It’s time to put the new 2025 Ram RHO on the Ike GauntletTM – the world’s toughest towing test! This new off-road performance truck is powered by a twin-turbo high-output 3.0L Hurricane I6 engine that is rated at 540 horsepower. We are pretty sure it will do fine when climbing the I-70 towards the Continental Divide, but what about the downhill section? Let’s run it!
The RHO has an 8-speed ZF automatic transmission and a 3.55-to-1 rear axle ration (just like the TRX before it). The RHO is rated to tow up to 8,500 lbs, and we are pulling a trailer that weighs 8,300 lbs. We are maxing out this truck on the Ike GauntletTM.
The downhill section is first. The bar has been set by the Ram TRX, F-150 Raptor, and the F-150 Raptor R. Most of these trucks completed the downhill 8-mile run with 4 brake applications. The fewer brake applications we make, the better the truck performs. It means the truck and its drivetrain is able to control the speed on the way down.
The RHO has 11 brake applications. This is not a good result. The transmission downshifted like it’s supposed to and the engine rpm was high. The truck is very quiet and smooth. The truck remained in perfect control, but 11 brake applications is not a good result when you compare it against the TRX or the Raptor trucks.
On the way up, the RHO did great. It has plenty of power to accelerate with the trailer. It showed a benchmark run up the mountain with comfort and stability.
The RHO is a good truck for towing a trailer, but the off-road suspension squats more than on other Ram 1500 models. This is understandable. I would say that if you have a trailer that weighs 7,500 lbs or less, the RHO will be a great towing machine. If you are going to push it near its limit of 8,500 lbs – then you may be running out of its payload capacity.
Please join us in the video below.
