Spied: 2018 Ram 5500 Regular-Cab Dualie Long Bed
With all the attention the 2017 Ford Super Duty is getting (first introduced at the 2015 State Fair of Texas, it doesn't surprise us that Ram is looking to do something interesting. Our spy shooters sent us these photos along with their thoughts about what this interesting-looking Ram 5500 might mean for the heavy-duty market.
"Today's Ram 4500/5500 HD trucks are offered as only chassis-cab models, but we caught this Ram 5500 SLT truck testing with a modified dualie pickup truck bed. Are Ram product planners looking to add a new pickup truck variant to its 5500 range? In fact, the dualie truck bed, which appears to be from a 2007 Ram 3500, has been grafted aft of the regular-cab cabin.
"You can see that the fuel door on the old-school bed looks to be nonfunctional as a new fuel-filler receptacle has been mocked up into the rear portion of the fender flare where the larger auxiliary tank would be. On this test mule, the placement of the blue-capped urea filler and the green-capped diesel filler are consistent with their placement on current Cummins-powered Ram 5500 chassis-cab trucks.
"The chrome bumper has clearly been mocked up, with a makeshift diamond plate and brackets welded and bolted into place. The chassis-cab trucks reportedly don't have proper mounting points for the required truck bumper, so the rough treatment seen on this test truck makes sense.
"Ram originally toyed with the idea of a Ram 5500-based dualie pickup in 2012, with the Ram 5500 Long-Hauler concept, which went over the top with an 8-foot truck bed and a Mega Cab configuration. While the Long-Hauler concept was a truly mammoth creation, the test mule we see here is something more mainstream in terms of scale. One of the challenges of creating the Long-Hauler concept was reportedly in attaching the truck bed to the chassis-cab-based high-mounted ladder frame. Also, the wiring harnesses' looms reportedly need to be adapted for the combination we captured. Clearly, coming to market with a truck like this would take some effort.
"So is this Ram 5500 dualie pickup something with production intent? Is the Ram brand finally going to bring a more attainable, real-world version of the Long-Hauler concept to showrooms? Or is this just Ram's way of letting Ford know Ram won't sit still in the heavy-duty marketplace. This test mule suggests Ram is pretty serious, whether it's destined for the current–generation Ram HD or perhaps the next, likely due for the 2019 model year. We'll be on the lookout for more details and additional test mules."
KGP Photography images
