This Widened Dodge Ram Leaves Us With Many Questions

You’ll have probably spotted that something isn’t quite right with this Dodge Ram just from this one image. It all sort of looks like it should, but it’s perturbing nonetheless. What’s the deal with it?

We’ll tell you why it doesn’t look normal. It’s a foot wider than a standard Dodge Ram, all the way from the front to the back. American pickups are pretty big anyway, but this one will dwarf most modern trucks (except the four-tonne Hummer EV, perhaps).

There’s no immediate giveaway that this didn’t come from the factory like this. The work that has gone into creating this ridiculous Ram is enormous; it’s clear that a huge amount of time, effort and money has been spent. See if you can spot any visible join lines or seams.

According to the Craiglist ad, 1400 hours of work were needed, plus a literal truckload of custom parts. The bonnet, roof, bed, tailgate and windscreens have all had to be replaced, and that’s before you get underneath. There’s got to be plenty of extra bracing under there (and tyres, given it’s a dually) while we’re told it sits on air suspension.

Make a vehicle a foot wider and you’ll have a massive gap inside, so the dashboard and rear seats are custom-made too. Seems excessive just to get away from your passenger, or to feel like you’re the king of the road.

We wonder if there’s a massive gap in the engine bay given all that extra width. If there is, it’d make it easier to work on the 5.9-litre (360ci) Cummins straight-six diesel engine. A five-speed manual gearbox transfers the power to both axles.

Given that this ’97 Ram has spent so much time in the body shop, it’s not too surprising that the mileage is quite low at 78,500. Nowadays we’d guess it’s more of a show truck than a daily driver, as it seems excessive even for America’s wide boulevards. It’s been for sale a couple of times in recent years, and is now listed for $31,999 in Washington State.

Are you as confused as we are about this widened Dodge Ram? Leave a comment.

Source: Craigslist via Jalopnik