Looking for the ultimate tow rig to pull your fifth-wheel horse trailer, car hauler or RV across the U.S. with just two refueling stops? The Ram Long-Hauler concept could be all the pickup truck you'll ever need. It almost makes the 2007 Dodge Ram BFT look like a compact.
We're all over the Long-Hauler, along with our friends at Diesel Power Magazine.
The Long-Hauler name fits the truck's length and driving range. The 197.4-inch-wheelbase pickup is based on the Class 5 Ram 5500 medium-duty chassis cab commercial truck (19,500 pounds gross vehicle weight). It's been upfitted with an 8-foot long dual-rear-wheel cargo box and an extra 110 gallons of diesel fuel capacity - 60 gallons in a custom midship reservoir positioned between cab and bed and 50 gallons in a bed-mounted combo fuel tank and toolbox - for a total of 162 gallons. Pulling a big trailer, that's about 1,600 miles to 2,000 miles of range, by our estimates.
To make the ride as comfortable as possible, the Long-Hauler features Ram's four-door Mega Cab configuration, which offers the most interior volume of any full-size pickup. For backseat passengers, there are adjustable footrests, tray tables, a refrigerator and Wi-Fi connectivity. It's also trimmed inside and out with Ram's new top-of-the-line Laramie Longhorn option package.
Under the hood is a 6.7-liter Cummins inline-six-cylinder oil burner rated at 305 horsepower and 610 pounds-feet of torque. It's paired with a six-speed Aisin automatic transmission. The gross combined weight rating is 37,500 pounds, according to an information card that was with the truck when it debuted at the Mid-America Truck Show earlier this year.
Read more at http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2011/04/ram-long-hauler-concept-is-the-ultimate-tow-truck.html