ram 1500-trx Full Overview
Let’s talk a walk down memory lane, to right around the halfway point of my 1,800-mile chunk of our 7,700-mile odyssey across the Trans-America Trail last summer, when we ran into a problem: part of the trail we were on had washed away, and by “washed away” I mean there was a muddy, 5-foot wall heading down to more mud where the trail had once been. Some friendly, quad-riding, gun-toting locals had alerted us to the situation but told us that there was an ATV path through the woods. In fact, they’d just come from said path. We might, they figured, be able to get the two Rivian R1Ts through the tight path. Probably not our massive 2021 Ram 1500 TRX long-termer, though.
We gave it a go, and yup, just like predicated the relatively narrow electric trucks slithered right on through the grove of trees. We inched forward with a bit of hesitancy because to create the new trail several small trees had been roughly felled, and the Rivians had to roll over the remnants of their jagged stumps. Luckily for us, the R1T’s 20-inch Pirellis refused to pop. Bringing up the rear was our long-term Ram, and it immediately became obvious that it simply wasn’t going to fit. The R1T is 81.8 inches wide and 217.1 inches long. The TRX? 88.0 inches wide (a Hummer H1 is 86.5 inches wide) and 232.9 inches long. If you’ve ever tried to fit a large couch through a doorway, you can picture how our multiple attempts played out.
After sandwiching the Ram between two trees and denting its rear fender, we made a decision: A tree had to go. It wasn’t ideal, but we didn’t really have a choice. We were about halfway through the day, and while we weren’t exactly running a military schedule, turning around at that point would mean we’d not only lose a day, but we’d have to stop and find a way to charge the two R1Ts. This would throw off the plan. We were wave two of five, plane tickets were purchased, hotel rooms were reserved, deadlines were set in virtual stone. Put simply, there was no turning back. Could we have split the group up, just sent the Ram back while the Rivians pressed on? Maybe, but that presented its own logistical nightmare as the Ram was stuffed to the roof with gear. No, the tree had to go.
Luckily, we packed a chainsaw. I should say Christian Seabaugh, born and raised in Brooklyn, purchased a small electric chainsaw. The thinking was that if we came upon a felled tree somewhere on the TAT we could just saw it in half. One look at the miniature electric chainsaw, and we all quickly realized that if the supposed felled tree was large enough that the trucks couldn’t drag it off the path, there would be no going forward. As fortune had it, the tree we had to cut down was only about 4 or 5 inches in diameter. Piece of cake, right? We plugged the little chainsaw into the TRX’s 110-volt 400-watt outlet and… nothing. Insufficient juice.
Then I said, “What about plugging it into a Rivian?” That meant two distinct things. First, we’d have to risk popping tires to get an R1T back through the stumpy ATV path. And second, if the electric truck could power the chainsaw, an otherwise eco-friendly Rivian would be used to cut down a tree.
We thankfully had better luck with the Rivian than the Ram; the Rivian’s 1,500-watt outlet fired up the puny chainsaw no problem, and after a few minutes of intense sweating and cussing, the tree was gone. The XXLOL Ram TRX was free to continue west along the TAT. Job well done, problem solved, carry on—or so we thought.
Turns out, MotorTrend is littered with, I mean staffed by, a bunch of ex-Boy Scouts, and once back in civilization, I found myself deep in a Slack battle having to justify why exactly we had to cut down the tree. Leave no trace, tread lightly, all those slogans came flying at Miguel Cortina and me. We were shocked by our team’s, how to put this nicely, misplaced concern. The world’s quickest Google search returned the fact that Mississippi forests are home to, “830 million dry tons of above-ground live-tree biomass.” [Or at least they were—Ed. ] I have no idea how many trees that is, but I was able to pick up the tree we cut down. It weighed at most 200 pounds. Thinking about it now, let’s change “misplaced concern” to “overwrought hysteria.” Which was somehow nothing compared to Rivian’s reaction.
Some further internet sleuthing, this time looking at Rivian’s corporate philosophy (emphasis added): “Rivian is on a mission to keep the world adventurous forever. We believe there’s a more responsible way to explore the world and are determined to make the transition to sustainable transportation an exciting one. We designed our emissions-free Electric Adventure Vehicles to challenge what’s possible.” As you’re no doubt beginning to understand, the cutting down of one tree in Mississippi didn’t sit well with the Rivian crew who weren’t on site. “Rick,” one of the Rivian crew who was accompanying us on our coast-to-coast trek pulled me aside and told me, “They’re having a meeting about the tree.” It was at this point I lost my mind.
“I hope they’re talking about this,” I shouted, pointing at the R1T’s (quite lovely) wooden trim. “Because I’d love to know how they got this piece of wood glued here without cutting down a tree!” I believe I scared enough people silent by loudly suggesting, “Can someone either at MT or Rivian hold a funeral for the damn tree and leave us alone?” Now, look, on some level I understand the concern. Rivian is a new company trying to build a green image, make the world a better place, all that. I get it, I support it, I’m cool. On the other hand, this was a total overreaction. Better put, it was bananas.
As Miguel said, “The aftermath of cutting down the tree felt like when my mom was getting ready to punish me. The funny thing is that the thought of not cutting down the tree never crossed my mind.” Exactly right.
As everyone on the ground in who-knows-where, Mississippi could attest to, if we were going to be the first people to drive two electric vehicles (and a Ram TRX) 7,700 miles across the United States completely off-road, the tree simply had to go. However, to people sitting at home wringing their hands via Slack and Zoom, things sure looked different. As is true of so many things in life, perspective matters. Eventually, 12 hours of a 24-hour news cycle had passed, and the folks back in California stopped bugging Miguel and me about the tree. I’ll end this by saying, hey tree, RIP. Thanks for letting our Ram TRX through.
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Keyword: 2021 Ram 1500 TRX Yearlong Review: If a Car Journalist Chops Down a Tree in a Forest…