For those on staff who weren't part of
Motor Trend's 2010 Truck of the Year testing, the first time driving the Ram was a bit of a shock. "Man, is this truck big!" was the most frequent initial reaction, often followed by, "but it's really nice." The combination of sheer capability and refinement is a big part of why the Ram won Truck of the Year honors for 2010, and the long-termer Ram Truck sent us reflects the best of both of those worlds.
We chose a four-wheel-drive 2500, a crew cab with a short bed (6 feet, 4 inches) and Laramie trim. This would give us the chance to try out most of the interior amenities offered by the manufacturer in a package that offered plenty of capability, too. To get the maximum towing capacity, you'd have to buy a base-model ST 3500 dualie, but the 16,600-pound towing of our long-termer isn't that far off from the max 17,600 anyway. It's painted Austin Tan with a beige and brown interior, and the Laramie package includes items such as chrome grille, power heated/auto-dimming side mirrors; bumpers; dual-zone climate control; a 10-speaker (nine speakers plus subwoofer) Alpine AM/FM/CD/DVD system with a year of Sirius Satellite Radio and an aux jack; heated front seats; and a power-sliding rear window.
We added a few more key features, the most expensive of which was the Cummins turbodiesel ($7615) plus the optional six-speed automatic ($405). Our long-termer also has the available ventilated leather bucket seats in front, a heated second-row leather bench, rear backup camera, media center with a 30GB hard drive, integrated trailer brake controller, and more, bringing the total to $53,675.