#2020 Ram 3500 Gooseneck Hitch

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2020 Ram 3500 Release Date, Concept, Specs

2020 Ram 3500 Release Date, Concept, Specs

2020 Ram 3500 Release Date, Concept, Specs– By the details which we could undoubtedly collect this vehicle will likely be possessing enhancement in many different types of elements. All the upgrades by itself varieties provided by better automobile design meaning the original exterior are currently merely being modified to offer a far more appropriate design which can advantageous through the…

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Power Pullers: 10 of the Best Trucks for Towing

Living in Los Angeles, we’re used to seeing people who own and drive pickup trucks mostly because they want to, and that’s fine. But for many, driving a truck isn’t so much a matter of “want” but of “need.” Although “want” does often play a part. When you have a boat or a camper or a toy hauler you need to pull—or even a small trailer you have to transport from time to time—owning a truck with towing capability is a must. Whether you’re shopping for a heavy-duty pickup, a versatile and popular half-ton truck, or a midsize pickup that you can drive daily and fit in your garage, here are 10 of the best trucks for towing broken down by class.

Keep in mind, the maximum tow rating of the truck you buy depends on how much your truck weighs. Your individual maximum tow rating is your truck’s Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating (GCVWR or GCWR, the maximum allowable weight of your truck and trailer combined) minus the weight of your actual truck and the weight of any passengers and cargo. If you buy a truck with a lot of weight-adding features, or if you intend to carry a lot of passengers or cargo while towing (or both), that will reduce the amount of weight you can tow.

Also be aware of your GCVWR if you’re planning to tow extremely heavy loads with your heavy-duty truck. In the United States, a GCVWR above 26,000 pounds requires a commercial license. That means if your truck and trailer combined weigh more than 26,000 pounds, you can’t legally drive it unless you have a Class A commercial driver’s license.

Best One-Ton HD Trucks for Towing

2020 Ram 3500 Heavy Duty | up to 35,100 pounds

The 2020 Ram Heavy Duty, our 2020 Truck of the Year, is an easy choice for this list of best trucks for towing, and the Ram 3500 HD dually in particular excels at towing with a  fifth wheel or gooseneck hitch. When equipped with the 6.7-liter Cummins diesel inline-six that makes 400 hp and 1,000 lb-ft of torque, the Ram 3500 with dual rear wheels can tow a trailer weighing up to 35,100 pounds. The downsides are the top-dog diesel is an $11,795 option over the base gas V-8, and to handle that lofty 1,000 lb-ft, you’re forced to get a high-torque version of the old six-speed automatic transmission instead of the new eight-speed. But even with the $2,695 cheaper 850-lb-ft Cummins or the 6.4-liter Hemi V-8, the Ram 3500 is an excellent choice for towing with a fifth wheel or gooseneck thanks to available features like a high-res in-bed camera and the air suspension’s trick Alt Trailer Height ability.

2020 Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra | up to 35,500 pounds

The Ram HD may be the better all-around truck, but when it comes to the best truck for towing fifth wheel or gooseneck the Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD dually (and its nearly identical counterpart from GMC) has a leg up. When equipped with the 445-hp, 910-lb-ft 6.6-liter Duramax diesel V-8, the 3500HD can tow up to 35,500 pounds. The GMC also has the benefit of more gears to choose from with its Allison 10-speed automatic transmission. That helped the Sierra 3500HD out-tow the Ram during Truck of the Year testing, and also made it the more pleasant truck to tow with. Given how easily the GMC handled a gooseneck trailer loaded up to 10 tons, the Sierra 3500HD is one of the best trucks for towing mega loads.

2020 Ford F-450 Super Duty | up to 37,000 pounds

The truck industry is engaged in an all-out torque war, and the prize is “best-in-class” bragging rights. Currently, the leader in the towing arms race is Ford, with its updated F-450 Super Duty that produces 475 hp and a staggering 1,050 lb-ft of torque from a 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel V-8. For those counting, that’s 50 lb-ft more than the Ram’s Cummins and 140 lb-ft more than GM’s Duramax. What does that much twist get you? A claimed max towing capacity of 37,000 pounds.

Best Three-Quarter-Ton HD Trucks for Towing

2020 Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra 2500HD | up to 18,500 (with conventional hitch)

Sometimes you don’t need a gigantic truck—you just need a pretty huge one. Still imposing and capable, a three-quarter-ton truck like the Chevy Silverado 2500HD will do the job for most. Like the larger Silverado and GMC Sierra 3500s, the 2500HD can be had with either a 401-hp, 464-lb-ft 6.6-liter gasoline V-8 or a 445-hp, 910-lb-ft 6.6-liter Duramax diesel V-8.

