Over the years I have driven a plethora of cars, trucks, vans and SUVs, from the smallest economy car to the largest luxury vehicle.

That is the life an auto journalist that is also a judge for the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC)’s Canadian Car of the Year program. However, with all the great vehicles available to drive, none are as fun to test as heavy duty pickup trucks. Why? Simply, they can go anywhere and take a lot of stuff along for the ride. While a judge for the Canadian Truck King Challenge, all sizes of trucks were tested from what is commonly known as midsize trucks, to top end HD trucks, with light-duty trucks in between.

HD trucks are not something you get for finesse. They are the work horses of the auto industry with the capability of small tanks. Case in point: recently, the greater Toronto area was hammered with a record snowfall. At the time I was able to drive a Ford F-350 Super Duty (Ford speak for HD), without a single issue of being stuck, losing control, or worrying about getting home safely and on time.

A week later, while the secondary roads still had plenty of snow on them, a Ram 2500 Power Wagon was the sled of choice. Again, with the off-road capability, increased ride height, and 4×4 power, the truck never wavered. Of note, neither truck was fitted with winter tires, but had their stock tires. To be fair, these are very blocky and deep grooved tires, and not what you would see on a sedan or SUV. It is also important to note that to be able to achieve the smooth snow driving that vehicle was put in four-high 4×4 mode.

For those who rely on HD trucks, this would be just another workday. Driving through rough terrain, in snow, mud, water, rocks, and everything in between is what a job site produces for everyday. As many will attest to, being able to navigate the terrain is only one of the many things that an HD truck is asked to do.

Payload, towing capacity, torque, horsepower, storage space, passenger space and the ability to plug in tools and use the truck as a generator are also high on the list.

Let’s have a look at the heavy duty pickup trucks on the market and what each brings to the table. Currently, Ford offers its Super Duty range (including the 3500HD we drove), Ram offers the HD range (including the Power Wagon we drove), and General Motors who offers the twin Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD. As the GM vehicles are very similar, we will focus on them together.

FORD SUPER DUTY

The Ford Super Duty is available in many trims including XL, XLT, Lariat, King Ranch, Platinum and Platinum Plus. They are offered in 2500, 3500, 4500, 5500 and 6000 models (F350 to F600 are also available as Chassis Cabs). Three cab sizes are available (Regular Cab, Supercab and Crew Cab). Each is available in 4×2 or 4×4, and box sizes of a six and three-quarters feet or eight feet. The Super Duty is one of the most customizable models that Ford sells, with many options that can be customized. That allows work truck fleets to get the truck that is exactly what they need for their company, no matter their size.

The interior of the Ford Super Duty King Ranch. Bottom photo: Ford

Super Duty is available with three available engines with four configurations. Two gas engines offered are a 7.3 litre V8 with 430 horsepower and 485 pounds/feet of torque (this was the vehicle that was tested, and it provides more than enough power for most jobs); and a 6.8L V8 with 405hp and 445 lbs/ft. The diesel option is a 6.7L Power Stroke V8 which offers 475hp and 1,050 lbs/ft of torque. But wait, it is also available in a high output power version that ups the horsepower to 500hp and the torque to an insane 1,200 lbs/ft. All engines are mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission for smooth gear shifts.

How much do those massive numbers tow or allow for payload? The payload leader is the 6.8L V8 with a max payload of 8,000lbs, followed by the 7.3L V8 at 7,635lbs, then the regular 6.7L diesel at 6,952lbs, and the HOP version of the 6.7L diesel coming in at 6,935lbs. As you may expect, the towing story goes in reverse order of the payload. With the HOP diesel offering 40,000lbs of towing capability, followed by the regular diesel at 38,600lbs, 7.3L V8 at 22,500lbs, and the 6.8L V8 at 18,900lbs. Breaking it down by type of towing, the max for gooseneck is 40,000lbs, fifth wheel is 35,000lbs, and conventional is 30,000lbs.

Looking at those numbers, you can’t really go wrong with any of them, depending on how much you need to tow or haul. It is also important to note that a variety of trailer/tow packages are also available; the towing guide is nine pages long.

A few available features that work truck fleets should consider are the Pro-Trailer Hitch Assist, which helps to allow one person to hitch a truck and trailer, and Pro-Trailer Backup Assist helps in backing up. Taking the guessing game out of payload and towing weight are Onboard Scales with Smart Hitch feature, which estimates payload weight and can measures the tongue weight of a connected trailer. Further, Ford Pro Vehicle Integration System allows upfitters to program power control to hardware into the 8-inch or available 12-inch SYNC 4 touchscreen. Finally, Pro Power Onboard offers 2kW of on-demand exportable power.

RAM 2500/3500 HD

While the Power Wagon we drove was the most offroad ready vehicle in Ram’s HD stable, many other variants are available. The Ram HD is available in 4×2 or 4×4, with Regular Cab with an eight-foot bed, Crew Cab which can be had with a six-foot, four-inch bed or an eight-foot bed, and a Mega Cab with a six-foot, four-inch bed but with 4×4 only. New trims added for 2026 are Black Express and Warlock, while other trim levels are Tradesman, Big Horn, Laramie, Rebel, Power Wagon, Limited, and Limited Longhorn. Each brings a different level of options and can be customized to whatever you need your work truck to have.

The Ram Power Wagon. PHOTO: Mario Cywinski

“Everyone likes a good-looking truck, but the challenge is making it affordable while adding value to the entire lineup,” said Tim Kuniskis, CEO, Ram. “The Ram 2500 Black Express and Warlock offer an attractive price with custom appearance, while building on our sport truck leadership position.”

Power for the Ram HD comes from a 6.4L HEMI V-8 gasoline engine offering 405hp or 429 pounds/feet of torque mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. Or for those who need more power a Cummins high output 6.7L inline-six turbocharged diesel engine is available with 430hp and a mouthwatering 1,075 pounds/feet of torque mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

All that power is great, but what work truck drivers want to know is how much can it carry and tow? The 2500 with the HEMI V-8 has max towing of up to 17,740lbs and a max payload of up to 3,930lbs. That towing figure jumps to up to 20,000lbs for the Ram 2500 Cummins turbo diesel, while the max payload is slightly less at up to 3,600lbs.

For those that think that is still not enough, the Ram 3500 with a HEMI V-8 can tow up to 18,150lbs, with a payload of up to 7,590lbs (making it the payload leader). The towing king of the RAM HD lineup is the 3500 with a Cummins turbo diesel, with can tow up to 36,610lbs along with a payload of up to 6,050 lbs.

Towing such large amounts need to be done safety. Ram HDs come with technology that makes life a little easier. These include available trailer reverse steering control; power and heated convex trailer tow mirrors with power-folding, power-telescoping and memory functionality; digital rearview mirror with tow mode; blind-spot monitoring with trailer tow detection; and trailer-tow pages for more trailer monitoring.

Other features included on the Ram HD is an available 14.5-inch Uconnect 5 touchscreen, 10.25-inch passenger scree...

Canadian Rental Service

Message History

Delivery option(s)