- Yep, add another off-road heavy duty truck to the list: The 2023 Ram HD Rebel has officially landed.
- This truck joins the Power Wagon, TRX and 1500 Rebel, expanding the brand’s off-road-focused offerings to a broader audience.
- Unlike the Ram 2500 Power Wagon, you can get the 2023 Ram HD Rebel with the 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel.
- The 6.4-liter gasoline Hemi V-8 is still the standard engine, putting out 410 horsepower and 429 lb-ft of torque.
- The Ram HD Rebel also brings unique exterior design cues as well as more aggressive off-road tires, an electronic rear locker and limited-slip differential, skid plates and an optional 12,000-pound Warn winch.
- Pricing starts at $68,940 (including $1,895 destination), and production will start later this year.
Power Wagon don’t care, but what about this new Ram HD Rebel? Let’s find out — Here’s all the info, plus we have two videos on the subject below. Scroll down for more!
It’s been a big week for heavy duty truck news, and it just keeps getting better for off-road enthusiasts. Just in time to take on the likes of the revamped 2024 Chevrolet Silverado HD and the 2023 Ford Super Duty, Ram has a new option in the stable for those who like to head off the beaten track. Joining the Ram 2500 Power Wagon as well as the Ram 1500 Rebel and TRX, the Ram 2500 Rebel will bring a host of dirt-worthy upgrades when it goes into production later this year.
So, what is the 2023 Ram HD Rebel, exactly?
As you’d expect, this addition to the upcoming year’s Ram 2500 Heavy Duty lineup is a larger take on the Ram 1500 Rebel. That said, this truck borrows its structure from the closely related Power Wagon, down to the stylized grille, beefier off-road tires, underbody protection and winch-capable bumper.
The magic here, though, is that you can get the 2023 Ram HD Rebel with something that is not currently available on the Power Wagon: the 6.7-liter Cummins inline-six turbodiesel. Now, it is an optional powertrain here, as the 6.4-liter Hemi V-8 is still the standard engine on the Rebel. However, that enables this off-road Heavy Duty the potential to put down 360 horsepower and 850 lb-ft of torque. Like the other 2500 models, this standard output Cummins mates up to the 68RFE 6-speed automatic transmission, complete with a column shifter. Stick with the Hemi, by contrast, and you’ll get the 8HP75 8-speed automatic instead. And yes, like the Power Wagon and any other Hemi-equipped Ram HD, The 6.4L V-8 still puts out 410 horsepower and 429 lb-ft of torque.
While its exterior cues look awfully similar to the Ram 2500 Power Wagon, the Rebel brings some distinct changes.
You get a Mopar sport performance hood, for a start — so there’s our answer to what a TFL reader spied up in the Colorado mountains late last month. Ram says the 2023 HD Rebel also brings “unique” off-road suspension, as well as a rear limited-slip differential and electronic rear locker. There’s no front locker available from the factory here, so you’ll still have to go to the Power Wagon to get that.
As standard equipment, the 2023 Ram HD Rebel comes with 20-inch wheels. If that doesn’t sound ideal for your off-road needs, an 18-inch option will be available eventually. However, it will not come at launch — you’ll have to wait for that option to open up, or source your own wheels and tires in the short-term. This Rebel rides on 33-inch tires (rather than 35s), and you’ll get skid plates to protect the transfer case and the fuel tank. Cargo tie-downs come standard, while features like a spray-in bedliner, LED lighting and a bed step will be on the options list.
You can get the Ram HD Rebel with a Warn winch — but there’s a catch.
As standard fare, the 2023 Ram HD Rebel utilizes five-link coil suspension, with an available rear air suspension system to give you the balance you’d prefer between ride, handling, payload and, most importantly, articulation. But what happens when the truck’s off-road-focused upgrades including the tires and that suspension system don’t prevent getting stuck on the trail? That’s where the integrated Warn Zeon-12 winch comes in, just like you’d get with the Power Wagon. It’s rated to 12,000 pounds and uses synthetic line, so that does offer some peace of mind if you need to rescue yourself or anyone else on your excursion.
But, there is a caveat: You can only get the factory installed Warn winch with the 6.4-liter Hemi V-8. You may have expected that if you’ve been clamoring for Ram to put the Cummins in the Power Wagon, as that truck has the same limitation.
On the other hand, the 2023 Ram HD Rebel offers an interesting choice. You can go with the gasser for a more Power Wagon-esque off-roading experience. The Hemi also gives you the best payload capacity for the HD Rebel, at 3,140 pounds (against 1,630 pounds for the Power Wagon). If you need to tow, going for the diesel offers up a maximum towing capacity of 16,870 pounds, to the Ram 2500 Power Wagon’s 10,590 pounds without the Rambox.
Don’t worry, the 2023 Ram HD Rebel gets plenty of technology upgrades as well.
Three seating options are available for the updated, heavy duty Ram Rebel. You can get a cloth bench up front or bucket seats on the entry-level end. If you’d prefer something a bit more premium, you can get a Bristol leather bench or bucket front seats. Then, at the higher end, there’s “full Natura Plus” leather bucket seats.
The 2023 Ram HD Rebel comes with several available tech upgrades as well, though the keyword there is indeed “available”. The 12-inch frameless digital instrument cluster is an option, which gives you five reconfigurable tiles to play with and save to a user profile depending on your preferences. Safety features like adaptive cruise control, full-speed collision warning plus, lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring and cross path detection, automatic headlamps, a digital rearview mirror and rain-sensitive wipers are also optional safety features. All of those will most likely come as part of an upgrade package, though we don’t have exact details on the full options list just yet.
Capping off the technologies coming to this new truck is a 360-degree surround view camera.
That includes forward-view camera gridlines to navigate obstacles. You also get a split-screen view of both sides of the trailer when you need it to more safely maneuver (in other words, Ram’s Trailer Reverse Guidance system). While some 2023 Ram HD models can now get the single-knob Trailer Reverse Steering Control system, today’s announcement did not specifically mention its availability in the Ram HD Rebel. The assets we received with the press release, for their part, don’t show TRSC installed. Update: Ram sent clarification on Trailer Reverse Steering Control. For now, it is only available on the Ram HD Limited Longhorn. You cannot get that feature on the HD Rebel, even as an option. However, you do get an integrated brake controller, as well as front and rear parking sensors and the exhaust brake, should you opt for the diesel.
Pricing and availability
All 2023 Ram HD Rebel trucks come in 2500 3/4-ton Crew Cab configuration, with a six-foot-four inch box.
Pricing starts at $68,940 (including Ram’s $1,895 destination fee) before you start ticking options. If you’re interested, the new heavy duty Rebel goes on sale in the fourth quarter of this year, so you won’t have long to wait.