Although we don’t recommend the former or its six-speed automatic, when equipped with the latter, you get the slick-shifting 10-speed automatic and a towing capacity of up to 18,500 pounds on a conventional hitch. Additionally, the Silverado HD offers a transparent trailer view system, which uses two cameras (one on the tailgate and one that has to be installed on the trailer) to allow you to virtually see through whatever you’re towing. That features makes the Silverado HD one of the best trucks for towing a travel trailer or other large, sight-impeding object hanging off your hitch ball.

2020 Ford F-250 Super Duty | up to 20,200 pounds (with conventional hitch)

The F-450 might be the numbers king, but the F-250 is the workhorse of the Super Duty range. The F-250 is available in a number of bed and cab configurations, and it can he had with your choice of 6.2-liter V-8, the new 7.3-liter V-8 with 430 hp and 475 lb-ft of torque, or the same 1,050-lb-ft Power Stroke diesel found in the 350 and 450—a costly option at $10,495. But when properly equipped, the F-250 has a max conventional towing capacity of 20,000 pounds. For most, that should be plenty for towing your RV, boat, or toy hauler.

Best Half-Ton Trucks for Towing

2020 Ram 1500 | up to 12,750 pounds

Our 2019 Truck of the Year, the Ram 1500, is still the full-size pickup to beat one year later. Its superior ride quality, unmatched quietness, and long list of available niceties make it the most luxurious half-ton truck on the market, which means it should make long trips with your RV more comfortable. The Ram 1500 can be had with either the base 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 (305 hp and 269 lb-ft of torque), two different 5.7-liter Hemi V-8s (both making 395 hp and 410 lb-ft), or an updated version of Ram’s 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V-6 engine (260 hp and 480 lb-ft). Additionally, Ram’s eTorque mild hybrid system, standard on the base V-6 and available on the V-8, recoups and recycles energy from the wheels that would otherwise be lost. That energy is stored in a battery and is used to assist the engine under heavy loads and power the automatic engine stop/start system to save fuel.

2020 Ford F-150 | up to 13,200 pounds

Another solid choice in the full-size truck class is the venerable Ford F-150. There’s a reason it’s America’s best-selling pickup and that’s its track record for dependability and versatility. The F-150 engine lineup includes a capable base 3.3-liter V-6 (290 hp and 265 lb-ft of torque); two turbocharged EcoBoost V-6s, a 2.7-liter (325 hp and 400 lb-ft) and a 3.5-liter (375 hp and 470 lb-ft); a 5.0-liter V-8 (395 hp and 400 lb-ft); and a 3.0-liter Power Stroke diesel V-6 (250 hp and 440 lb-ft). Additionally, there’s high-output version of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost (450 hp and 510 lb-ft) in the F-150 Raptor. For towing, we like the EcoBoost V-6s and naturally aspirated V-8 better than the new Power Stroke diesel option. The diesel feels stressed when towing on the highway, and it just doesn’t have the grunt needed to pass or maintain speed uphill. Ford’s handy Pro Trailer Back-Up Assist feature helps you reverse more easily when towing, simplifying back-up maneuvers with an intuitive knob that takes all the guesswork out of steering by doing it for you. That available feature along makes the Ford F-150 one of the best half-ton trucks for towing.

2020 Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra 1500 | up to 12,100 pounds

  Chevy’s Silverado 1500 (and its corporate cousin, the GMC Sierra 1500) hasn’t advanced as much as its competitors from Ram and Ford, but it’s still among the highest-rated half-ton trucks for towing on the market. Engine options include a base 4.3-liter V-6 (285 hp and 305 lb-ft of torque), a 5.3-liter V-8 (355 hp and 383 lb-ft), a 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder (310 hp and 348 lb-ft), a 6.2-liter V-8 (420 hp and 460 lb-ft), and a 3.0-liter Duramax diesel inline-six (277 hp and 460 lb-ft). All gas engines get GM’s Active Fuel Management cylinder shut-off tech, and most can be had with a stop/start system. For towing purposes, it’s hard to beat the Duramax diesel option, which we called “buttery-smooth” and effortless when we pulled a trailer with one in our First Test. But we were surprised how good the new turbo-four option is during Truck of the Year testing. The engine pulls hard at low rpms and accelerates quickly even when towing a trailer.

