Pure electric power is excellent for towing heavy loads… on paper. Electric motors provide instant torque at the moment of throttle application, which helps tremendously with setting off from a stop with a heavy load. However, in the real world, pickup trucks equipped with electric powertrains suffer from a major reduction in driving range. The 2026 Ram Ramcharger, though, looks to solve this issue.
The 2026 Ram Ramcharger is equipped with a run-of-the-mill V6 engine under its hood, but it doesn’t power the wheels like in a normal truck. Instead, it acts as a generator for the onboard electric power plant. With the setup, the Ramcharger is rated to tow up to 14,000 pounds, which trumps both the Ram 1500’s 5.7-liter Hemi V8 and the Hurricane I6 engine options. In essence, the Ramcharger is the king of energy replenishment, an issue that’s plagued electric trucks up to this point.
The Ramcharger: An Electric Truck That Doesn’t Have To Rely On Its Battery
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Put simply, the 3.6-liter V6 under the Ramcharger’s hood has zero connection to the wheels. Its sole purpose is to act as a generator for the onboard batteries powering the truck’s electric powertrain. The task of actually moving the truck falls to a pair of electric motors – one at the front and one in the back – while the V6 simply charges the batteries and supplies electricity wherever necessary.
Using the topsy-turvy powertrain, the 2026 Ramcharger produces 647–663 horsepower alongside 610–615 pound-feet of torque. As far as battery capacity goes, Ram reports a 92-kWh gross amount sporting 70 kWh of actual, usable energy at the system’s disposal. When told to utilize electric power only, the Ramcharger can drive for roughly 145 miles total. However, its total system range is reported to be around 690 miles.
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Its 14,000-lb towing figure suggests the Ramcharger is more than just an EV with a generator strapped to it. It beats out all other Ram 1500 powertrains in maximum towing capacity by miles, as the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 can only muster 11,320 lbs of capacity, whereas Hurricane inline-six-equipped Ram 1500s only manage 11,610 lbs of capacity.
In a strange twist of electrified fate, the most capable Ram 1500 happens to be electric, although its 3.6-liter V6 generator doesn’t hurt.
Towing Turns A Range Problem Into An Energy Problem
2026 Ram 1500 Ramcharger Silver Rear Angled View DrivingRam
Unlike a typical EV, electric trucks tasked with towing face a slew of issues not felt nearly as much by gasoline or diesel-powered models. It goes without saying, but when you connect a heavy trailer to a vehicle, the amount of energy required to move said vehicle increases by a large amount, especially when it comes to the business of setting off from a standstill.
Once underway and at highway speed, the air moving around the truck and trailer combination becomes harder to move through, as the air itself has mass. This means the truck’s powertrain needs to work harder and expend more energy to maintain its present speed. However, once all that energy runs out, an EV can’t just pop off to a gas station and fuel up in five minutes – it needs to find somewhere to recharge, and that can take hours.
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This is where the Ramcharger’s 3.6-liter V6 generator shines brightest. Once its batteries are drained, the generator can kick into action, recharging them. Connected to the engine is a standard, 27-gallon fuel tank, which can keep the generator running for a long period of time. To boot, if your 3.6-liter engine runs out of gas, but the batteries have some charge left, you could still keep on driving. The advantage is clear from the aforementioned range figures: 145 miles on EV power only, and 690 miles total.
This also eliminates the need to go and charge somewhere. Many charging stations are awkward to pull into, especially with a large, 14,000-lb trailer in tow. A gas station is typically better suited for larger vehicles, and being able to pull in, refuel, start the generator, and begin recharging the batteries quickly is a significant advantage over waiting in a parking lot for an hour to recover 75 percent of battery capacity.
The 69.7-kWh Battery Is Purposely Small
2026 Ram 1500 Ramcharger Silver Front Angled View DrivingRam
For those unfamiliar with the distinction, usable and gross battery capacity mean two different things. Gross capacity is how much energy a battery can store in total, and the Ramcharger has 91.8 kWh. However, a battery’s usable amount is, of course, how much the unit will actually allow you to use. The huge gap between the Ramcharger’s gross and usable battery capacity is deliberate.
The truck comes standard with a dedicated Tow Mode. Using it, drivers will force the truck to keep roughly 37 to 39 percent of its battery in reserve as something called a “state-of-charge” buffer. There’s a test for towing called the Davis Dam grade, wherein pickups will pull heavy trailers up it to test their maximum. The Ramcharger’s buffer is put into place for this exact reason, as towing a heavy trailer up a steep incline requires a tremendous amount of energy, and if your battery only has 2.1 kWh left in reserve, you’re simply not making it.
2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger from the rear three-quarter angleRam
A standard electric vehicle lacking an onboard generator is at the mercy of charge-down issues. Unlike gasoline-powered models, which run at normal power output right until the fuel runs out, BEVs slowly lose performance as a battery’s state of charge diminishes. This could be catastrophic when pulling a trailer, especially up a long grade. Should this begin to happen, the Ramcharger’s 3.6-liter generator can kick in to fill the gap while also recharging the depleted batteries.
Without the battery buffer, the Ramcharger would be ineffective, if not dangerous, for towing heavy loads. Rather than think of the buffer as just an energy reservoir that can be tapped into in emergencies, it’s more accurate to consider it a performance management tool that comes in handy when it’s called upon. Ram’s engineers appear to have given the Ramcharger more than enough intelligence to properly manage its two propulsion systems.
Here’s Why The Ramcharger Makes A Stronger Towing Argument Than A Bigger Battery Ever Could
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Any way you look at it, 14,000 lbs of towing capacity is exceptionally impressive for a light-duty, full-size truck. Ford’s F-150 trails behind it with 13,500 lbs of capacity, although that’s achieved with a 3.5-liter, twin-turbo EcoBoost V6. When it comes to competing electric trucks, such as the Ford Lightning and the Chevrolet Silverado EV, both tow less, with measurements sitting at 10,000 and 12,500 lbs, respectively.
What’s arguably more impressive is the Ramcharger’s ability to sustain that 14,000-lb capacity, rather than only managing the feat over a short burst. If not for its 3.6-liter V6 generator, that sort of performance would be all but impossible with current technology over a range of up to 690 miles. Some electric models attempt to increase towing and driving range simply by adding bigger and/or more batteries, but that doesn’t solve the whole issue.
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Instead, the largest issue introduced is a dramatic increase in weight. Once weight is added to a vehicle, its towing capacity decreases or stays the same, as the truck must also account for hauling its own added weight alongside the trailer. However, that’s not to say the Ramcharger isn’t heavy. According to Ram, the vehicle weighs approximately 7,507 lbs, or just under 3.5 tons. It’s also a bit more complex than a pure EV or pure ICE vehicle, as it combines both.
For the right buyer, the Ramcharger could make an excellent truck. That ideal buyer would likely be someone regularly involved in heavy, near-maximum-weight towing across long distances. You’d get the benefits of ICE power, such as sustained driving range under load, alongside the advantages of electric power, such as instant torque.
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Ultimately, it’s clear that Ram’s engineers knew what they were doing. They managed to create a truck that addresses the issues faced by both gasoline/diesel and electric trucks while towing, tackling both head-on. While battery power is well-suited for light hauling, it falls short when hauling heavy loads over long distances. Add a generator into the mix, and things improve greatly.
Sources: Stellantis/Ram, GreenCarReports.com , InsideEVs.com , USAToday.com .
