2026 Ram Ramcharger Tech Deep Dive: How This EREV Pickup Works
Here’s more of what makes Ram’s electric-when-you-want (around town), gas-powered-when-you-don’t (towing/hauling/traveling) “light-duty” pickup truck tick.
Sitting back and watching the electric truck market evolve seems to be paying off for Ram, which has delayed its pure BEV version (the Ram Rev) until sometime “in 2026,” while hustling the extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) to market in the second half of 2025. We last examined this 2026 Ram Ramcharger’s supposed just-right approach in November 2023, and Ram has just filled in a few more specifics about just precisely how this eight-lug “half-ton” truck will operate in its many drive modes.
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Heaviest-Duty “1500” Ram
Most half-ton trucks these days can haul way more than 1,000 pounds, but this one is rated for 2,625 pounds. That’s 1.3 tons, and it’s 265 pounds more than the next-best V-6 4x2 Tradesman. Furthermore, the Ramcharger’s five-link independent rear suspension boasts a gross-axle-weight rating (GAWR) of 5,700 pounds—that’s 1,300 pounds more than any live-axle ICE-powered 1500 can manage, thanks to ultra-high-strength forged suspension links, reinforced hubs, and those eight wheel studs and lug nuts securing the wheels. The Ramcharger is also rated to tow 14,000 pounds with a load-distributing hitch (the I-6-powered 4x2 Tradesman tops out at 11,600). Alas, Ram will offer no gooseneck or fifth-wheel hitch option. As for curb weight, we’re told the battery adds a half ton, nudging the total to a claimed 7,500 pounds.
Power to Tow and Haul
As we’ve detailed before, this is an electric truck with an onboard generator. Propulsion is always provided by two permanent-magnet motors, rated 335 hp/310 lb-ft front, 333 hp/310 lb-ft rear, with each spinning a hefty 15:1 reduction gear. The onboard Pentastar V-6 engine is tuned to send 271 hp and 226 lb-ft of torque directly into the 271-hp generator. From there, energy can go directly into the battery, directly to the front and rear motors, or it can send a little to all three. Peak acceleration requires engaging Sport mode, which draws max power from the battery and generator, summing to 647 hp and 610 lb-ft of torque overall to deliver a claimed 0–60-mph time of 4.5 seconds. Conversely, when the battery is completely depleted, the most power you can draw is some efficiency percentage of the 271 horsepower the generator can make (and that’s a brief peak number, with continuous horsepower being 174 horses). Nevertheless, Ram assures us that an empty-battery Ramcharger has the suds to maintain a 114-mph top speed unburdened, and when hooked to a 14,000-pound trailer it can still scale the Davis Dam, or else that tow rating wouldn’t be legit.
Onboard Energy
The liquid-cooled, pouch-style battery pack—which uses an NMC cathode and graphite-SiO anode chemistry) contains 91.8 kWh of energy, a surprisingly modest 69.7 kWh of which are technically usable in providing 145 miles of EPA range (this ensures a conservative cushion for contingencies). The 400-volt architecture means DC fast charging from 20–80 percent will take 45 minutes, peaking at roughly a 177kW charging rate. The onboard 11kW AC charger can top up a low battery in 8 hours. The V-6 will never fully charge the battery. An E-Save mode orders the generator to preserve any state of charge above 50 percent, or to bring lower states of charge up to the half-way mark and hold there. And of course the 27-gallon fuel tank contains another 910 kWh of potential energy, which is how the Ramcharger manages its bragworthy 690 miles of total range.
And thanks to the Integrated Dual Charging Module’s (IDCM) bi-directional charging capability, in a prolonged power outage, Ram claims a fully fueled and charged Ramcharger can supply the 30 kW/day an average home consumes for 11 days, exporting power via its 7.2kW power panel (which includes two 120V and one 240V outlets).
What’s more, the charge port can be used to buddy-charge another EV.
What’s Different About This Pentastar?
