Ram Trucks Will Lead This Year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Sep 14, 2016

RAM truck pulling a parade float

Come Thanksgiving morning, the kitchen windows steam up, the aroma of roasting turkey wafts through the house, and on TV is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Broadcast from 9 a.m. to noon (live on the East Coast, tape-delayed elsewhere), the parade is viewed live by some 3.5 million spectators and televised to an estimated 50 million. With more than two dozen floats, 1,000 clowns, 12 marching bands from across the United States and Santa Claus bringing up the rear, it’s truly is a treat for all ages.

As the clock nears midnight, the crew will be en route to the parade’s starting grounds on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, towing the procession’s floats, piece by piece, through the Lincoln Tunnel with a fleet of Ram trucks while a set of Ram vans transport the parade’s balloons over the George Washington Bridge.

2015 was the first year Ram trucks towed the floats. Previously, GMC pickups and SUVs did the towing. GMC’s run lasted for more than 30 years, but now Ram is the official Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade truck, which means Ram pickups will be towing all the floats – a definite upgrade, we’re sure you’ll agree.

Ram truck

Those floats, once they’re loaded up with performers and kids, can weigh up to eight tons. The trucks towing them will be light-duty 1500s as well as heavy-duty 2500s and 3500s. The 1500s will be powered by the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8, with the heavy-duties packing the 6.4-liter gasoline V-8; no diesels are used. The parade trucks will be in one of four colors: silver, gray, pearl white, and Delmonico Red.

“This shows the ability of our vehicles and the style of our vehicles in a venue that people aren’t used to seeing them,” Ram 1500 brand manager Todd Brown said last week inside the parade headquarters. “We’re excited.”

With 27 floats, more than 40 balloons, 1,100 cheerleaders and hundreds of workers who’ve spent more than a year planning and preparing, pulling off the country’s biggest Thanksgiving Day parade takes coordination, hard work and a little something else.

“I always tell my staff ‘You’ve gotta be part artist, part engineer,'” Macy’s Parade Studio Vice President John Piper said, “‘and you can’t grow up.'”

“Ram takes great pride in aligning our brand with iconic American events like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” said Bob Hegbloom, Head of Ram Brand, FCA – North America. “Being the official truck of the Parade provides an excellent opportunity to showcase the style, innovation and towing capability of our Ram 1500 and 2500 trucks.”

It takes some muscle and the 2016 Ram truck collection has that in spades as the 1500, 2500 and 3500 have upwards of 9,000, 16,000 and 30,000 pounds of towing capacity, respectively.

In total, Ram will provide the Macy’s Parade with approximately 70 trucks and commercial vans, many of which are used for behind-the-scenes functions leading up to the parade start. Ram will not only help transport the larger-than-life floats down the Parade route, but will also assist in moving other Parade materials needed to produce the annual spectacle, from tool containers to costumes and much more in the lead up to the start of the procession on Thanksgiving day.

“We are thrilled to begin our partnership with Ram as their iconic trucks help our larger-than-life floats make their way down the streets of Manhattan in our annual holiday spectacle,” said Amy Kule, executive producer of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. “We know that these trucks are fully capable and will take on the challenge of transporting these floating stages with ease on Thanksgiving Day.”