Best Midsize trucks for towing

2020 Ford Ranger | 7,500 pounds

With a midsize truck, you won’t be able to tow everything. But you should still have enough pulling power to tow a decent-sized trailer. The Ford Ranger, though flawed, is one such midsized that’s up to the task. The Ranger is based on an old platform that got a few tweaks when it was brought over to the U.S. for 2019. Despite those enhancements, the Ranger’s ride and handling still lags behind competitors. Where it shines, however, is in its powertrain.

Every Ford Ranger variant gets a 2.3-liter EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission with a tow/haul mode, and each has the same max tow rating of 7,500 pounds. In testing, a Ford Ranger XL STX did 0–60 mph in 12.5 seconds hooked up to a 4,000-pound trailer. You may be looking at the Ranger’s max tow rating and wondering why the new Jeep Gladiator, with its higher max of 7,650 pounds, didn’t make this list of best trucks for towing. The truth is we just weren’t impressed with its towing performance during Truck of the Year testing.

2020 Chevrolet Colorado | up to 7,700 pounds

The Chevy Colorado won back-to-back Truck of the Year awards in 2015 and 2016, and it continues to be our favorite pickup in the midsize truck category. With its wide range of powertrain choices, the Colorado can be equipped for to suit most consumers’ needs. A 2.5-liter inline-four making 200 hp and 191 lb-ft of torque serves as the base engine. From there, buyers can upgrade to a 3.6-liter V-6 (308 hp and 275 lb-ft) or a 2.8-liter turbodiesel I-4 (186 hp and 369 lb-ft). The diesel will be the best truck for towing in the lineup, but the V-6 isn’t bad either. In a midsize truck comparison test, a Colorado V-6 towed a trailer loaded with 14 bales of hay up a narrow, winding road with ease, demonstrating impressive shift logic from its standard eight-speed automatic and a supple, refined ride along the way.

Best Trucks for Towing

2020 Ram 3500 Heavy Duty | up to 35,100 pounds

2020 GMC Sierra/Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD | up to 35,500 pounds

2020 Ford F-450 Super Duty | up to 37,000 pounds

2020 Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra 2500HD | up to 18,500

2020 Ford F-250 Super Duty | up to 20,000 pounds

2020 Ram 1500 | up to 12,750 pounds

2020 Ford F-150 | up to 13,200 pounds

2020 Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra 1500 | up to 12,100 pounds

2020 Ford Ranger | 7,500 pounds

2020 Chevrolet Colorado | up to 7,700 pounds

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Ford vs. Chevrolet vs. Ram: Heavy-Duty Truck Prioritizer

Answering these eight simple questions can help you determine which of the new heavy-duty trucks is the best fit for you.

Read about the new 2019 Ram HD, 2020 Ford F-Series Super Duty, 2020 GMC Sierra HD, and 2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD here:

2019 Ram Heavy Duty First Look: Making Nice

2020 Ford F-Series Super Duty First Look: Super Is as Super Does

2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD First Look: Easy Does It

2020 GMC Sierra HD First Look: Heavy-Duty Competition

Am I an open-minded shopper in search of the best truck?

Absolutely: Keep reading

Not really: Stop pretend-researching on the internet and go buy the brand your family has bought since granpappy got his license in ’46. (Note to Dodge chauvinists who’ve been out of the market for a decade or so: Buy Ram.)

How important is payload?

Max me out: Each of the heavies achieves its highest payload rating with the gas engine because they weigh a lot less than turbodiesel engines. Ram’s 3500 dually regular-cab, long-box configuration with the 6.4-liter Hemi will haul 7,680 pounds, but we expect Ford to trump that figure by a feed bag or two when it rates its much larger 7.3-liter V-8 gasser. Ram’s fuel economy might be better, though, as its gas engine features cylinder deactivation.

Meh, my stuff is bulkier than it is heavy: The Chevy/GMC boxes are built differently so the floor and inner wall panels can be closer to the outer panels, making them wider inside. The 8-foot box boasts best-in-class volume of 83.5 cubic feet. CornerSteps in the bumper and BedSteps at the front sides of the bed ease loading the bed and securing loads, as well.

How adept are you at maneuvering a trailer?

I’m a total pro: Get the Ram to send the message that you don’t need all those sissy camera screens and trailer-aiming gizmos.

