Here is the short answer. The 2026 Ram 2500 tows up to 20,000 lb with the Cummins turbo diesel and up to 17,740 lb with the 6.4 litre HEMI V8. Step up to the Ram 3500 and the Cummins takes it to 36,610 lb, with the gas truck rated up to 18,150 lb. If those numbers already tell you which truck you need, our new Ram 2500 inventory and new Ram 3500 inventory are the next stop. If you want to know why the truck in your driveway is almost certainly rated for less than any of those figures, and what number you should actually be planning around, that is the rest of this page.

Key Takeaways

• Ram 2500 maximums for 2026: up to 20,000 lb towing with the 6.7 litre Cummins High Output turbo diesel, up to 17,740 lb with the 6.4 litre HEMI V8.
• Ram 3500 maximums for 2026: up to 36,610 lb towing with the Cummins, up to 18,150 lb with the HEMI. The jump from 2500 to 3500 on the diesel is the biggest single step in the lineup.
• The gas truck out payloads the diesel. The 2500 HEMI is rated up to 3,930 lb of payload against 3,600 lb for the Cummins, and the 3500 HEMI hits 7,590 lb against 6,050 lb. A lighter engine leaves more weight for the load.
• Every one of those is a maximum, not your number. Cab, box, drive, axle ratio, rear wheels and hitch type all move the rating, and the figure that governs your truck is the one on your truck.
• Torque is what pulls a hill. The Cummins High Output makes 1,075 lb ft, which Ram calls best in class available base diesel torque. The 6.4 litre HEMI makes 429 lb ft.

The 2026 Maximum Ratings

Two engines cover the whole heavy duty lineup for 2026. There is no standard output diesel in the 2026 announcement, so the diesel decision is now simply whether you take the Cummins or not.

6.7 litre Cummins High Output turbo diesel inline six. 430 horsepower and 1,075 lb ft, paired with the TorqueFlite HD eight speed automatic.

6.4 litre HEMI V8. Just over 400 horsepower and 429 lb ft, with the eight speed automatic and cylinder deactivation.

Here is how that translates into published maximums.

Ram 2500 with the Cummins turbo diesel

Up to 20,000 lb maximum towing, up to 3,600 lb maximum payload.

Ram 2500 with the 6.4 litre HEMI V8

Up to 17,740 lb maximum towing, up to 3,930 lb maximum payload.

Ram 3500 with the Cummins turbo diesel

Up to 36,610 lb maximum towing, up to 6,050 lb maximum payload.

Ram 3500 with the 6.4 litre HEMI V8

Up to 18,150 lb maximum towing, up to 7,590 lb maximum payload.

Read those payload columns again, because they surprise people. On both trucks the gas engine carries more weight in the box than the diesel does. The Cummins is a heavy piece of iron, and every pound of engine is a pound that comes off the payload allowance. If your job is hauling rather than pulling, that flips the usual assumption on its head.

Why Your Truck Is Rated for Less Than the Headline

This is the part that matters most and the part the spec sheets bury.

A maximum rating is achieved by exactly one configuration of that truck. Change the cab, the box length, the drive, the axle ratio, whether it has single or dual rear wheels, or whether you are pulling on a bumper hitch instead of a fifth wheel or gooseneck, and the rating changes with it. That 36,610 lb number belongs to a very specific 3500. A crew cab 4x4 with a short box is a different truck with a different number, and both of them are Ram 3500s.

So the useful question is never "what does a Ram 2500 tow." It is "what does this Ram 2500 tow." That answer lives in three places, and none of them is a headline:

The certification label in the driver's door jamb. It carries the gross vehicle weight rating and the axle weight ratings for your exact truck.

The gross combined weight rating. Truck plus trailer plus everything in both. Subtract the loaded weight of the truck and what is left is what you can legally and safely pull.

Us. Give us a VIN or a stock number and we will pull the exact ratings for that truck. Ours, or one you are looking at somewhere else. It takes a couple of minutes and it beats guessing on a trailer purchase.

One more thing worth knowing for 2026: Ram increased gross vehicle weight ratings by up to 850 lb across parts of the heavy duty range through revised testing procedures. If you are comparing a 2026 against an older truck on paper, make sure you are comparing the same measure.

Payload Is the Limit That Actually Bites

In our experience, the customer who runs out of truck almost never runs out of towing capacity. They run out of payload.

Here is why. A fifth wheel or gooseneck trailer puts roughly a fifth to a quarter of its weight straight down on the truck through the hitch. A conventional trailer puts ten to fifteen percent on the ball. That pin weight or tongue weight is payload, and it lands in the box along with your fuel, your passengers, your toolbox, your fifth wheel hitch hardware and whatever else lives back there permanently.

