Freaking Huge: Dodge’s Ram BFT for SEMA

Written By: Evan McCausland

Designer Scott Krugger knew his SEMA concept was big, but the reality of its size didn’t hit him until he parked the Ram BFT next to a run-of-the-mill Ram 1500.

“Oh my God,” he laughed. “It’s freaking huge!”

Freakin’ huge is, in contrast to the BFT itself, an understatement. In fact, we’d guess
a profane version of the same statement could be inspiration for its name, although Chrysler reps claim the BFT moniker represents “built for towing.”

“We had a few guys in our studio who really enjoyed modifying their trucks for towing large trailers,” says Krugger. “We wanted to go ahead and build their dream truck while maintaining a stock look.”

(Click through for a gallery and more on the BFT)

Ignore the 5500 badges and flares - the BFT’s built not upon the frame of the new Ram 4500 and 5500 medium-duty chassis, but that of a Megacab-equipped Ram 3500 dually. A standard cab was procured from a 5500, which also lent its front bumper, wheel flares and emblems.

The big-rig look is further accentuated by the BFT’s stance. 3″ body and suspension lifts raise the Ram considerably, allowing room for massive 22.5″ Alcoa wheels. Lifted straight from heavy-duty semi tractors, the adapters for these wheels alone weigh a hefty 50 lbs each. Cummins’ standard 6.7-liter turbo-diesel I6 lies underhood, but the motor’s been tuned by reknowned turbo specialists Banks. We hear modifications include some programming and a new intake, but Chrysler’s not talking specifics at this point.

But the biggest change to the BFT lies out back, where a customized eight-foot bed has been stretched to measure 10′ long - two feet more than the current eight-foot “long bed.”

“Whenever we talked to the guys who really used their trucks for hauling,” says Krugger, “they kept telling us they couldn’t get enough room out in the bed.”

Chrysler’s metal shop welded in the extra two feet from a second bed, but a bedliner and skins stolen from a Megacab’s rear doors make the modification seamless. From a distance, it’s hard to identify this bed as being longer than the normal eight-foot box, but its cargo - a custom nine-foot long Big Dog chopper - says there’s something special about the box.

So is this a look into the Ram’s future? Perhaps. Chrysler reps wouldn’t say either way, but Krugger mentioned the box wasn’t hard to build, and better yet, actually uses the stock mounting points. The next-generation Ram may not be as big as the BFT, but color us not surprised should we see a 10-foot box out back.