Out northeast in the 2025 Ram 1500 Tradesman Crew Cab on Labor Day, we pulled off Colo. 14 onto a dusty trail roadway heading north, with 40 or 50 wind turbines visible atop the hills.
We plotted this drive into the rolling grasslands of northeast Weld County for purposes of testing Ram’s new Hurricane 3.0-liter, inline-6, twin-turbo engine, a successor to the long-loved Hemi V-8. The Tradesman trim level is ideally fit for the trip, from its somewhat spartan-like painted steel wheels (18-inchers) and durable black cloth seats to the roominess and comfort of the interior, with strong four-wheel-drive capability.
The Hurricane I-6, tied to an 8-speed automatic transmission, is rated at 420 horsepower/469 lb.-ft. of torque, has an anti-spin differential at the rear axle, payload of 2,300 pounds and maximum tow capacity of 11,570 pounds. The Hurricane is quieter than the Hemi and is fairly close on acceleration. Two other 6-cylinder engines are offered by Ram, a less-expensive V-6 and a high-output version of 540 horsepower for the Hurricane I-6.
While still on the dirt, we crossed a cattle guard, turned to the left and soon accessed a paved road just north of the ghost town of Keota. Driving north to Grover, the driver information center told me the Ram was averaging around 23 miles per gallon. Having owned two Hemi-powered pickups in the past and reviewing a dozen or more through the years, I don’t remember recording anywhere near 23 mpg.
At Grover, finish-work is underway on a new library, the first for the town in several years. We stopped at the Grover Market Basket and Country Deli, where Jan and I were served a BLT sandwich, hamburger, two bags of chips and two soft drinks by Jay, a friendly waiter, for less than $10.
We continued our drive north, both on-road and offroad, to Hereford, only a couple miles south of the Wyoming line, then turned back.
Pickup pricing has risen rapidly in recent years, and the Tradesman was no exception, with sticker price of $57,325. Base price on a Tradesman is around $42,000. Bed length in the review model was 5-foot-7, with spray-in bedliner, a deployable bed-step, tri-fold tonneau cover and trailer-brake controller. The Ram Tradesman is built in Sterling Heights, Mich.
Safety features include lane-management, adaptive cruise, blind-spot and cross-path detection, backup camera and more. Among other options are Uconnect 5 with 8.4-inch touchscreen display, remote start,
Starting prices for other Ram trim levels are HFE $43,035; Big Horn $46,930; Warlock $56,255; Laramie $62,025; Rebel $66,190; Limited $77,150; Longhorn $77,640; Tungsten $89,070.