The 2500 Power Wagon offers 14.2 inches of ground clearance, the most of any truck in years. Then last year, startup Rivian debuted a midsize electric pickup with 14.4 inches of ground clearance. But Ram showed off the next generation of its trucks with its electric “Revolution” concept, which rides on adjustable air suspension and 35-inch tires. Will Ram get the title in most ground clearances after being brought back from Rivian?
The Ram 2500 Power Wagon delivers traditional off-road capability
The Power Wagon is the very definition of “old school.” The Power Wagon was the first 4WD pickup truck built by a major automaker. Dodge created the nameplate to bring technology it invented during World War II to the civilian market for the 1946 model year.
Today, the power wagon is a factory-modified Ram 2500. Ram uses tried-and-true off-road technology to increase the Power Wagon’s ground clearance. It has coil springs two inches longer than the Ram 2500. It also has 22-inch tires on 17-inch rim-capable rims. Other features include front and rear electronic locking differentials and a Warn Zeon 12 shock absorber winch.
While today’s power wagon pushes traditional off-road technology to its limits with 14.2 inches of ground clearance, it also takes advantage of modern technology to improve performance even further. It has articulated sway bars, “Articulink” front radius arms, and Bilstein 4600 shock absorbers. But a new wave of off-road technology promises to spread over the traditional power wagon.
The Rivian R1T features fully adjustable suspension
Before we get to the next Ram revolution, let’s take a look at the first electric pickup truck on the market: the Rivian R1T. It was the first all-electric pickup. But its class-leading all-wheel drive electric drive system may not actually be its greatest innovation. The Rivian drivetrain features fully adjustable suspension thanks to two new technologies.
First up, the Rivian R1T’s four-corner air suspension, giving it 6.5 inches of height adjustment. In addition, it has hydraulically adjustable dampers instead of the regular shock absorbers. This gives the truck maximum stability, even when “hit” the ground for aerodynamics or raised to a full 14.4 inches for off-road driving.
The Rivian four-wheel drive also helps with stability. Through a process called torque vectoring, it can direct power to the wheels with the most traction in real time. He can also use his external wheels to pull himself through a corner. Off-road, this enables it to navigate slippery terrain and off-road, giving it cornering like a sports sedan.
Why bother with Rivian’s electric truck engine? Because the next-generation Ram 1500, the electric “Revolution,” might be very similar.
The Ram 1500 Revolution combines the best of all electric pickup trucks
Ram was the last American automaker to introduce an electric pickup truck concept: the Ram 1500 Revolution. But this prototype incorporates many of the best features of other electric pickup trucks on the market or in development. Ram is working on a range extender, like Ford is supposed to be developing for the F-150 Lightning. It even took a design from a startup called Bollinger: You can drop the middle door between the bed, the cab, and the aisle in the firewall to move long items.
The automaker hasn’t revealed all the specs of the Ram Revolution, which it hopes to release for the 2024 model year, so we don’t know its ground clearance. We know it will have four-corner air suspension, which is an option available on the current Ram 1500. The test truck also had massive 35-inch tires, so we know the TRX-sized rubber fits this chassis.
While the Rivian R1T is a mid-size pickup truck, the Ram 1500 Revolution is a full-size truck. If it incorporated some of the Rivian’s suspension elements, such as the hydraulic dampers, the result could offer significantly more ground clearance than the Rivian’s. This means it will offer more ground clearance than current powerwagons as well.
