- A long-rumored smaller Ram truck will arrive in 2027
- It is said to be a traditional body-on-frame design
Ram fans will finally have access to a midsize truck again in two years, according to a new report. It will be an old-fashioned body-on-frame design, not the previously-reported unibody model.
We’ve known the rough timeline since January, when the United Auto Workers confirmed that Ram had told workers at an Illinois plant they’d be building a midsize truck in 2027.
Now Mopar Insiders reports that the truck will “ride on a body-on-frame setup, similar to what Jeep uses for the Gladiator.” Earlier reports had said Ram would build its truck in unibody style like the Ford Maverick.
Body-on-Frame vs. Unibody
- Traditionally, body-on-frame designs are hard-working but not as smooth on the road
Body-on-frame truck designs attach the drivetrain and suspension to a somewhat flexible ladder frame and then attach a vehicle’s body to that. Unibody designs cast a vehicle’s body and frame as a structural unit.
Unibody vehicles are stiffer, which is good for the ride quality of a car or SUV. But it keeps them from flexing slightly under heavy loads or on uneven ground. That compromises their payload capacity and off-road prowess.
Body-on-frame designs can often carry heavier loads, and can flex to keep wheels in contact with uneven terrain, which makes them more capable off-road.
Automotive engineers have developed technologies to compensate for the limits of both types. Today, you’ll find impressive unibody off-roaders and body-on-frame trucks that ride like cars. But, to many truck buyers, body-on-frame is still the essential core of a hard-working truck.
The truck will come only in a 4-door, crew cab layout like the Gladiator, Ford Ranger, Chevrolet Colorado, and GMC Canyon, the site reports.
In 2025, only the segment-leading Toyota Tacoma and slow-selling Nissan Frontier are available with longer beds, shorter cabs, or both.
There’s still no word on whether Ram will resurrect the dormant Dakota name for the truck. But with the name’s historical cachet and the automotive industry’s penchant for nostalgia, we’d be stunned to see it called anything else.