Comparing RAM TRX Options

RAM TRX Wheels

Ram offers factory bead lock capable wheels, very similar to Ford's offering on the Raptor. When our two TRXs were sitting side by side, the wheels were the first difference I noticed. The non-bead lock wheels have a decent styling, but they are all-black with no accents. The bead lock wheels have a more intricate design, with a gunmetal grey base color and a lighter color bead lock ring. With the all-black wheels, the design tends to be harder to see and it blends into the truck more (especially when the truck itself is black). The bead lock wheels draw more attention and look less like factory wheels.

RAM Bar Rack

The Ram Bar is a dealer add-on chase rack that gives a distinctive look found only on the TRX. Most of the unveiling pictures and videos showed trucks with this option. In most of the media, though, it had a few forward-facing off-road lights. Our assumptions were that this bar would come with those lights already installed/wired from the dealer and this was not the case. The truck we got in had the bar, but with no lights.

The next thing we wanted to look at was how its mounted. Specifically, we wanted to know if the models without the bar had the mounting accommodations to later add the bar; they do not. It looks like the mounting holes are drilled at the dealer and bolts with nut plates are used to hold it on. You could later drill your own holes to add this, but that’s the same amount of work it takes to add any other aftermarket rack to your vehicle.

RAM TRX Side Steps

First, let's touch on how these look. These look, well... familiar. We guess this is the standard for factory off-road steps and Ram was smart to give the option. Now, let's talk about how they mount. On the previous Ram body style, the factory steps would mount to a set of nuts welded to the underside of the body. If your truck did not come with factory side steps, the welded nuts were not there, making the installation of aftermarket side steps rather tedious.

The RAM TRX mounts their side steps to a set of threaded studs that protrude from the underside of the body and if it does not come with factory steps, the studs are still there. This is great news for anyone wanting aftermarket steps as the installation will be way easier than it has been in the past for RAM owners.

RAM TRX Tire Carrier

The tire carrier offered for the TRX is an in-bed carrier that allows very easy access to a full-size spare. The rack bolts to the floor of the bed and elevates the tire a little bit so you can clearly see it from the outside. If you do not get this option, the mounting holes are not present in the bed. Which means, if you buy one of these later, you must drill your own mounting holes. That's not the end of the world, though, that's how we mount our universal in-bed tire carriers as well.