You have priced a Big Horn, you have priced a Laramie, and the salesperson has told you the Laramie is the nicer one. That is true and it is also useless. What you actually want to know is what the extra money buys, whether any of it holds up after two winters of gravel dust and a wet dog in the back seat, and whether the truck will pull your trailer any better. The short answer to that last part is no, and that is the most important sentence in this post.

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Here is the straight read on the Ram 2500 Laramie for someone who is going to work the truck, not photograph it. What Laramie genuinely adds over a Big Horn, which of those things survive a working life out here, and where the step up to Limited or Limited Longhorn stops paying you back. If you want to see what is actually sitting on the lot while you read this, our new Ram 2500 inventory is online and updated as trucks move.

Key Takeaways

• Laramie is a comfort and materials step, not a capability step. A Big Horn and a Laramie built the same way, with the same engine, cab, box and axle, tow the same trailer and carry the same load. Nothing in the Laramie package raises a rating.
• What you actually get, per Ram Canada: 18 inch diamond cut aluminum wheels, a leather faced heated front bench seat, a heated leather wrapped steering wheel, power 10 way driver and 6 way passenger seats, and dual zone automatic climate control. Leather trimmed front bucket seats are available in Sea Salt and Bison Brown, or in standard black.
• The engine choice is a separate decision from the trim choice. The 6.4 litre HEMI V8 makes 405 horsepower and 429 lb ft. The available High Output 6.7 litre Cummins Turbo Diesel makes 430 horsepower and 1,075 lb ft, and in the right configuration it is rated to tow up to 20,000 lb (9,071 kg). You can order either one under a Big Horn badge or a Laramie badge.
• The heated wheel and the power seat are the two that earn their money out here, because you touch both of them every single cold morning for the life of the truck.
• Above Laramie sits Limited and Limited Longhorn, and that is where a working truck buyer usually stops. Those trims buy 100% leather, real wood and filigree stitching. They are genuinely nice and they do not like a chainsaw, a fencing bar, or a spring approach.
• A Ram 2500 Laramie and a Ram 1500 Laramie are not the same truck. Same trim name, different chassis, different suspension, different reason to exist. Decide the truck first and the trim second.

What Laramie Actually Adds Over a Big Horn

Start from where the Big Horn already is, because it is further along than people expect. Big Horn brings 18 inch polished aluminum wheels, a chrome surround grille with a black insert, chrome bumpers and chrome headlamp bezels, black power adjust heated 7 by 11 inch manual telescoping trailer tow mirrors, and electronic trailer brake control. That last pair matters. The tow mirrors and the integrated brake controller are the two things a trailer owner would otherwise be shopping for, and they are already on the truck before you spend a dollar on Laramie.

So Laramie is not fixing a gap. It is upgrading what you sit in and touch. The confirmed Laramie content from Ram Canada is 18 inch diamond cut aluminum wheels, a leather faced heated front bench seat, a heated leather wrapped steering wheel, power 10 way driver and 6 way passenger seats, and air conditioning with dual zone automatic temperature control. Leather trimmed front bucket seats are on the sheet as an option, in Sea Salt or Bison Brown, or in standard black.

Read that list again and notice what is missing from it. There is no engine, no axle, no suspension, no cooling package and no capability number anywhere in it. That is the honest shape of this trim. We said the same thing from the other direction in our Ram 2500 Big Horn guide, and it is worth repeating here because it is the single fact that decides most of these orders.

The Engine Question Is a Separate Question

This is where buyers talk themselves into the wrong truck. They decide they want a Laramie, then let the trim decision eat the budget that should have gone to the engine.

The standard engine is the 6.4 litre HEMI V8 at 405 horsepower and 429 lb ft. The available High Output 6.7 litre Cummins Turbo Diesel inline six makes 430 horsepower and 1,075 lb ft, which Ram states is best in class base diesel torque, and it runs through the TorqueFlite HD eight speed automatic with an electronic shift on the fly transfer case on four wheel drive trucks. Ram rates maximum diesel towing at 20,000 lb (9,071 kg), and like every capability number that figure belongs to a specific cab, box, axle and drivetrain combination, not to the badge on the door.

Both engines are orderable on either trim. So if you are pulling a loaded stock trailer to Brandon in February, or a big enclosed goose neck through harvest traffic, put the money in the Cummins and take the Big Horn seat. If you are running a lighter trailer a few times a year and spending most of your hours empty on Highway 1, the HEMI plus the Laramie cabin is a genuinely sensible way to spend the same dollars. We walked through the fuel, maintenance and resale side of that call in our gas versus diesel Ram 2500 comparison, and there is a full breakdown of the ratings in our Ram 2500 towing capacity guide.

What we will not do is tell you a Laramie tows better. It does not.

Which of It Survives a Working Life Out Here

This is the part a spec sheet cannot tell you, so here is the version from a lot that sells these into farmyards and gravel pits.

The heated steering wheel is the best value on the list. At minus 30 with a wind on it, a heated wheel is working before the cabin heat has done anything at all, and you use it every cold morning from October to April. Nobody has ever come back and told us they regretted it.

The power 10 way driver seat earns out on distance, not on comfort. If your day is Portage to Winnipeg and back with three stops, you will set it once and forget it. If two people share the truck, or you are in it for six hours pulling a trailer, the fine adjustment is the difference between arriving fine and arriving sore.

Leather faced seating is the one that depends entirely on you. Leather wipes clean, which is exactly what you want after a wet dog, a calving season coverall or a coffee that lost an argument with a washboard road. It is also colder on a January morning before the heat comes up, and it does not forgive a fencing bar tossed across the bench. Heated seats cancel out the cold half. Nothing cancels out the fencing bar.

