Ram Fortifies Full-Size Pickup Portfolio with New BackCountry Package
Ram specializes in offering variations of its 1500 full-size pickups for different audiences, and is doing it once again with the new 2026 Ram 1500 BackCountry model.
The new model sits between the Rebel and Warlock trim levels, and while improving the off-road capability of its Big Horn 4x4 Crew Cab. The package features a one-inch suspension lift with heavy-duty shocks, new skid plates, front tow hooks, a rear electronic locking differential, Selec-Speed off-road cruise control and 32-inch off-road tires.
“The off‑road segment has been growing for a while now and Ram has been leading that charge with Warlock, Rebel, RHO and TRX,” said Tim Kuniskis, head of American Brands, SRT Performance, NA Marketing and Retail Strategy, in a release. “BackCountry is another option from Ram for customers looking to get into this growing part of the market without breaking the bank.”
Since Ram is the master of multiple powertrains, the Big Horn model comes with two engine options: a 3.0-liter twin turbo inline-6 or the crowd-favorite 5.7-liter Hemi V8.
It also gets a bit of “show” to match the “go” with special sports body-color accents as well as a grill surround. The BackCountry features black-painted lower body and bumpers, contrasting black fender flairs and satin black wheels.
On the inside, you can get leather heated front seats and steering wheel, power adjustable pedals, second-row in-floor storage bins with the Level 1 equipment group. Move up to Level 2 and you add a 7-inch instrument cluster display, 12-inch Uconnect 5 center touchscreen and configurable drive modes with Off-Road Info Pages.
Additional content includes a 10-way power driver seat with lumbar, class-exclusive dual wireless charging pads, dual-zone climate control, a power tailgate-release and a 9-speaker amplified audio system.
All of this off-road fun and comfort comes at a price. The BackCountry package is a $2,995 add-on to the Big Horn trim level, which means pricing starts at $62,410 including the destination charge.
[Images: Ram]
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Michael Strong has spent more than 25 years writing about the automotive industry. A Detroit-area native, he’s written about everything from local car shows to product reviews to financial news. Currently he writes and edits for a variety of national and local publications. He’s also a longtime member of the Automotive Press Association and the International Motor Press Association, and a graduate of Georgia Southern University. Hail Southern! Despite a love for ’70s land yachts and BMWs from the late ’80s and early ’90s, his personal vehicle is neither of those.
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- Amwhalbi My 1972 Mercury Capri was my first stick shift car. God, I miss that thing. It was a blast to drive.
- Vid169489471 The technology exists today to produce a variable color temperature (kelvin) LED lamp. It can vary from 2700k that soft orange look to 6500k the bright daylight with the bluish tint.Since everything in a late model car is computer controlled, it would be an easy task to write a few lines of code that enables your vehicle to not only dim down from hi to low beam but to shift color temp down to the 2700k range for oncoming traffic, then back up to 5000k once oncoming traffic has passed. For the operator it would be automatic and seamless. For older cars they could be retrofitted with LEDs that are 2700k on low beam and 5000k on hi beam. As far as standards, there could be a lumens max, and a minimum. Several States already have minimum lumen standards going back to the old incandescent bulbs. Why not update these to national standards.
- Jam169859557 More regulation is needed for ALL vehicle lighting systems. [list=1][*]The lighting that is most blinding are the rapidly flashing red, blue and amber lights on emergency vehicles. The lights themselves are blinding, flashing so rapidly that it's impossible for even the sharpest eyes to adjust. What's worse, is the nature of the emergency requires a careful view of the area surrounding the emergency vehicle. There is something going on that needs to be seen. More flashing lights is not the solution.[/*][*]Brighter headlights need to be regulated. The tall riding vehicles do not need headlights positioned so high that they blind drivers in lower riding vehicles. And those heasdlights need to be aimed properly. When I first started driving my 2020 Subaru Outback, many drivers would flash their lights, hoping I would dim my lights. This stopped after I performed am easy adjustment that tilted the beam lower. Late model Subaru headlamps are designed with a sharp cutoff that project less glare above the hood line. When the headlights are properly aimed, other drivers are not blinded by the beam.[/*][*]Customized light assemblies make it more difficult to see the marker lights (tail lamps, turn signals and side marker lamps) that have been tinted. There are many municiple codes that prohibit this tinting, but these laws are seldom enforced.[/*][/list=1]Solutions: Tight controls on emergency vehicle lighting. In trying to make these vehicles more visible, a dangerous side effect is reducing the ability of drivers to see the surrounding perils.Headlight design regulations that reduce the height of the headlight assemblies. Just because a pickup truck has a hood that sits 4 feet abouve the pavement, it does not mean the headlights need to be so high. Owneres should maintain proper adjustments to their vehicle headlights.Establish and enforce regulation requiring a illumination standard be followed.
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- Art65765977 I saw a porsche 911 with the most amazing headlights from behind approaching the Sunshine skyway in Florida. The pattern was 108 degrees across sweeping the road like a broom. My brother and I were amazed. I don't know what it looked like from the front but i am sure it was better than American cars
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Choose the "Off Road Group" and save $1,600.
Since they're both stupid-expensive, which works better.. Ram or sildenafil?