Can a new work truck be a great car for road trips? I’m going on a long road trip from Detroit to Denver with this new 2025 Ram 1500 Tradesman Crew Cab 4×4 pickup. That’s over 1,000 miles and I want to see how comfortable and efficient this new truck really is. Come along.

This truck has a unique configuration that you may never see again. It’s a long wheelbase 4WD crew cab with a 6’4″ bed. It has a seating configuration for six. This base trim Tradesman comes with adaptive cruise control and a maximum towing package. The truck has basic all-season tires and a relatively low ride height. It doesn’t have a special off-road package. It’s no Warlock or Rebel. This should give it better overall efficiency on the highway.

On the other hand, the rear axle ratio of 3.92 for the maximum towing capacity and the large trailer mirror affect the overall efficiency.

The engine is the optional 3.0-liter twin-turbo I6 Hurricane, which costs around $2,700. Output is 420 hp and 569 lb-ft of torque. The engine is paired with a ZF 8-speed automatic transmission. It’s a very smooth and quiet combination that’s great for any ride.

The seats of this Ram are very comfortable for long trips. The cabin is quiet. The adaptive cruise control system works great (it is not Hands free system available on more expensive Ram 1500 trucks). The new LED projector headlights are MUCH better than any work truck headlights previously found on Ram trucks.

The lane keeping system is not as good as it could be. When activated, the steering wheel vibrates when the driver gets too close to or crosses a lane marking. However, the system is not assertive enough to steer the truck back into its lane. I would say – the system needs to be more assertive or not correct the truck’s lane at all.

By the time we drained the entire tank, we had driven over 555 miles. We used the cheaper 87 octane gasoline, which is what the engine is designed for. The final MPG result was a respectable, but not class-leading 21.7 MPG. Had this truck been equipped with an efficient 3.21 to 1 rear axle ratio, the MPG result would have been MUCH better. However, the efficient truck would not be able to tow the maximum 11,000 pounds. You have to choose either the maximum towing capacity or higher efficiency.

The list price of this truck as you see it here is just over $57,000. If you don’t opt ​​for the long bed and a few other options, you could negotiate this 4×4 Tradesman down to around $51,000.

We made the same trip last year in a 2023 Ford F-350 Dually with a high-performance turbodiesel. We look forward to making more trips soon.

Join me on a road trip in the video below!