Diamond cut wheels are the honest weak point. They look sharp on the lot. The machined face does not love a Manitoba winter of salt and calcium chloride, or the constant sandblasting a gravel road gives everything below the rocker. If the truck lives on gravel, plan on a second set of wheels for winter, which you probably wanted anyway for winter tires.

Dual zone climate control is a real thing if you carry a passenger. If you drive alone, it is a nicer knob.

Whatever you land on, a heavy duty truck up here holds its value on maintenance records more than on badges, and you can book service with us when it comes due.

Where Limited and Limited Longhorn Stop Paying Off

Above Laramie the 2026 Ram 2500 lineup goes to Limited and Limited Longhorn. Limited moves to 100% leather seats with real wood trim and aluminum accents, in All Black or in Black and Ebony Red. Limited Longhorn is the western themed one, with a Bison Brown leather trimmed interior and filigree stitching on the seats. Both are lovely. We have sold plenty of them and we will happily sell you one.

Here is the honest boundary. Those interiors are built for a truck that gets driven, not a truck that gets loaded. If your 2500 spends its life towing a fifth wheel to the lake and running to town, a Limited Longhorn is a defensible way to enjoy an expensive truck. If your 2500 is a tool, and it will have augers, chains, a welder lead and a dog in it, the extra money above Laramie buys material you are then going to spend energy protecting. That energy is a cost too.

There is a second boundary worth naming while you are up at this end of the sheet. Once a truck is optioned this far, the price of a comparable new Ram 3500 starts to enter the conversation, and if you are regularly near the top of what a 2500 will carry, the extra capability is a better use of the money than the wood trim. We laid out that fork in our Ram 2500 versus Ram 3500 comparison. Prices and incentive programs turn over every month, so check our current pricing here for the most up to date pricing information on any build we are talking about, and we will give you the real number on the truck, less any applicable incentives, rather than a base figure that will not apply to you.

A 2500 Laramie Is Not a 1500 Laramie

The trim names line up across the lineup, which is convenient for Ram and confusing for buyers. A Ram 1500 Laramie is a light duty truck on a coil spring rear suspension, built to ride well every day and tow a reasonable trailer. A 2500 Laramie is a heavy duty truck built to carry weight, and it rides like one whether you paid for leather or not.

The trim name buys you a similar seat and a similar wheel in both trucks. It does not make the 2500 ride like a 1500, and no option box on the sheet will. If ride quality is high on your list and your trailer is genuinely within light duty range, the honest advice is to look hard at the 1500 first and let the trim decision come after. Decide the chassis, then decide the seat.

FAQs

What does the Ram 2500 Laramie add over a Big Horn?

Per Ram Canada, Laramie adds 18 inch diamond cut aluminum wheels, a leather faced heated front bench seat, a heated leather wrapped steering wheel, power 10 way driver and 6 way passenger seats, and dual zone automatic climate control. Leather trimmed front bucket seats are available in Sea Salt, Bison Brown or standard black. It is a comfort and materials upgrade, not a capability upgrade.

Does a Ram 2500 Laramie tow more than a Big Horn?

No. Two trucks built the same way, with the same engine, cab, box, axle and drivetrain, carry the same ratings regardless of trim. Towing and payload follow the configuration, not the badge. Ram rates maximum diesel towing on the 2500 at 20,000 lb (9,071 kg) in the right configuration.

Which engine can I get in a Ram 2500 Laramie?

Both. The standard 6.4 litre HEMI V8 makes 405 horsepower and 429 lb ft. The available High Output 6.7 litre Cummins Turbo Diesel inline six makes 430 horsepower and 1,075 lb ft through a TorqueFlite HD eight speed automatic. Neither engine is limited to a particular trim.

Is the Laramie worth it if the truck is going to work?

The heated steering wheel and the power driver seat are the two features working owners tell us they would buy again. Leather is a genuine win if you need to wipe a cabin out and a genuine risk if you throw hard tools on the seat. The diamond cut wheels are the piece we would think twice about if the truck lives on gravel.

What is above the Laramie in the 2026 Ram 2500 lineup?

Limited and Limited Longhorn. Limited brings 100% leather, real wood trim and aluminum accents. Limited Longhorn adds the western styling with a Bison Brown leather trimmed interior and filigree stitching. There are also parallel trims that are about purpose rather than luxury, including Rebel and Power Wagon.

How much does a Ram 2500 Laramie cost in Manitoba?

Pricing moves with the model year, the configuration and whatever incentive programs are live that month, so we are not going to print a number here that will be wrong by the time you read it. Ask us for the real figure on your exact build, less any applicable incentives, and check our current pricing here for the most up to date pricing information.

The Bottom Line

The Ram 2500 Laramie is a good trim that is very easy to buy for the wrong reason. It will not pull harder, carry more, or last longer than the Big Horn parked beside it. What it will do is make every cold morning and every long haul a bit better, through a heated wheel, a properly adjustable seat and a cabin you can wipe out. If those things matter to how you actually use the truck, the money is well spent. If what you really needed was the Cummins, or a 3500, the Laramie badge is the wrong place to put it.

The move from here is simple. Look at the new Ram 2500 inventory to see what is on the ground and what we can order, get a real number on your trade with our instant cash offer, and if you want to know what the payment actually looks like on a Big Horn against a Laramie, start the finance application and we will run both. There are usually strong low kilometre heavy duty trucks in our used inventory worth a look too. Every new truck we sell carries the Eh+ value stack, with the maintenance plan, anti theft protection, walkaway coverage and no dealer fees, so ask us how it applies to the build you are considering.

Tyler Dunn, Dunn Ram Trucks, Portage la Prairie