Fire season in California will have ended by the time you read this, and it was another nasty one. An unusually dry fall season kept first responders busier than they’d like to be, including truck-driving volunteers who rescue livestock from ranches and farms in harm’s way.
When I got the call that Friday afternoon from Automobile’s Aaron Gold, throwing him the keys to our long-term Ram 1500 was the least I could do. What follows is his account of evacuating horses, pigs, and other livestock from areas under threat of massive, growing wildfires with a little help from my truck.
“When wildfires sweep through southern California, they displace thousands of people as well as their animals. My wife and I are part of a group of volunteers that helps city and county officials move horses and other livestock out of harm’s way and return them home when the danger has passed. We load up the bulk of the horses in large trailers, and the oddball jobs—smaller animals and horses that don’t play well with others—fall to our two-horse trailer and our trusty 1993 Chevrolet pickup.
“During the Saddleback Fire in October, however, the Chevy wasn’t being so trusty. After a long night of evacuations, the battery stopped holding a charge. A bad battery is bad news when working in a fire zone—ash-laden air can stall the engine and a dead battery can strand you in a potentially fatal situation.
“We needed a quick replacement, so I asked Scott Evans if I could borrow his long-term Ram 1500. Scott’s truck has a built-in trailer brake controller and a towing capacity of 11,825 pounds, which is plenty for our trailer. I was also glad for the Ram‘s optional rubber floor mats, because, well, you can imagine what one steps in when working around horses, and it ain’t crushed pineapple.
“I have towed with a previous-generation Ram and wasn’t overly impressed, but I thought the new truck did a much better job. When towing live animals, our biggest concern is stability—the truck has to be in charge of the trailer and not vice-versa. The Ram 1500 felt every bit as planted as our heavy-duty Chevy, even in gusty winds.
“We try to accelerate and decelerate gently so that the animals can keep their balance. (Please keep this in mind when driving near livestock trailers—a panic stop can injure our cargo.) With Tow/Haul mode selected, the Ram’s eight-speed automatic held its gears and shifted smoothly, giving our quadrupedal passengers a smooth ride. The low-end assist of the eTorque system came in handy on uphill on-ramps, allowing the truck to accelerate steadily and evenly without the need for a jarring downshift. We cruise around 55 to 60 mph when towing. Our Chevy’s 5.7 liter V-8 struggles to maintain that speed on steep hills, but with the same displacement and nearly twice the horsepower, the Ram had no trouble keeping pace.
“MT’s Ram lacks the optional air suspension, but it was still very comfortable for its human occupants, with the ride smoothing noticeably with the trailer connected. We were especially appreciative of the Ram’s excess of cupholders, USB ports and storage cubbies, as we wound up using nearly all of them.
“Complaints? A few: The Ram can detect when a trailer is hooked on, but it doesn’t automatically switch the transmission to tow/haul mode. I had to manually select it each time I started the engine. Fuel economy was only about 12.5 mph. That’s not much better than our Clinton-era Chevy. And while I know Scott loves the lockable Rambox storage compartments, we had lots of bulky gear to carry and would have gladly traded them for more bed space.
“Overall, the Ram 1500 did a great job. It proved to be a solid and safe tow vehicle that provided long hours of comfort for its exhausted occupants. Over the course of the fire, our group evacuated dozens of horses along with three pot-bellied pigs, 27 guinea pigs, and one giant tortoise, and returned them all home safely. MT’s Ram 1500 proved to be a hard-working member of the team.”