Perhaps your trusty pickup truck is starting to get a little less dependable, and the time has come for a bit of an upgrade. Or hell, it's been long enough since you've taken delivery of a new workhorse, and fancy spicing up your life with something new. Thankfully, there's plenty of choice when exploring the full-size truck market at the moment, with homegrown options from the likes of Chevrolet, Ford and RAM taking on foreign rivals like Toyota.Higher-end versions can get pretty expensive though, and sometimes all you need is the cheapest base variant if you simply need an effective work truck that nobody else has left their mark on. RAM's 1500 Tradesman is one of the lowest-priced on the market, so it's well worth consideration. The RAM 1500 Sits At The Lower End Of The Fullsize Truck Arena Ram When it comes to splashing as little of your hard-earned money on a new big truck as you can get away with, the RAM 1500 Tradesman is one of the best ways of doing so. For $42,120, you'll net yourself a base Tradesman spec in quad-cab spec, which features a naturally aspirated Pentastar V6 engine that sends its power the way of the rear wheels. The only way of getting such a machine cheaper is by heading to your local Toyota dealer, which can supply you with a similar Tundra double cab with a similarly-sized 6.5-foot bed for $41,260. Chevrolet and Ford's comparable Silverado and F-150 options will set you back a little more than the RAM, with base MSRPs of $42,995 and $43,935, respectively. The Standard 1500 Comes With A Decent Chunk Of Power Stellantis North America Your base 1500 will come packing a naturally aspirated 3.6-liter V6 engine that is bolstered by RAM's eTorque system, which is a form of mild hybrid that takes some work away from the engine to help boost fuel efficiency. As a result, the RAM can make use of 305 horsepower and 271 lb-ft of torque, which is channeled to the rear axle via an eight-speed automatic transmission. The mild hybrid system ensures it won't bankrupt you as far as keeping it running is concerned, as it manages an average MPG of 22. For a truck the size of the 1500, that's pretty solid.When combined with the vehicle's tough body-on-frame construction, you'll have a truck that can tow up to 7,660 pounds, while at the same time dealing with 1,770 pounds of maximum payload. The 1500 Tradesman Comes With The Equipment Needed To Keep You Comfortable Ram Being the entry-level version of the 1500 family, the Tradesman doesn't exactly stand out when it comes to the goodies you'll be lavished with. Still, you'll get the basic stuff needed to keep you comfortable as you transport around your family or cargo. Climate control is included in the base price, as is an 8.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system supplied with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability. There are no massaging electric leather seats here, though the standard vinyl-trimmed chairs suffice for a work-focused machine such as this.Handily though, the 1500 Tradesman does get outfitted with plenty of scuff-protecting trim throughout the cabin, which should help keep it in decent condition no matter how punishing the worksites it has to visit. Don't Expect Any Sexy Styling Ram This no-frills approach continues when you cast your gaze across the outside of the 1500. You'll have to hand over just shy of $300 if you want it finished in anything other than white, while just short of $700 will be needed if you want to upgrade from the standard utilitarian steel wheels to a set of alloys.The body is styled to be functional rather than expressive too, with the plastic bumpers and grille working with the steel wheels to signify that this version is at the bottom end of the 1500 range. Still, who cares about having pretty body-colored bumpers when they're only likely to get wrecked on dusty work sites and such. RAM's Entry-Level 1500 Struggles To Match The Competition Ford While the 1500 has a decent turn of pulling power on paper, its closely-priced rivals give it a bit of a beating in this regard. Toyota's Tundra comes out on top in the power stakes thanks to its twin-turbocharged 3.4-liter V6, which kicks out 358 hp, with the Ford and Chevy competition managing 325 and 310 hp with their turbocharged six and four-cylinder offerings, respectively. Despite having the fewest cylinders at its disposal, the Silverado's turbocharged 2.7-liter inline-four engine wins when it comes to outright torque, with its 430 lb-ft figure. Toyota's Tundra claims second with 406 lb-ft and Ford third with 400 lb-ft courtesy of its 2.7-liter V6, while the 1500 once again brings up the rear with its sub-par 271 lb-ft offering.That said, lay down another $1,695, and you could have the 1500 equipped with RAM's twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter Hurricane inline-six powerplant. This affords it a leading 420 hp and 469 lb-ft of torque, but at a price that still leaves it cheaper than the Silverado, and only around $800 up on the Ford, making it a great value option if you want to provide your Tradesman with more pulling power. In its cheapest form though, the RAM struggles to make sense from a power perspective against its competitors. The 1500 Tradesman Is Decently Strong, But Falls Short Of Some Rivals Stellantis North America When it comes to functioning as a work truck, the 1500 has plenty of capacity, even if the likes of the similarly priced Silverado and Tundra options get the better of it. While the 1500 can tow up to 7,660 pounds and deal with 1,770 pounds of payload, the Silverado can manage 9,300 and 2,260 pounds, respectively. The Tundra also performs well with 8,300 and 1,830 pounds of capability, while the F-150 comes up short of the 1500 courtesy of its 7,600 and 1,685 pound figures.When it comes to bed size, the RAM 1500 lacks a couple of inches of outright length versus its better-endowed Tundra and F-150 rivals, though it's around seven inches up on what the Silverado can offer in base Double Cab spec. The 1500 does come out on top when it comes to the width of the bed between the wheel wells however, with its 51.0-inch offering putting it slightly clear of the F-150 and Silverado. Higher-Spec 1500s Can Be Found On The Used Market Ram Should the rather limited number of equipment features and relative lack of grunt of the base 1500 Tradesman put you off, you don't necessarily have to find more money hidden down the back of the couch. The used market is full of low-mileage older specimens that have lost a good chunk of their value, affording you the chance of securing a higher-end model for the same kind of money as an entry-level 2026 1500 Tradesman.A good example of this is a 2024 1500 Big Horn, which is a better-equipped and nicer-looking trim that costs around $5k more than a base Tradesman when new. Just two years later, the Big Horn has an average value of $35,831 according to CarBuzz's Marketplace, nearly $7k cheaper than a new Tradesman will set you back. This price will get you a tidy example with decent mileage on it too, ensuring that it'll still last you a long time as long as you look after it. Plus, you'll have plenty of extra onboard equipment to enjoy should you elect to take your new 1500 on a longer journey.Sources: Chevrolet, Ford, RAM, Toyota.