Year, Make, Model: 2019 Ram 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty Lone Star
Topline: To cater toward the nation’s largest truck market, Ram has brought back its bespoke, Texas-only Lone Star Heavy Duty variant. In total, one in five pickups sold in the United States find their homes in Texas, and because of that, Ram—as well as Chevrolet and Ford—has made it a clear point of emphasis when it comes to delivering the most capable machines to the South.
What’s New: The Lone Star trim brings about a slew of appearance tweaks that help differentiate it from the thousands of other Rams you’ll see on Texas roads. Chrome adorns the exterior with the grille surround, bumpers, and door handles all shod in the flashy plating. It can also be found on the truck’s wheels if you choose to upgrade to the 20-inch rollers over the 18-inch steel units.
On the inside, Ram has carried over the best in comfort and convenience from its freshest half-ton model. An 8.4-inch Uconnect infotainment screen can easily be seen in the truck’s cabin, as can the Lone Star nameplate plastered clearly on the dash. Customers have the choice of four color combos including Black/Diesel Grey, Black/Light Brown, Light Frost/Black, or all-Black premium cloth seats depending on their preferred level of fanciness and luxury. That’s grown to be quite the trend in the truck segment, as you might’ve heard by now.
Buyers will be able to configure their Lone Star with some of their other personal favorite options offered by Ram including the Sport Appearance package and the Black Appearance package, making for an even more unique look. Customization is the name of the game here, and this helps drive that concept home even further.
Quotable: “First and foremost, the Ram Heavy Duty Lone Star edition is a powerful, hard-working truck that meets the demands of Texas truck buyers,” said Reid Bigland, Head of Ram Brand. “Trucks are a big part of life in the Lone Star State, and Ram offers the segment’s best combination of performance, strength, luxury, and technology.”
What You Need to Know: As with any 2019 Ram Heavy Duty, two engine configurations are available from the factory: a 6.4-liter Hemi V8 producing 410 horsepower and 429 pound-feet of torque as standard, and a 6.7-liter Cummins diesel inline-six. The latter can be had in two specifications, the base producing 400 hp and 850 pound-feet while the high-output option bumps the latter to an asphalt-shredding 1,000 pound-feet.
All Lone Star models come standard with Class V receiver hitches, electronic trailer brake controllers, and power trailer-tow mirrors. Ram expects these trucks to be put to work, hence the automatic application of its most haul-ready equipment.
Courtesy of all this hardware and performance, the top-spec Ram has a max trailer tow capacity of 35,000 pounds—or approximately seven of the heaviest Ram Heavy Duties available.
The 2019 Ram Heavy Duty Lone Star is available in both two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive, as well as Regular, Crew, and MegaCab body configurations.
Official pricing for the Ram 2500 Heavy Duty Lone Star begins at $37,645 while the 3500 Heavy Duty Lone Star clocks in at $39,095. Ram confirmed that these trucks will go on sale in the second quarter of 2019, so expect to see them hit Texas lots some time not long after that.