The Ram 3500 is a heavy-duty pickup truck meant for towing and hauling. It takes on the Ford F-350 and General Motors’ Chevy Silverado 3500 and GMC Sierra 3500 duo.
2026 Ram 3500 Pricing, Specs, and Release Date
- What’s New for the 2026 Ram 3500
- Design
- Powertrain
- Interior
- Technology
- Safety
- Pricing and Release Date
- Further Research
What’s New for the 2026 Ram 3500
The Ram 3500 carries over unchanged for the 2026 model year after a major 2025 refresh that brought revised exterior styling, more power for the diesel engine, larger screens inside, an additional screen for the front passenger, more driver-assist technology, more camera views, onboard power in the bed, and a chassis offering improved ride and handling.
Design
Few vehicles on the market are as macho-looking as the Ram 3500. It’s long and tall with a massive, blunt grille that leads to recessed fenders inspired by big rigs. Wheel sizes range from 17 to 20 inches and steel wheels are used for lower-end models, although alloy wheels come just a notch up the model range. Black bumpers come standard on base versions, and chrome bumpers are optional. Ram also offers Chrome Appearance, Night Edition, and Sport Appearance trim packages that add such features as chrome or dark trim, body-color bumpers and trim, and monotone paint.
Powertrain
The Ram 3500 comes standard with a 6.4-liter V8 engine that produces 405 horsepower and 429 pound-feet of torque. Buyers who need more towing capacity should upgrade to the 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel inline-six, which makes 430 hp and a stump-pulling 1,075 lb-ft of torque. Both engines are mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Rear-wheel drive (RWD) comes standard and four-wheel drive (4WD) with low-range gearing is optional.
With the V8, the Ram 3500 can tow up to 18,250 pounds and haul 7,590 pounds of payload. Upgrading to the diesel engine increases towing capacity to 36,720 pounds but reduces payload to 6,060 pounds.
Interior
The Ram 3500 is offered in two-door regular cab, four-door crew cab, and mega cab body styles that can seat up to six passengers. The crew cab is roomy, with 40.2 inches of rear legroom, but the mega cab ups that to 43.1 inches and adds an extra half-inch of rear headroom to boot. A sunroof is available for the crew and mega cabs. Beds are 6 feet, 4 inches or 8 feet long, and buyers can choose bed lighting, a spray-in bedliner, a deployable bed step, and a fifth-wheel prep package for greater towing capacity.
The entry-level Tradesman model is very basic and has vinyl upholstery, though cloth is available as an option. Top models have leather upholstery.
Technology
Ram offers 8.4, 12, and 14.5-inch touchscreens for the 3500 that operate the easy-to-use Uconnect 5 infotainment interface. A 10.25-inch touchscreen is available for the front passenger, and buyers can also get a digital rearview mirror and dual wireless phone charging pads. Audio options range from a basic four-speaker setup to a 17-speaker Harman Kardon system in Limited models.
Safety
The only standard active safety feature in the 2026 Ram 3500 is adaptive cruise control. Buyers can also get forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, a blind-spot monitor with trailer coverage, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keep assist, front and rear parking sensors, a driver-attention monitor, traffic-sign recognition, a surround-view camera system, and a cargo-view camera.
Pricing and Release Date
Ram offers the 2026 Ram 3500 in Tradesman, Big Horn, Laramie, Limited, and Limited Longhorn trim levels. As of this writing, the Tradesman starts at $49,380, including a hefty $2,595 destination fee. At the top of the lineup, the Limited Longhorn starts at $77,845. The 4WD system adds $2,930 and upgrading to the turbodiesel engine adds $12,595.
Standard features on the Tradesman include vinyl floors, manual locks and windows, a trailer brake controller, an 8.4-inch touchscreen, and 18-inch steel wheels. The Limited adds features such as leather upholstery, the Harman Kardon audio system, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, and 20-inch alloy wheels.
Dual rear wheels are optional, and buyers can also get different axle ratios and towing packages, an auto-leveling rear air suspension, a front passenger touchscreen, and a digital rearview mirror.
The 2026 Ram 3500 is on sale now.