It’s been a long time since my last mailbox flattening: Go for Chevy, and load it up with the Advanced Trailering System, which comes with a slew of built-in cameras plus two you mount in and on the trailer. They combine to provide 15 useful views, and they can even make your trailer invisible for a clear rear-view.

I’m a total nervous greenhorn: Then Ford is the brand for you. You get most of the camera coverage offered by Chevy, plus Pro Trailer Backup Assist, which lets you twirl a knob to steer a reversing trailer—and it works with bumper or fifth-wheel/gooseneck hitches. Magic.

How heavy is your trailer?

35,100 pounds: Lucky you! You can enjoy the prettier styling, vastly nicer interiors, and 1,000-lb-ft torque of the Ram 3500 dually turbodiesel.

35,500 pounds: You’re going to need the Chevy 3500 turbodiesel dually, which might at least get slightly better fuel economy than the Ram, thanks to its 10-speed automatic, and which we are promised can put all 910 lb-ft to the ground in the low gears.

35,501 pounds*: Hang in there; Ford should announce its Super Duty max tow rating any day now, and smart money says it’ll be a number greater than those above.

Are you a label snob/name dropper?

The only label I care about on my truck is the one on the grille: Then go for the Ford. The Blue Oval gang is the only heavy-duty/commercial truck company that designs, tests, and builds all its very own powertrains (nowadays—it dumped Navistar almost a decade ago).

I trust the big names in long-haul/commercial trucking: If you’d really rather be driving a big rig, you might be happiest with the Cummins-powered Ram It’s the first truck to hit the magic torque number of 1,000 lb-ft, and the Cummins name is legend around the truck-stop pumps, but it’s now the only turbodiesel heavy with a six-speed automatic. Or go for Chevy/GMC to get some nice Allison Transmission logos. But understand that GM builds that 10-speed automatic and designed the geartrain and clutch architecture in conjunction with Ford.

How important is ride?

I demand a flying carpet: Then retire, sell your giant boat, fifth-wheel camper, horses, or race cars, and downshift to a four-wheel-air-suspension Ram

It’s pretty important: Try the Chevy/GMC, which is the only heavy-duty pickup with a fully independent control-arm and coil-spring front suspension. All brands feature hefty leaf springs in back, which are going to feel really stiff when unloaded. Opting for the rear air helper springs on the Ram might buy you a bit more unladen rear ride compliance.

My kidneys can take it: Go for the Ford.

How gadget-/connectivity-obsessed are you?

Beam me up, Scotty: A big-screen-equipped Ram is the obvious choice for the connection-obsessed, especially with the fun infotainment opportunities it brings, like SiriusXM programming you can pause and rewind.

I mostly need it for work: FordPass Connect technology is standard on all and features a 4G LTE modem with Wi-Fi connectivity for up to 10 devices, and Ford offers fleet managers a suite of telematics and data services to help monitor driver behavior and optimize costs and fleet utilization.

Trailer connectivity is more important: Then you’re gonna love the way the myChevrolet app connects via Bluetooth with an RV trailer equipped with ASA Electronics’ iN-Command Control system. The app lets you control trailer functions like the generator and HVAC while monitoring the status of the water and waste tanks—all from your dash screen.

Will you be connecting a snowplow, dump bed, cherry picker, etc.?

Yep: Then you’ll be needing a power takeoff on the transmission. Ford offers factory-installed Live-Drive, which takes power off an upsized idler gear that powers the transmission’s oil pump. Chevy offers a beefier and reportedly quieter chain-driven PTO. Both operate at engine speed, not turbine or transmission input speed. Tie-breaker for snowplow folks: Chevy claims its front end will accept a snow plow without the need to drill into the bumper or otherwise permanently mar the appearance.

Oops, I mean yes but I already bought the Ram! Don’t fret. Ram claims its transmission can accept upfit PTOs on either side of the transmission—good news if there’s some reason your PTO needs to be on the opposite side of the factory ones. Ram is also the only one that can offer “fuel saver” mode, by operating the PTO in cylinder-deactivation mode when loads permit.

More on new heavy-duty trucks:

  2019 Ram Heavy Duty First Look: Making Nice

2020 Ford F-Series Super Duty First Look: Super Is as Super Does

2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD First Look: Easy Does It

2020 GMC Sierra HD First Look: Heavy-Duty Competition

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[robertkstone]

2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD Tech: Seven Pub-Ammo Bullet(Point)s

It may be the year of the pig in China, but in the U.S. it’s the year of the heavy-duty pickup. Ram yanked the silk off its 2500/3500 models at the Detroit show, GMC and Ford followed a few weeks later (being coy about some of their numbers), and now it’s Chevy’s turn. Here are seven rounds of “pub ammo” to arm you for your next barroom session of big-truck smack-talking.

