The 2027 Ram Power Wagon Diesel Is a 10-Ton-Towing Off-Roader
Yes, you can finally get the Cummins in your Power Wagon; but no, you can’t have it with a winch.
The Power Wagon launched in 1945 as a civilian version of Dodge’s three-quarter ton, WWII Weapons Carrier military-spec truck, and it has been a popular model option almost ever since. Then, in 1989, Dodge/Ram introduced Cummins diesel engines to its trucks, which promised commercial big-rig durability. Sadly, these two popular nameplates have always been mutually exclusive. But that's about to change. Starting in the summer of 2026, the 2027 Ram Power Wagon Diesel will finally right that long wrong as part of Ram's “freedom of choice” product initiative.
Why the Long Wait?
It the past, the company line against adding a Cummins option to the Power Wagon lineup has gone something like this: 1) The diesel is longer than the V-8, so the factory-winch-prepped bumper won’t fit; 2) The turbo’s intercooler and plumbing cause packaging problems; 3) The bulky diesel fights for space with anti-roll-bar-disconnect gizmos and the front locking differential; 4) The diesel weighs a lot more than the V-8, which would adversely affect the Power Wagon’s rock-crawling agility; 5) There’s generally a mission mismatch between softly sprung, off-road suspensions and a diesel pickup’s traditional payload/towing mission.
Why a Power Wagon Diesel Now?
No, the diesel didn’t magically shrink or go on a several-hundred-pound diet, no, there’s still no room for the I-6 diesel and its more elaborate cooling system, and no, you won’t be able to get the Power Wagon Diesel with the factory winch-prepped bumper. But while revising the Ram heavy-duty trucks for 2026, enough of the packaging constraints were worked out to get the diesel to fit. S, Ram is now letting Power Wagon customers decide if they’d rather scale Mount Crumpit (a real place in Squamish, BC Canada) in a 4-ton stump puller towing a high-clearance gooseneck trailer filled with Whoville’s Christmas take (yep, the diesel can be ordered with a gooseneck/fifth-wheel hitch).
Power Wagon Diesel Hardware
No specs change much relative to other Ram 2500 Cummins-powered models. Engine output is unchanged at 430 hp and 1,075 lb-ft, turning through a beefed-up eight-speed automatic transmission running the same gear ratios, though spinning a taller 3.42:1 axle ratio (gassers run 3.73:1 or 4.10:1).
Likewise, other than the disallowed winch, most of the Power Wagon gear carries over: front and rear coil-sprung live axles (9.25-inch front and 11.50-inch rear), each fitted with electronic differential locks with the rear acting as a limited-slip diff when unlocked. Bilstein monotube shocks are fitted front and rear, including the third rear horizontal Bilstein 5100 unit that connects the differential longitudinally to the frame to control axle hop. The front bar disconnect also carries over, as do underbody skidplates which now also protect a diesel-exhaust-fluid tank
The rear axle shafts are beefed up slightly to 34mm diameter to manage the higher torque, and because the diesel enables higher payload and tow ratings (up to “nearly” 3,000 and 20,000 pounds, respectively), the 2027 Power Wagon Diesel offers an automatic-leveling rear air suspension. And while gas Power Wagons wear 285/70R-17 tires, the Diesel upsizes its footwear to 20-inch tires of unspecified dimensions, other than they supposedly pencil out to 34-inch outer diameter. That should be a slightly larger tire, yet ground clearance, approach, and ramp-breakover angles are all slightly lower:
