58 SEPTEMBER 2019 FOUR WHEELER fourwheeler.comThe heavy-duty trail king
gets a new robe
By Sean P. Holman [email protected]
Photos: Ken Brubaker and courtesy of the manufacturerFirst Drive
2019 RAM
D
O ENTHUSIASTS TODAY EVEN UNDERSTAND
just how special the Power Wagon is?
In the age of Rubicons, Raptors, ZR2s,
TRDs, and Rebels, are people too
spoiled to realize just what a game-changer the
big Ram is to the off-road world? We were one
of the first outlets to drive the original modern-
day Power Wagon when it was unveiled in 2004
as a 2005 model, and we immediately fell in
love. Available in either a regular cab or Quad
Cab, the Power Wagon had a 140-inch wheel-
base, a 345hp 5.7L Hemi, a factory lift, 33-inch
BFGoodrich All-Terrain tires, a unique factory-
installed Warn winch, front and rear electronic
lockers with a rear helical limited slip when
unlocked, 4.56 gears, an electronic disconnect-
ing sway bar, Bilstein monotube shocks, rock
rails, and forged Alcoa aluminum wheels. All
for the amazingly reasonable price of $36,660
with a six-speed manual (yes, those things were
available on fullsize trucks once) regular cab, or
$39,970 for a five-speed automatic Quad Cab.
There was a period of time, in and around
Moab, when the Power Wagon was the veritable
Yeti. The first trucks didn’t even have any
Power Wagon markings on them, and locals
spoke about a small group of extremely capable
fullsize pickups testing all over the Jeep trails.
The only evidence: marks on the slickrock
where the trailer hitches had dragged. In fact,
the original Power Wagon’s receiver hitch collar
was upgraded to forged steel in order to make it
tough enough to drag in extreme terrain.
Much to the delight and cheers of the
assembled crowd at the 2005 Moab Easter Jeep
Safari, our Power Wagon testing culminated
in climbing Hell’s Gate. Remember, in 2005
this was a novel thing to see. The ’05 Power
Wagon won our Four Wheeler Pickup Truck
of the Year award that year, and again when
it was redesigned in 2010. Clearly this special
truck ranks as one of our all-time favorite
factory pickups.
Fast-forward 15 years and the soul of the
Power Wagon is intact, albeit with a few chang-
es here and there over the years: The wheelbase
is now 149.3 inches (but only available as a
crew cab), the LT285/70R17 BFGs have been
swapped out for Goodyear DuraTracs, the 4.56s
were replaced with 4.10s, the forged wheels
have been replaced with cast units, and the rock
rails were dropped in the 2010 redesign. What
remains: the 2-inch lift; the AAM axles and
traction aids; a manual T-case; the electronic
sway bar disconnect; and a factory-installed
Warn winch, though with its own upgrades.
More on that in a moment. The current Power
Wagon also has Ram’s excellent link-coil rear
suspension and the “Articulink” setup to the
frontend, which adds an extra link and bushing
to the control arms of the Power Wagon to al-
low the axle to roll with the suspension, increas-
ing front axle articulation in extreme terrain.
Based on the redesigned ’19 Ram 2500