F
ire season in California is well in
the past, but this past year’s was a
particularly nasty one. An unusually
dry fall kept first responders busier than
they’d like to be, including truck-driving
volunteers who rescue livestock from
ranches and farms.
When I got the call one afternoon from
Automobile’s Aaron Gold, throwing him the
keys to our long-term Ram 1500 was the
least I could do. What follows is his account
of saving horses, pigs, and other livestock
from areas under threat of wildfires.
“When wildfires sweep through Southern
California, they displace thousands of
people as well as their animals. My wife
and I are part of a group of volunteers that
helps city and county officials move horses
and other livestock out of harm’s way and
return them home when the danger has
passed. We load up the bulk of the horses
in large trailers, and the oddball jobs—
smaller animals and horses that don’t
play well with others—fall to our two-horse
trailer and our trusty 1993 Chevrolet pickup.
“During the Saddleback Fire in October,
however, the Chevy wasn’t being so trusty.
After a long night of evacuations, the
battery stopped holding a charge. A bad
battery is bad news when working in a fire
zone—ash-laden air can stall the engine,
and a dead battery can strand you in a
potentially fatal situation.
“We needed a quick replacement, so I
asked Scott if I could borrow his long-term
Ram. Scott’s truck has a built-in trailer-
brake controller and a towing capacity of
11,825 pounds, which is plenty for our trailer.
“I’ve towed with a previous-gen Ram
and wasn’t impressed, but I thought the“It’s not a call you want or expect, but being
the friend with the truck is never less of a hassle
than when it’s needed as a rescue vehicle during
natural disasters.” Scott EvansService life:
5 mo/1 0 ,488 miles • Avg Fuel Econ: 15.3 mpgAvg CO2 1.27 lb/mi Energy cons 225 kW-hr/100 mi Unresolved problems None
Maintenance cost $0 Normal-wear cost $0 Base price $46,140
As-tested $62,020 EPA City/Hwy/Comb Fuel Econ 17/22/19 mpg
Real MPG 17.1/23.5/19.5 mpg2019 Ram 15 00
new truck did a much better job. When
towing live animals, our biggest concern
is stability—the truck has to be in charge
of the trailer and not vice versa. The
Ram 1500 felt every bit as planted as our
heavy-duty Chevy, even in gusty winds.
“We try to accelerate and decelerate
gently so that the animals can keep their
balance. With Tow/Haul mode selected,
the Ram’s eight-speed auto held its
gears and shifted smoothly, giving our
quadrupedal passengers a smooth ride.
The low-end assist of the eTorque system
came in handy on uphill on-ramps,
allowing the truck to accelerate steadily
and evenly without the need for a jarring
downshift. We cruise around 55 to 60
mph when towing. Our Chevy’s 5.7 liter
V-8 struggles to maintain that speed on
steep hills, but with the same displace-
ment and nearly twice the horsepower,
the Ram had no trouble keeping pace.
“Complaints? A few: The Ram can
detect when a trailer is hooked on, but it
doesn’t automatically switch the trans-
mission to Tow/Haul mode. I had to select
it each time I started the engine. Fuel
economy was only 12.5 mpg. That’s not
much better than our Clinton-era Chevy.
And we would have gladly traded the
RamBoxes for more bed space.
“Overall, the Ram was a solid and safe
tow vehicle that provided long hours of
comfort for its exhausted occupants.
Over the course of the fire, our group
evacuated dozens of horses along with
three pot-bellied pigs, 27 guinea pigs,
and one giant tortoise—and returned
them all home safely. MT’s Ram 1500 was
a hard-working member of the team.”