Run the arithmetic on a big fifth wheel and the payload allowance disappears long before the tow rating does. That is the single most common reason a buyer with a 2500 ends up needing a 3500, and it is why we ask about the trailer's pin weight before we ask about its total weight. Our comparison of the Ram 2500 versus the Ram 3500 walks through exactly where that line falls, and if you are weighing single against dual rear wheels, the dually versus single rear wheel guide covers that too.

What This Looks Like Around Here

The trailers we see through Portage la Prairie are not hypothetical. They are grain trailers, cattle liners, equipment decks headed out to a quarter section, and fifth wheel campers pointed west for two weeks in August. Three prairie realities shape the recommendation.

Wind is a load. A tall trailer on Highway 1 in a crosswind works the truck harder than the same trailer on a calm day. Rated capacity assumes a controlled test, not a gusty afternoon between here and Brandon.

Winter changes the whole job. Cold hurts braking, snow packed shoulders punish a heavy rig, and a diesel that lives outside needs a plug in. If you tow through our winters, the towing in winter in Manitoba guide is the honest version of what to expect.

Gravel and approaches. A lot of the towing done out here starts on a gravel approach, not a paved ramp. Traction and gearing matter more than the last thousand pounds of rating.

The 2500 also carries a class exclusive coil link rear suspension, which is the reason these trucks ride the way they do unloaded, and both the 2500 and 3500 offer a class exclusive automatic levelling rear air suspension that helps keep the truck sitting level with a heavy pin weight on it. Those are genuine advantages and they are why a lot of the trailer pullers around here stayed with Ram after the first one.

Set Up and Serviced Properly

A tow rating assumes the truck is set up right and maintained. The fifth wheel and gooseneck tow prep group gives you factory installed provisions in the bed, the correct wiring in the box and the extra connector for a bed camera, which is a far better foundation than a hitch bolted through an unprepared floor.

After that it is the boring discipline that keeps a heavy duty truck honest: brakes and the trailer brake controller checked before the season, fluids on schedule, tires at the right pressure for the load rather than the pressure that was fine empty, and the fuel and emissions systems maintained on a diesel. Our service department does this work every week for people who tow for a living, and we will happily go over a loaded truck with you before a long haul rather than after.

Every new 2026 and 2027 Ram 2500 and 3500 bought at retail in Canada also carries Ram's 10 year or 160,000 kilometre powertrain limited warranty, whichever comes first, covering the engine, transmission, transfer case, driveshafts, differentials and axles. It is not available on fleet purchases and it is non transferable, so it belongs to the original retail purchaser or lessee.

FAQs

How much can a 2026 Ram 2500 tow?

Up to 20,000 lb with the 6.7 litre Cummins High Output turbo diesel and up to 17,740 lb with the 6.4 litre HEMI V8. Those are maximum available ratings for specific configurations, so your truck's actual rating depends on cab, box, drive, axle ratio and hitch type.

How much can a 2026 Ram 3500 tow?

Up to 36,610 lb with the Cummins turbo diesel and up to 18,150 lb with the 6.4 litre HEMI V8, again as maximum available ratings for particular configurations.

What is the payload capacity of a Ram 2500?

Up to 3,930 lb with the 6.4 litre HEMI and up to 3,600 lb with the Cummins diesel. The gas truck carries more because the engine weighs less, which is the opposite of what most buyers assume.

Do I need a 3500 instead of a 2500?

Usually the deciding factor is payload rather than towing. If your trailer's pin weight plus fuel, passengers, hitch hardware and gear exceeds what a 2500 can legally carry, you need the 3500 even if the tow rating on the 2500 looks sufficient.

How much torque does the Cummins make?

The 6.7 litre Cummins High Output turbo diesel makes 1,075 lb ft along with 430 horsepower. Ram lists it as best in class available base diesel torque.

How do I find the towing capacity of my specific truck?

Start with the certification label in the driver's door jamb for your gross vehicle weight rating and axle ratings, then work from your gross combined weight rating. Or bring us the VIN, ours or anyone else's, and we will pull the exact figures for that truck.

The Bottom Line

The heavy duty answer sheet is straightforward at the top: 20,000 lb for a 2500 Cummins, 36,610 lb for a 3500 Cummins, 17,740 and 18,150 lb for the gas trucks respectively, and a payload advantage that runs the other way. What is not straightforward is which of those numbers applies to the truck you are actually buying, and that is a five minute conversation rather than a guess. Tell us the trailer, the pin weight and the job, and we will match the truck to it properly. Start with the new Ram 2500 inventory, or step up to the new Ram 3500 inventory if the trailer says so.

Tyler Dunn, Dunn Ram Trucks, Portage la Prairie