Why The Ram 1500 is A Great Tailgating Truck

Bed storage you can lock, drain, and light up. The available RamBox Cargo Management System turns both bed rails into weatherproof bins with drains and interior lighting.

Fill one with ice and drinks, load the other with charcoal, tongs, and a Honolulu blue banner. Both lock, so nothing walks off while you are inside Ford Field. Because the bins sit in the bedsides instead of the floor, the bed stays open for chairs, a folding table, and the cooler nobody volunteers to carry.

The Ram 1500 tows up to 11,610 pounds with the available Standard-Output 3.0L Hurricane engine, or carries up to 2,360 pounds of payload with the standard 3.6L Pentastar V6, depending on how the truck is configured. Either way, that covers a canopy, a generator, and a full offset smoker on a small trailer, pointed toward Comerica Park for a Tigers afternoon.

The available Multifunction Tailgate splits 60/40 into two swing-out doors, so you can reach the front of the bed from a tight parking row without climbing in or unhitching the trailer first. It also means one person can hand off a cooler while someone else keeps the griddle level.
Bed length matters more than most shoppers expect on game day. The 6-foot-4 bed gives a canopy, a folding table, and a cooler room to sit flat without stacking, while the 5-foot-7 crew cab bed trades some of that space for rear-seat legroom on the ride in. Walk both before you decide.

Yes. Available 115-volt outlets in the bed and cabin will run a flat screen, a blender, or an electric griddle without a separate battery pack.

That becomes the whole point when a Red Wings puck drop lands on top of a Pistons tipoff, and half your group wants the second game playing in the lot outside Little Caesars Arena. Available bed lighting keeps you off your phone flashlight, and the same layout travels fine for a Saturday drive out to Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.