Ram 4000: The Heavy Duty Truck The U.S. & Canada Don’t Get!

For well over the past decade, the Ram 4000 Chassis Cabs have played an important role in the Ram Truck portfolio for the country of Mexico. That’s right, the Ram 4000. You might be thinking we made a mistake, but Ram offers it’s Mexican customers a unique package for their Heavy Duty needs. 

While in the United States and Canada towing plays a critical role in the purpose of a truck, in Mexico it’s quite different. The Ram 4000 is set up more for hauling and at much higher altitudes, thanks to many cities being 5,400 feet above sea level. So the Ram 4000 is rated higher for hauling than it’s Ram 3500 counterpart.

The Ram 4000 returns for the 2019 model year for the Mexico market with a bunch of new upgrades. While the 2019 Ram 4000 (DX) adopts the new updated Ram Heavy Duty sheet metal, the truck is still very much a work truck. This no-frills Ram Heavy Duty is offered in three variants…

• Ram 4000 Chassis Cab Regular Cab with Short Wheelbase (60-inch distance from the cab to rear axle)
• Ram 4000 Chassis Cab Regular Cab with Long Wheelbase(84-inch distance from the cab to rear axle)
• Ram 4000 Chassis Cab Crew Cab with Short Wheelbase (60-inch distance from the cab to rear axle)

Here is where the Ram 4000 really gets unique over it’s Ram 3500 sibling. The Ram 4000 is only available with gasoline power. That’s right, no diesel option here. While the Ram Truck brand did away with the 5.7-liter HEMI V8 in the Heavy Duty lineup for Canada and the United States for the 2019 model year, it returns in the Mexican 2019 Ram 4000 Regular Cab models. The 5.7-liter HEMI is good for 383 horsepower at 5,600 rpm and 400 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm, which is backed by either Tremec TR4050 five-speed manual transmission (that’s right, a manual) on rear-wheel-drive models or a 66RFE automatic which is standard on the 4×4 models.

For 2019, the 6.4-liter HEMI V8 with 410 horsepower and 429 lb-ft of torque backed by the new ZF 8-speed automatic is standard on the Crew Cab model. All Ram 4000s are equipped with 4.10 rear gearing and dual-rear wheels.

The Ram 4000 has a cargo capacity of 3,499 kg (7,714 lb) capacity on the trucks with the Regular Cab with the long wheelbase, while having a towing capacity of 4,712 kg (10,388 lb). Now a 2019 Ram 3500 Chassis Cab Regular Cab with the same long wheelbase has a cargo capacity of 3,311 kg (7,300 lb) with matched with the much powerful 6.4-liter HEMI V8, standard 8-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission and 4.10 rear axle ratio. The 3500 also has a much higher towing capacity with a 7,099 kg (15,650 lb) rating. You can also step up to the 6-speed Aisin A6 AS69RC automatic transmission in the Ram 3500, however, the Mexican market offers the Ram 4000 as a much more affordable option.

While the Ram 4000 looks virtually identical to its Ram 3500 sibling, the Ram 4000 does not have a lot of the standard Ram 3500s features. This is in order to keep the cost of the truck low. The Ram 4000 is a back to the basics work truck and doesn’t even come with a standard AM/FM stereo instead, you get a delete panel. 

Where a base Tradesman model Ram 3500 Chassis Cab Regular Cab short wheelbase 4×2 dually will set you back $34,750, plus $1,695 destination fee here in the United States, the 2019 Ram 4000 in an equal configuration will set the average Mexican customer back $584,900 Mexican (or about $30,579 USD with the current exchange rates).

Mexico-Only 2019 Ram 4000 Chassis Cab Image Gallery:

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