Transmission of RIP
It has been disputed whether the third-generation Dodge Ram actually tow the semi or if it was pulling a disabled Ram out of the intersection. Motor1 readers provided a tip and pointed us to TikTok videos by Robinsondevona. She appears to have been the original source of the sighting. She has a clip that clearly shows the pickup is chained to the semi, and Hulking out for it to get clear of the intersection.
This article is for Dodge enthusiasts. If you feel the need to comment on this video to show your appreciation, we ask that you refrain from making the same old Cummins/Power Stroke diesel jokes. We are a family-friendly website and, among other things, we don’t know if this older RAM has a diesel engine. We’ll get to that later.
Here are the facts. This 30 second clip is from Williams Lake in British Columbia. It’s located west of Canada’s Rocky Mountains. It was shared by ViralHog on YouTube. The event involved a Dodge pickup towing an unloaded logging truck from an intersection. This is where it eventually broke down. The incident occurred on July 10th, and the video clearly shows that this logging truck was not just loaded. It was fully loaded and hauled with tandem trailers. A quick check with British Colombian tractor-trailer regulations reveals that the maximum allowed weight for such an arrangement is 140,000 (63.500 kilograms). Yikes.
The pickup truck appears to be a third generation Dodge Ram from 2002 to 2008. We believe it is at least a 2500 model, if not a 1-ton 3500, judging by the grille and side mirrors. The front bumper is aftermarket and it has what appears to be a small suspension lift with meaty tires. However, this makes no difference when towing 140,000 lbs of logs or semi-truck.
We see white smoke rising from the truck’s underside as we move the camera. We don’t see any diesel smoke. Under such loads, we would expect to see some coal, even though the Cummins engine may be stock. This suggests that the engine is powered by a 5.7-liter Hemi-V8. It produces 345 horsepower (257 Kilowatts) as well as 375 pound-feet (508 Newton meters) of torque.
We hope that the white smoke is tire smoke coming from the passenger rear wheel, but it is difficult to see because of the angle. If it’s a manual transmission, we could be seeing clutch smoke. The pickup is moving hard towards the end of video could indicate that this could be the case. It’s possible that this Dodge Ram is a Hemi-powered Dodge Ram with manual transmission. The truck only exceeds its towing capacity by 132,000 pounds.
Let’s hope the semi-truck driver who was stuck gave Ram owner a nice tip for his heroic efforts. This cash may be necessary for urgent repairs to the driveline.