The short answer is, “not much.” There’s no Atkinson-cycle valve timing, because that’s aimed at optimizing efficiency under very light load running and the EREV Ramcharger demands a much heavier load than do the light-duty HEV and PHEV hatches and sedans that typically employ Atkinson. The exhaust-gas recirculation (EGR) circuit and starter are both eliminated (the generator starts it), and there are some packaging differences. As we found with our (mostly EREV) Chevy Volt, if you always charge it up and never use the engine, its oil monitoring system will order then engine switch on periodically to heat up and remove condensation from the oil sump. It’ll be up to you to put stabilizer in your 27 gallons of gas, however. And unless you’re primarily towing or driving long distances and hence using the engine much of the time, operating costs should be lower, because engine-use monitoring should greatly extend the change interval for oil, filters, etc. For those wondering why the V-6 instead of the 2-liter turbo, propulsion chief engineer Joe Tolkacz explains that “The best solution is the simplest one that works…and meets the requirements” noting that the four cost more and presented more noise and vibration challenges.
No Motorboating
Absolute peak efficiency would demand the engine fire and run at its efficiency peak with a constant drone, or possibly to rev way up, and then slowly decrease revs as vehicle speed builds, but real-world people have demonstrated little patience with such counterintuitive noise signatures. So with the V-6 is running, there is programming to force it to follow pedal motion to some extent. Of course, extensive sound-deadening means that many folks reportedly fail to correctly identify the point when it fires during Electric+ operation.
Drive Modes
Controls on the left side of the steering wheel toggle through these drive modes:
- Auto: Climb in and switch on, and the default Auto and Electric+ modes will maximize efficiency by driving in full EV mode until the battery is depleted, and by disconnecting the front powertrain via automatic hub disconnects whenever driving on dry roads at speeds above 12–18 mph. (All other modes leave the front hubs engaged for full-time AWD.)
- Sport mode engages the hubs, fires the engine, and tunes all powertrain and air suspension settings for max performance.
- Tow mode fires the engine when the usable battery capacity reaches 35 percent, which we’re told is after 39 miles with a 14,000-pound trailer (with the gas engine extending that to 266 miles).
- Snow mode relaxes the accelerator setting to simulate a low-torque, second-gear start.
- Off-Road Low mode simulates the creep capability of low range by providing high-torque/low-speed creep capability as you release the brake pedal. Note that Ramchargers all get air suspension and an electronic locking rear differential.
- Off-Road High eliminates the creep but maintains the less aggressive pedal response to allow precise wheeling at more normal speeds.
One-Pedal Driving Buttons
Switches on the right side of the steering wheel toggle One-Pedal driving mode (which provides max regen down to a stop) on and off, and allow for tailoring of the amount of regenerative braking.
Switches arrayed around the rotary shifter by the driver’s right knee control the Electric+ (default charge depleting), E-Save (charge sustaining), and Eco modes. The latter reduces the peak power available and provides for more relaxed driving, while also optimizing HVAC to provide max range. Hill-descent and axle-lock buttons are also located here.
Heating and Cooling
The engine won’t ever fire up just to warm the occupants. There’s a 10-kW electric heater for that purpose, and the AC is also fully electric. The low-voltage system also manages heated seats and steering wheel more efficiently than in an ICE Ram. Three cooling circuits serve the truck, operating at three different temperatures: the ICE engine at 212 degrees, the battery at 95 degrees, and the power electronics at 77.
When and How Much?
Returning Ram boss Tim Kuniskis refused to be drawn out on exact dates, dollar amounts, or even speculation on trim-level offerings, but he confirmed deliveries will begin in the second half of 2025. And when extoling the virtues of an EREV truck with a bunch of hypothetical figures, his pretend battery cost was $100/kWh and his spitballed truck starting price was $69,995. We’re betting both prove close to accurate.
I started critiquing cars at age 5 by bumming rides home from church in other parishioners’ new cars. At 16 I started running parts for an Oldsmobile dealership and got hooked on the car biz. Engineering seemed the best way to make a living in it, so with two mechanical engineering degrees I joined Chrysler to work on the Neon, LH cars, and 2nd-gen minivans. Then a friend mentioned an opening for a technical editor at another car magazine, and I did the car-biz equivalent of running off to join the circus. I loved that job too until the phone rang again with what turned out to be an even better opportunity with Motor Trend. It’s nearly impossible to imagine an even better job, but I still answer the phone…
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