Ram’s biggest chassis cab, the 5500 with the Cummins diesel, carries a maximum towing rating of 34,540 pounds for the 2027 model year. The headline addition across the 3500, 4500 and 5500 Chassis Cab lineup is a 270-degree surround-view camera system, which Ram pairs with an auxiliary camera and trailer reverse guidance.
Chassis cabs leave the factory without a pickup bed, ready for a work body such as a flatbed or dump box. For trucks that live under a load, the rated weights are the specifications that decide what a fleet can put on them.
Ram laid out the changes in its “What’s New for 2027: Ram Chassis Cab” release on the Stellantis North America media site, which carries no date on the page. It states that “A surround view 270-degree camera system is now available on Ram 3500, 4500 and 5500 Chassis Cab, including a Mopar wired auxiliary camera and trailer reverse guidance.” The same release lists the top capability line as “Ram 5500 Cummins turbo diesel: Up to 34,540 pounds max towing; up to 11,530 lbs. max payload; 43,000 pounds GCWR.”
The ratings, model by model
GCWR, or gross combined weight rating, is the maximum the loaded truck and loaded trailer may weigh together. Ram’s 2027 release gives these figures for each model and engine:
- Ram 3500 Cummins: 25,680 lb towing, 6,830 lb payload, 33,000 lb GCWR
- Ram 3500 HEMI: 18,880 lb towing, 7,710 lb payload, 25,000 lb GCWR
- Ram 4500 Cummins: 29,440 lb towing, 8,560 lb payload, 37,500 lb GCWR
- Ram 4500 HEMI: 21,240 lb towing, 9,390 lb payload, 28,500 lb GCWR
- Ram 5500 Cummins: 34,540 lb towing, 11,530 lb payload, 43,000 lb GCWR
- Ram 5500 HEMI: 21,230 lb towing, 12,370 lb payload, 28,500 lb GCWR
In Ram’s figures, the gasoline 5500 is rated for more payload than the diesel, 12,370 pounds against 11,530, while the diesel’s towing rating is 13,310 pounds higher.
Some figures shifted between Ram’s own announcements. A Ram release dated Sept. 1, 2026, introducing a Night Edition package for the 2027 Chassis Cab, listed the same 34,540-pound towing rating for the 5500 Cummins but a payload of 11,490 pounds, and gave the 3500 Cummins 25,590 pounds of towing. The model-year release lists slightly higher figures for both. All of the figures in this article are the manufacturer’s ratings.
Power comes from either a 6.4-liter HEMI V8 rated at 375 horsepower and 429 lb-ft of torque, or the 6.7-liter Cummins turbo diesel inline-six at 360 horsepower and 800 lb-ft, per the 2027 release. The Cummins pairs with a TorqueFlite HD eight-speed automatic.
Ram describes the diesel as using “robust heavy-duty pistons and a revised turbo with a performance intake manifold, larger intake and exhaust valves and a higher-pressure fuel system for even greater durability and efficiency.” The release also cites a top-load lubrication system and integrated fuel filtration intended to simplify routine maintenance, plus glow plug-assisted cold starts. Those are company descriptions of design changes, not independently tested results.
Cameras, sensors and the Night Edition
Beyond the surround-view system, the 2027 release lists adaptive cruise control and Forward Collision Warning-Plus as standard, with ParkSense front and rear park assist, a fully digital rearview mirror with tow mode, Drowsy Driver Detection, Traffic Sign Recognition and Active Lane Management available.
The Night Edition package, offered on Big Horn and Laramie trims of all three chassis cabs, adds black-painted wheels, black badging and a sport hood. Ram’s Sept. 1 release priced it at $2,195 on Big Horn models and $1,695 on Laramie models, with orders opening in the fourth quarter of 2026.
All of these trucks are built in Mexico. Stellantis’ fact sheet for the Saltillo Heavy-Duty Truck Assembly Plant, updated April 2026, lists the plant’s products as the “Ram 2500, 3500, 4500 and 5500 Heavy Duty” and notes it opened in 1995. Ram’s 2027 release states the Chassis Cab lineup is open for orders.
Top image: A 2026 Ram 5500 Chassis Cab Tradesman. Image Credit: HJUdall — CC0 / Wikimedia Commons
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Combat Rated editors prior to publication.