The first question a Manitoba buyer asks about any electric truck is the honest one. What happens to the range when it is 30 below and the wind is coming across the field. It is a fair question, because every battery on earth gives up some range in deep cold, and out here we get the real cold, not the mild kind. If you are weighing an electric Ram against the gas trucks on our new Ram 1500 lot, the cold weather range story is the part that actually decides it, so this is the straight version with the numbers Ram has shared so far and the ones nobody can promise yet.

Here is the piece a lot of the online chatter still gets wrong. The Ram REV that is actually coming is not a pure battery truck. Ram walked away from the battery only version and put the REV name on the range extended truck instead, and that change matters more for a prairie winter than almost anything else on the spec sheet.

Key Takeaways

• The Ram 1500 REV is now a range extended electric truck, not a battery only one. Ram cancelled the pure battery version and moved the REV name onto the truck that pairs a battery with an onboard gas generator. That design exists to answer exactly the cold weather range worry Manitoba buyers have.
• Ram's targeted numbers are about 145 miles (roughly 233 km) of all electric driving and up to 690 miles (roughly 1,110 km) of total range with the gas generator topping up the battery. Treat these as Ram's own estimates, not tested ratings. The truck is not on the road yet.
• Every battery electric vehicle loses range in deep cold. Independent winter testing has generally shown battery EVs give up somewhere in the range of 20 to 40 percent in hard cold, worse when the cabin heater is working hard. The Ram REV's gas generator is the built in answer to that, because when the battery is cold and sapped, the generator keeps making power.
• Towing is where cold and range hit hardest, and the REV is rated to tow up to 14,000 lb. A trailer plus a headwind plus deep cold is the toughest combination for any electric truck, so the range extender design is aimed straight at the buyer who actually pulls a trailer through a Manitoba winter.
• It is not for sale yet. Ram has said production starts in the second half of 2026 as a 2027 model. Canadian pricing is not set. If you need a truck this winter, the gas Ram 1500 is on the lot now, and we will tell you honestly when the REV is worth the wait.

What the Ram REV Actually Is Now

For a couple of years there were two electric Rams in the plans. One was a pure battery truck wearing the REV name. The other was the Ramcharger, a range extended truck that carried a gas engine as a generator. In 2025 Ram cancelled the battery only truck and moved the REV name onto the range extended one. So when you read "Ram 1500 REV" today, you are reading about a truck that has both a battery and a gas generator on board.

The way it works is simple to picture. There is a 92 kilowatt hour battery and two electric motors, one on each axle, and those motors are the only things that turn the wheels. A 3.6 litre Pentastar V6 sits up front, but it is not connected to the wheels at all. Its only job is to spin a generator and make electricity to feed the battery and the motors when the battery runs low. You plug it in and drive on the battery for daily running, and on a long haul the gas engine quietly keeps the battery charged so you never stop to wait at a charger.

That is a different animal than a battery only truck, and the difference is the whole point for us. A battery only truck lives and dies by how far the battery can take you. A range extended truck has a backup that does not care how cold the battery is.

How Cold Weather Actually Hits Electric Range

We plug our diesels and even a lot of our gas trucks into block heaters up here for a reason. Cold is hard on everything that stores or makes energy, and a battery is no exception. Two things happen when the temperature drops.

First, the battery itself gets less willing to give up its energy when it is cold, and the truck spends some of its charge just keeping the battery pack warm enough to work. Second, and this is the big one, you are running the cabin heater, the defroster, the heated seats and the heated wheel, and in an electric vehicle all of that heat comes out of the same battery that moves the truck. In a gas truck the heat is basically free, a byproduct of the engine. In a battery truck it is not free at all.

Independent winter testing on battery EVs has generally landed in the same place. Expect to lose somewhere around 20 to 40 percent of your range in hard cold, and lean toward the higher end when you are running the heat hard on a short trip where the battery never fully warms up. Nobody has put the Ram REV through a Manitoba winter yet, because it is not on the road, so we are not going to hand you a REV specific winter number we cannot stand behind. What we can tell you is how its design changes the math.

Why the Range Extender Changes the Math Out Here

Here is where the range extended design earns its keep for a prairie driver. On a battery only truck, that 20 to 40 percent cold weather hit comes straight off your only source of range, and on a bad day it can turn a comfortable drive into a range anxiety drive. On the Ram REV, the cold still saps the battery the same way, but the gas generator is sitting right there to make more electricity. When the battery gets low, the V6 spins up, tops it back up, and you keep going. Ram's targeted total range is up to 690 miles, which is roughly 1,110 km, and that number leans on the gas generator, not the battery alone.

