What Makes the Ram Rebel TRX so Capable?
After years of development, it should come as no surprise that RAM is looking to climb above the Ford F-150 Raptor and set a new standard for off-road capable vehicles.
A new and rebel-specific suspension system with active damping has been brought into play, and it was inspired by desert off-road racers. The front upper and lower control arms are made of forged aluminum with very specific caster and camber angles. These control arms also contribute to the extra six-inches of track width and the impressive 13-inches of wheel travel. The rear end is dominated by a Dana 60 solid rear axle with a 3.55 gear ratio, full-floating axle shops, and an electronic locking rear differential.
All four corners feature brand-new (and designed specifically for the Rebel) 2.5-inch Bilstein adaptive shocks that are made to withstand a lot of beating at even 100 mph. The full-time active transfer case was even revised with stronger internals to handle all the extra torque being sent through it to the wheels. Finally, Ram worked with Goodyear to create the new 35-inch Wrangler Territory all-terrain tires that measure 325/65R18 and are mounted on 18×9-inch wheels.
So what about specs? Well, the Rebel TRX has 11.8-inches of ground clearance and – believe it or not – can ford through up to 32-inches of water without skipping a beat. The Rebel’s approach angle comes in at 30.2-degrees, while it’s breakover angle comes in at 21.9-degrees, and its departure angle comes in at 23.5-degrees.
To put this into perspective, the Ford F-150 Raptor features near-identical specs, but beats out the Rebel with an extra degree of breakover angle while losing out by 0.4-degrees for the departure angle. As far as suspension travel goes, the Ford and Ram are even in the front, but the TRX manages 14 inches in the rear compared to the Raptor’s 13.9-inches.
Frame
Sections of the frame are hydroformed for dimensional accuracy, reducing the need for welding, and the side rails are fully boxed. The front rails have high-strength steel and hydroformed sections to set a strong foundation to better handle the front suspension load. Galvanized frame components are used for improved corrosion protection.
To protect critical components, including the front axle, transfer case, transmission pan and fuel tank, TRX employs five skid plates. A separate skid plate sits at the bottom of the front fascia, mitigating potential damage, and doubles as a belly pan. Heavy-gauge steel rock sliders are also an available option.
Rear Axle
The Rebel TRX features a Dana 60 rear axle with an axle-hop damper for improved traction and control. The center of the axle features a locking differential while new tube assemblies were required to accommodate the extra track width. New, high-strength axle shafts send power from the rear diff to the rear wheels while a new rear prop shaft was designed to accommodate increased travel while providing extra strength.
Transfer Case
The Ram TRX has a Borg Warner 48-13 full-time active transfer car that has been modified with upgraded internals for added strength and durability. This modification includes the following:
- Extra clutch plates
- Heavy Duty clutch apple bearing
- Six-pinion planetary low-range gear
- 20-percent wider chain
- New main shaft
- Longer rear half shaft
- Rear output flange that replaces the slip yoke
The TRX’s different drive modes – Auto, Sport, Snow, Tow, Mud, and Baja – all adjust the calibration of the T-case. For rock clawing, the low gear has a ratio of 2.64:1, and there’s a neutral gear for flat towing.
Selec-Speed Control
One other cool feature that involves the T-case and transmission is Slec-Speed Control.
This is not an automatic system, however, and must be activated via a button on the dash. You can adjusted it from 0.6-5 mph max by using the Auto Stick shift of the paddle shifters.
Tires and Wheels
The 2021 Ram TRX rides on 18-inch wheels wrapped in 325/65R-series tires. These are specially designed Goodyear Wrangler Territory All-Terrain tires. The treads are extra aggressive and the sidewalls have a D-load rating.
As you probably saw in the reveal, the TRX is capable of carrying a full-size spare in the rear with an option mount. There is a full-size spare equipped under the bed as standard, but the bed-mounted spare really looks better.
Powertrain and Performance
You can’t build one of the most capable trucks in the world without a lot of power, so Ram went all in. Under that beefy hood sits a 6.2-liter HEMI V-8 that’s good for 702 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. If you put the hammer down, you can get to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds or up to 100 mph in 10.5 seconds – impressive figures for a truck. Ram also claims that the TRX can blow through a quarter-mile in 12.9 seconds at 108 mph. These are, of course, on-road figures, but it just goes to show how well this thing will perform off-road or in the desert.
The front end of the TRX was designed with this engine’s performance in mind, so that hood scoop provides 50-percent of the engine’s intake air while the other 50-percent comes in via the radiator grille. This new dual-intake system sucks in air through a 29-liter air box that is designed to filter out dirt, sand, and other debris. There are also two heavy-duty air filters that feature a total of 198.4 square-inches of filter surface area. The supercharger that helps force this air into the engine runs at a maximum boost pressure of 11.6 PSI with a maximum speed of 14,600 rpm.
To put these performance specs into perspective, we can again look to the Ford F-150 Raptor. That truck is powered by a twin-turbo 3.5-liter, EcoBoost V-6 that’s good for 450 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque. It’s power is sent through a 10-speed automatic (much like that of the new Ford Mustang) and is enough for a 5.7-second sprint to 60 mph and a top speed of 107 mph. Naturally, the TRX will be faster than the Raptor on any day, but how the two will actually perform when going off-road remains to be seen. We’ll learn more as soon as these two off-road beasts go up for real-life comparison.
Of course, the HEMI V-8 is built with durability in mind, so it’s full of extra-strong components. Key components include:
- Cast-iron engine block with water jackets between the cylinders for optimal cooling
- Forged-steel crankshaft with induction-hardened bearing surfaces
- Specially tuned dual mass crankshaft damper, burst-tested to 13,000 rpm
- High-strength, forged-alloy pistons
- Powder-forged connecting rods with high-load-capacity bushings and diamond-like carbon (DLC) coated piston pins
- Piston-cooling oil jets
- Heat-treated aluminum-alloy cylinder heads
- Sodium-cooled exhaust valves, hollow-stem intake valves and steel-alloy heads that stand up to temperatures as high as 1,652 degrees Fahrenheit (900 degrees Celsius)
- External oil cooler
How Does Ram Know That the TRX Can Survive the Harshest Beating?
It has taken years for Ram to perfect the 1500 TRX, and part of the perfection included some extreme testing. Ram says it has put various prototypes through thousands of miles of testing that included extreme environmental conditions. This included desert testing in Arizona, cold-weather testing in Michigan and Minnesota, and pushing it hard well above sea level in the mountains of Colorado, all for weeks at a time. Part of the testing included scaling sand dunes and crawling rocks in none other than Moab, Utah.