Over the years I have driven a plethora of vehicles, cars, trucks, vans, 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 HD trucks on the market and what each brings to the table. Currently, Ford offers it’s Super Duty range (including the 3500HD we drove), Ram offers the HD range (including the Power Wagon we drove), and General Motors who offer 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.
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.
“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 needed 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 screen, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and digital rearview mirror. This is not a truck for those who don’t like to be surrounded by technology. Ride quality is improved by a five-link coil rear suspension on 2500, along with a rear automatic-leveling rear air suspension. Finally, Ram is the only truck company that offers it’s RamBox cargo management system, which allows for tools to be placed out of sight and locked.
Also important for work truck drivers is a good warranty in case something does go sideways. Ram offers a 10-year/160,000 kilometres limited powertrain warranty on all HD trucks.
GMC SIERRA HD
GM offers a Chevrolet Silverado HD and a GMC Sierra HD, both are very similar; however, as the GMC brand is geared towards professionals, with its slogan “Professional Grade,” we will focus on the Sierra HD.
It can be fitted with a Regular Cab, Double Cab, or Crew Cab; 4×2 (2WD) or 4×4 (4WD); standard box (6’ 9”) or a long box (eight feet); and single or dual rear wheels. Trim levels from the work truck oriented Pro trim, to SLE and SLT, the offroad focused AT4 and AT4X, and the all-out luxury trims Denali and Denali Ultimate.
Like its competitors, the GMC HD stable offers a gas engine and a diesel engine option. The gas engine is a 6.6L V8 with 401hp and 464 lbs/ft of torque. Meanwhile, the diesel engine option is a 6.6L V8 turbodiesel with 470hp and 975 lbs/ft of torque. Both are mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission.
Once again payload and towing are of utmost importance, in the Sierra HD case, it has payload numbers of between 3,383lbs and 7,290lbs depending on how it is equipped, with 3500 models having higher numbers than 2500. Moving on to towing, maximum conventional towing goes between 14,500lbs and 20,000lbs, depending on model. While fifth wheel/gooseneck towing ranges from 17,900lbs and 36,000lbs, again depending on how it is equipped.
GMC HD trucks also come with trailer technology to make life easier for those that are towing. One of those technologies is the use of 14 available cameras including a trailer view. While the adaptive cruise control has a trailering mode that incorporates the trailer into braking distances.
What else does the Sierra HD offer? Screens, and lots of them, as with many new vehicles on the market, the Sierra HD has a 13.4-inch infotainment screen, 15-inch heads-up display, and a 12.3-inch driver information screen. Moving to the back of the vehicle, GMC offers an optional innovative tailgate (Multipro), which can be turned into a set of stairs to get into the bed easier, as well as six functions to help with various tasks while on a work site. Comfort is also top of mind as 16-way power from sats with a massage mode are available. Standard safety features include forward collision alert, following distance indicator, front pedestrian braking, auto high beams, lane departure warning, buckle to drive, and automatic emergency braking.
Which is best?
At the end of the day, more than in any other vehicle class on the market, heavy duty trucks come down to personal preference. The cliché of being a Ford person, or a Ram person, or a Chevy/GMC person holds true for most. Each truck offers amazing capability, tons of customization to make the truck fit your purpose, gas and diesel engine options, insane torque, towing and payload numbers, a plethora of safety and technology features, and so much more. The OEMs know that these trucks are work horse for companies big and small, and as a result, the order guides for them are very robust, allowing each company to tailor their fleet to their individual needs.
About the author
Mario Cywinski is the editor of Modern Work Truck Solutions and has worked in the automotive industry for more than 20 years, both as an automotive journalist and working for a local dealership. He is a member of the Automobile Journalist Association of Canada (AJAC). He can be reached at mariocywinskI@hotmail.com.