That is the exact scenario that scares people off electric trucks here, and it is the one the REV is built for. A cold morning, a long drive to Brandon or into Winnipeg, the heater cranked, and no worry about finding a fast charger with a working plug in a storm. You still get the quiet electric drive and the daily plug in convenience for running around Portage, and you still get to skip the gas station for your short trips, but the deep cold long haul has a backstop.

Towing is the other place this matters, because a trailer is the hardest thing you can ask an electric truck to do, and cold makes it harder. The Ram REV is rated to tow up to 14,000 lb, and the generator is what keeps a loaded trailer from turning into a range problem on a cold highway. If you want to understand how much a trailer and a headwind pull a truck's real world numbers down, our read on gas versus diesel in the Ram 1500 walks through the same tradeoffs on the trucks you can buy today, and our guide to towing in a Manitoba winter covers the cold weather side of pulling a trailer up here.

What This Means If You Are Shopping Now

The honest bottom line is that the Ram REV is a genuinely smart answer to the cold weather range problem, and it is not something you can buy this winter. Ram has said it goes into production in the second half of 2026 as a 2027 model, and Canadian pricing is not set. So if you are cross shopping it against a gas truck, you are comparing something you can drive home today against something worth waiting for if it fits how you drive.

If you tow a lot, run long cold highways, and want to cut your fuel bill on daily running without the range anxiety of a battery only truck, the REV is worth watching closely, and we will keep you posted as real numbers and a real Canadian price land. If you need a truck for this winter, the gas Ram 1500 is proven cold weather machinery, it is on the lot now, and every one we sell carries our Eh Plus value stack with the maintenance plan, walkaway coverage, and zero dealer fees. Have a look at the current new Ram 1500 inventory and we will tell you straight which truck fits your winter.

Whatever you land on, an electric or gas truck up here runs best on a sensible cold weather routine, and you can book service with us when it comes time. If you are trading something in to make the move, start with a number from our instant cash offer on your trade, and when you are ready to work out payments our finance application is online.

FAQs

What is the Ram REV's cold weather range?

Ram has not published a cold weather range for the REV, and the truck is not on the road yet, so any specific winter number would be a guess. What we can tell you is that battery electric vehicles generally lose somewhere around 20 to 40 percent of range in hard cold, more when the heater is working hard. The Ram REV is a range extended truck, so its onboard gas generator makes more electricity when the cold saps the battery, which is the design's answer to that loss. Ram's targeted figures are about 145 miles of all electric range and up to 690 miles of total range with the generator.

Is the Ram 1500 REV a full electric truck?

Not anymore. Ram cancelled the battery only version and put the REV name on the range extended truck. It drives on electric motors and a 92 kilowatt hour battery, but it also carries a 3.6 litre V6 that runs a generator to recharge the battery on the go. The gas engine never turns the wheels. You plug it in for daily driving and the generator handles the long hauls.

How far can the Ram REV go?

Ram's targeted numbers are about 145 miles, roughly 233 km, on the battery alone, and up to 690 miles, roughly 1,110 km, of total range using the gas generator to keep the battery topped up. These are Ram's own estimates rather than tested ratings, so treat them as a target until the truck is on the road and independently measured.

When can I buy a Ram REV in Canada?

Ram has said production begins in the second half of 2026, with the truck arriving as a 2027 model. Canadian pricing has not been announced. If you want one, reach out and we will keep you updated as allocation and pricing become real. If you need a truck this winter, the gas Ram 1500 is available now.

Can the Ram REV tow in winter?

It is rated to tow up to 14,000 lb, and the range extended design is aimed squarely at the towing buyer. Towing plus deep cold is the hardest combination for any electric truck, and the onboard generator is what keeps a loaded trailer from turning into a range problem on a cold highway.

The Bottom Line on Ram REV Cold Weather Range

The Ram REV is a better fit for a Manitoba winter than a battery only truck would have been, and that is not marketing, it is the design. The cold still takes its bite out of the battery, the same as it does on any EV, but the gas generator sitting on board means a cold snap does not decide how far you get. Ram's targeted 690 miles of total range leans on that generator, and that is exactly the reassurance a prairie driver wants.

For now it is a truck to watch, not to buy, because it lands as a 2027 model with pricing still to come. When it is real and we can quote a genuine Canadian number and a real winter range, you will hear it from us straight. Until then, if you want a truck for this winter, take a look at the new Ram 1500 inventory and we will give you the honest call on gas today versus electric later.

Tyler Dunn, Dunn Ram Trucks, Portage la Prairie