-ft and 370 horsepower.
What you do get in the Power Wagon is no slouch though. You get the 6.4L V8 Hemi backed by an eight-speed automatic transmission. The big V8 puts out an impressive 410 horsepower and 429 lb-ft of torque.
The Almost-Perfect Power Wagon
Besides the lack of the Cummins diesel in the Power Wagon, the truck really does check off all the boxes for an impressive and capable truck. However, I’m not a fan of two tiny things.
The new fairlead on the front of the Power Wagon is a thick aluminum design with two ears that stick out of each side. The ears are designed to have the synthetic winch line wrapped around one side and the winch hook attached to the other. This is a tidy way to stow the hook and keeps it out of the way of the front parking sensors.
The issue, in my opinion, is that the ears expose the synthetic line to UV and dirt, both of which are the enemy of synthetic winch lines. They could also get in the way of side-pull winch scenarios and could be damaged when bumping into a rock in front of the truck. This is an easy fix, however, by putting a standard Hawse fairlead and thimble-style winch end on the truck.
When it comes to style, the Power Wagon is a big, bold, powerful-looking truck. All grilles on the new RAM HD trucks are 30 percent larger, but the brand somehow also improved the aerodynamics of the truck by 8 percent and reduced the interior noise by 10 decibels. While the unique styling impresses me overall, I’m not a big fan of the large gap between the grille and hood. But that is just personal taste.
2019 RAM Power Wagon Pricing: Still a Guess
RAM did not yet announce the price of the 2019 Power Wagon. We’ll guesstimate that it’s going to cost around the price of the outgoing model, which is a whopping $52,000. So obviously, you need a thick wallet to climb into this bad boy.
For those looking for a very capable off-road vehicle right off the showroom floor, the 2019 Power Wagon should step up to the plate. It’s big, powerful, and ready for any road you may throw it at.