Read our 2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD First Look right here!

Small Block Gasser

On paper this new engine looks kind of like a light-duty 6.2-liter that’s been stroked from 92 to 98mm, but it features numerous structural enhancements. The biggie is replacing aluminum in the block with gray cast iron. The crankshaft is made of forged steel and the connecting rods forged of powdered metal. Stronger “hyper-eutectic” pistons deliver 10.8:1 compression (down from 11.5:1 in the light-duty’s 6.2), and direct fuel injection is used. The camshaft supports fixed-overlap variable valve timing, but (at least for now), there’s no cylinder deactivation system. A 28.0-inch cooling fan, up by 2.5 inches from before—is driven by a larger 1-inch-diameter water pump shaft (interestingly, Chevy claims no 12-volt electric fan is powerful enough).

6L Duramax Diesel

Most alterations made to the diesel involve recalibrating it to work with the new 10-speed automatic, but there have been a few reinforcements to enable the 52-percent bump in towing. The cylinder-head gaskets are strengthened, the oil cooler gets 19 cooling plates (five more than before), and the turbocharger is reconfigured to enable 14 percent more “Jake Brake” engine braking. A new after-run feature allows the engine to restart and remain running for up to 15 minutes after the driver switches off and locks the truck in order to fully cool down following a particularly rigorous drive.

GM/Allison 10-Speed

This transmission is built by GM, and the design leverages the same arrangement of planetary gears, clutches, and brakes as the one jointly developed by GM and Ford. But the development and durability testing was all handled by Allison Transmissions, which specializes in automatics for ultra-heavy-duty commercial and defense vehicles. As such, this transmission may have ended up a wee bit too strong (and possibly too expensive) for use with the gas engine. Relative to the Silverado 1500’s 10-speed, the Allison’s first two ratios are 3 to 4 percent taller; the rest are very close, and the overall ratio spread is 7.20 versus 7.34.

6L90 6-Speed

Gas-powered HDs get the same six ratios you’ll find in the 1500’s 6L80 transmission, but the torque converter is strengthened. It borrows technology from the diesel converters, and each of the transmission’s internal multi-plate clutch packs adds the clamping force of one extra friction and steel plate.

4-Auto Transfer Case Mode

Just like the 1500s, the HD can be programmed to engage its 4-Hi mode when wheel-slip is detected, reverting to 2-Hi mode when traction is regained. This potentially saves some fuel during normal running and also prevents the axle-bind that results when making sharper turns with the front and rear axles locked together in 4-Hi mode. Some transfer case internals had to be reinforced to make this feature possible on the new HDs.

Driveline Beef

GM claims its trucks can deliver all 910 lb-ft of peak diesel torque to the ground in first and second gears thanks to such reinforcements as a new 5-inch-diameter aluminum one-piece drive shaft (up from 3.5 inches and two pieces). The largest available ring gear in a 1500 (11.5 inches) is now the smallest HD one, and a 12.0-inch gear shoulders the load in max-towing-spec trucks. There’s an extra frame crossmember, and the crossmembers that support the fifth-wheel/gooseneck hitches are redesigned to be lighter and stronger. The corrosion protection is also improved to outlast the typical 12-year ownership period, with the primed and painted frame being dipped in a new wax-based material and with key fasteners getting new coatings that prevent corrosion where they join parts.

Unitized Cab/Nose

The T1-generation HD assembly process needed a major rethink because of the newly unitized cab and front end. Much of the equipment that mounts to the firewall, engine, or front of a pickup truck chassis is typically installed after the “marriage” of the cab and chassis but before the fenders, hood, and front radiator-support structure get bolted on. This new generation integrates all those parts, rendering the engine compartment largely inaccessible after the “marriage,” so those operations all had to be moved upstream on either the body or chassis side. The benefit is improved fit/finish and body rigidity.

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[robertkstone]

2020 Ford F-Series Super Duty First Look: Super is as Super Does

This fall the typical three-year transition to a completely new Ford Super Duty becomes complete. The transformation began with the epic swap from steel to aluminum for most of the bodywork back in the 2017 model year. That truck was actually the first completely new Super Duty since 1998, so we can forgive the company for developing and launching its new body and chassis with carryover powertrains. Ford has spent the last few years renewing most of what goes under the hood and (transmission hump).

