Pickup trucks and outdoor pursuits such as hunting and fishing just make sense together. A roomy truck bed is ideal for hauling a bagged deer to the processor or taking a jon boat to the lake. Towing a camping or ATV trailer with the right truck and hitch is simple and straightforward. While you might be able to do these things with a passenger car or an SUV, it’s so much easier — and more fun — with a truck, especially one specifically designed for these activities. Ram’s special Mossy Oak edition 1500 was one of these trucks.

A Ram truck tailored for the outdoors

In 2014, Ram Trucks presented a pickup designed exclusively for hunters, campers, and fishermen. The Ram 1500 Mossy Oak Edition was a product of a partnership between Ram and Mossy Oak, a camouflage and outdoors lifestyle company. Ram updated the truck from its original 2011-2012 version after a one-year hiatus. 

Prior to the release of the 2014 version, the manufacturer surveyed Ram owner demographics: 30% hunted, 44% fished, 27% were boaters, and 42% were campers. The numbers for outdoors enthusiasts closely matched Ram’s original 2010 survey that prompted the truck maker to produce the 2011 Ram Outdoorsman, on which the Mossy Oak Edition is based.

Configuration, styling, and features intended for sportsmen

So why was the 2014 Mossy Oak Edition such a good fit for people who spend their free time in the outdoors? The styling inside and out was one obvious reason. The truck’s bed caps and tailgate were covered in the distinctive Mossy Oak Break-Up Infinity camouflage pattern.

Buyers could also opt for the pattern on the lower cladding. The Mossy Oak motif continued inside with inserts of camouflage on the door panels and the center stack. The Mossy Oak logo was embroidered on the four headrests. Brown Katzkin leather seats with the Mossy Oak logo were also available.

Looking beyond the cool camouflage that distinguished the truck, the Mossy Oak Edition was available only the 4X4 crew cab configuration of the Ram Outdoorsman. Buyers could choose between a five-foot-seven-inch or a six-foot-four-inch bed. 

According to TopSpeed, the 2014 model had a standard 5.7-liter Hemi V8 that delivered 395 hp and 410 lb-ft of torque mated with an eight-speed automatic transmission. This powertrain would provide more than enough brawn to tow over 10,000 pounds and enough hauling strength to handle a payload over 1,700 pounds.

What this meant for hunters, boaters, and campers is that the truck had both the power to carry all the necessary gear and provisions as well as to tow a trailer for nearly any outdoor adventure.

And some of the big differentiators between the Mossy Oak Edition and a regular Ram 1500 include trailer towing upgrades, off-road-oriented tires, underbody protection, and scratch-resistant bumpers. The sportsman-oriented truck was equipped for all kinds of weather and terrain just as the Outdoorsman was. 

It had heavy-duty front suspension, extra-heavy-duty rear shock absorbers, and anti-spin rear differentials. With nearly 10 inches of ground clearance, hunters and other lovers of the great outdoors could venture off the trail and then some.

A valuable update to the 2014 version

The Mossy Oak Edition already had a huge amount of storage space in its cabin, including a roomy box in the center console and cubbies in the dashboard and the door panels. Then Ram made a clever move by adding its RamBox cargo management system to the truck.

Using space in the bedsides that would otherwise be wasted, the system consisted of highly functional, lockable storage compartments. They were illuminated and drainable and had remote security as well. 

These compartments were long enough to accommodate rifles securely, making them truly useful for hunters. An optional accessory was the RamBox Holster made by Mopar, which was a rack designed to fit inside the RamBox. It could hold two rifles or slug guns with scopes.

Will Ram reboot the Mossy Oak Edition?

Ram Trucks and its parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles were spot-on in finding a sector of buyers who wanted a truck that was well-designed for hunting, fishing, and other outdoor-related activities. Its first product was the Outdoorsman, and Ram refined the concept further with the Mossy Oak Edition.

It was a limited-availability edition but it’s unclear how many of these trucks were sold. And, sadly for hunters and fishermen, neither the Mossy Oak nor the Outdoorsman is being produced anymore.

Currently, Ram offers nine Special Editions but not one of them is as unique as the Mossy Oak Edition. Yet the market for it still exists. The proof is in a 2017 survey conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It identified over 100 million Americans who are hunters, fishermen, and other participants in outdoor sports.

But FCA seems focused on developing high-end versions of trucks geared for offroading such as the Jeep Gladiator and the upcoming Ram Rebel TRX. Also, the Ram 1500 seems versatile enough to work for many outdoorsmen. Our guess is that, though the demand for a truck like the Mossy Oak is there, FCA probably won’t go out on a limb for this niche again anytime soon.