TALK ABOUT BIG TRUCKS

For the last week, I have been driving a Dodge Ram 2500 pickup truck around town. It is quite an experience, I’ll say that.

I am not going to give it a full review here, mostly because I could not really test this truck for what it is designed for.

This is a big pickup truck, really big, huge, in fact. This is not a truck you would want for routine trips to Home Depot or Lowe’s to gather materials for weekend chores.

No, this a real working man’s truck designed to haul and tow big things. The only challenge I could give it was to bring a couple of chairs, two tables, and a filing cabinet down from my wife’s family home in Coral Gables to mine in West Kendall.

It handled the “task” with no problem.

Shoot, it may have even towed the whole house down if I could have found a way to get it on a trailer. Towing capacity is over 13,000 pounds. That’ll float your boat.

This particular model was the Laramie Crew Cab, which had a refined interior that seats five comfortably. It’s a bit of a chore to get in and out of it, but handles on the A pillars make the climb and descent easier.

Plenty of storage room in the console as well, and knobs for controls are big and should be easy to handle with gloves on. I say “should be” because gloves are not exactly required down here in South Florida. I’ve got a pair somewhere in a drawer, but I’m not sure where.

It had a 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel I6 engine that pumps out 350 horsepower and, more important, 650 pound-feet of torque, via a six-speed automatic transmission. A little switch in the steering column gearshift lever lets you select a gear if you desire, but no, it’s not like paddle shifting a Porsche.

The computer said I was averaging about 15 mpg for the 100-plus miles I put on it. I usually put more miles on my test cars, but with the Ram 2500, I pretty much eliminated casual trips to the drug store with his cramped parking lot.

Yes, you must be a serious working man if it takes a Ram 2500 to fill your needs. And to think, Dodge even makes a 3500 series as well.

This bit of advice if you see one of those coming your way: Move over.