Read 11 Power(train) Points on the new 2020 Super Duty’s new engines and transmissions here.

With 60–70 percent of Super Duty buyers opting for diesel and with a lot of news being made recently by competitors in this space, it’s no surprise that the Power Stroke 6.7-liter turbodiesel V-8 has undergone a thorough freshening while retaining the essential architecture that first appeared for 2011. Ford will no doubt spend most of the months between now and the Super Duty’s fall 2019 on-sale date tweaking and tuning the engine (and truck) to ensure its power, torque, payload, and towing numbers trump those of all competitors. For now, all we can tell you is to expect the numbers to improve from today’s 450 hp, 935 lb-ft, 7,640 pounds, and 35,000 pounds. The current target is the Ram 3500, which launched in January and raised those bars to 1,000 lb-ft, 7,680 pounds of payload, and 35,100 pounds of towing. GM has yet to divulge the numbers for its newest HD, but expect Ford to try to top them all.

The more interesting news is on the gas-engine front, where Ford seems to have taken an “Even if you beat ’em, join ’em anyway” approach. The Blue Oval owns 44 percent of the commercial truck market, handily outselling its domestic rivals, and yet the company is putting its modular 90-degree Triton 6.8-liter SOHC V-10 engine out to pasture in favor of the competition’s preferred pushrod V-8 configuration. After 22 years, Ford’s Modular/Triton architecture is reaching the end of the road, and the Super Duty team acknowledged the power- and torque-density advantage held by the cam-in-block setup GM and FCA have used all along. Oh, and we confirmed the new V-8’s internal “Godzilla” code name when we found it printed on a valve-cover ID tag in a test vehicle. Here again, power, torque, payload, and towing stats have yet to be disclosed. A third engine offering, at least at the beginning on base models, will be the carryover 6.2-liter Boss SOHC 16-valve V-8, which will likely continue to produce 385 hp and 430 lb-ft of torque.

All three engines will be paired with a new 10-speed TorqShift transmission that is a heavy-duty incarnation of the new transmission architecture already available in the Mustang and F-150. It’ll be interesting to compare it with the Allison 10-speed GM is putting in its HD pickups, as that one is believed to also utilize the planetary gear and clutch design that was co-developed by GM and Ford. For a deeper dive into the engine and transmission tech—all of which Ford has subjected to 7 million miles of torture and durability testing—see our 2020 Ford F-Series Super Duty Powertrain First Look.

Naturally Ford is taking this opportunity to update the Super Duty to the latest and greatest level of connectivity and advanced driver assistance technologies. Standard FordPass Connect technology with 4G LTE modem brings Wi-Fi connectivity for up to 10 devices to all models, and Ford offers fleet managers a suite of telematics and data services to help monitor driver behavior and optimize costs and fleet utilization. There’s available wireless charging plus USB type A and C jacks to keep everyone’s technology juiced while on the job.

To reduce downtime due to accidents, all trim grades from XLT on up get standard automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-keeping alert, and blind-spot information with trailer coverage. These items are optional on the XL grade. Other useful driver-assistance options include adaptive cruise control and Pro Trailer Backup Assist. The latter allows the driver to steer a reversing trailer via a knob, and new for 2020—it works with gooseneck or fifth-wheel trailers.

Design-wise there are new grilles, with special enlarged openings on all dual-rear-wheel models to further improve cooling. LED headlights improve illumination and high-line models get new signature daytime running lamps. There are three new taillight designs and seven new wheel styles. Some interior trim parts and materials have been upgraded, with Limited models getting the biggest upgrade in order to close the gap opened by the new Ram interiors. That model’s navy and parchment combo could be mistaken for a Ram until you spot its diminutive 8.0-inch infotainment screen.

Keep it tuned right here come Truck of the Year time when we hope to subject all three domestic heavies to our own regimen of real-world and torture testing to reveal which truck truly is the king of the hill.

To program a fifth-wheel or gooseneck trailer to work with Pro Trailer Backup Assist, a yaw-rate sensor must be installed on a vertical surface of the trailer to measure the rate at which the trailer is pivoting. This connects to the truck (along with any trailer cameras) via a new 12-pin trailer wiring harness. Then the driver calibrates the system by executing a few simple maneuvers so the truck can learn the distance from the hitch to the trailer axle. Then you’re in business.

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