by Michael Gauthier
- The 2027 Ram 1500 Rumble Bee won’t come with shipping guards for the splitter.
- Colorful pieces of plastic proved strangely popular with Dodge buyers.
- Ram’s high-performance muscle trucks sport 8.1 inches of ground clearance.
Do you like driving around with glorified pool noodles stuck on your car? If so, Ram has some bad news for you as the 2027 Rumble Bee won’t come with shipping guards for the front splitter.
Speaking at yesterday’s media unveiling, Head of Exterior Design Mark Trostle told us the company has decided to eschew the guards on their high-performance muscle trucks. This isn’t terribly surprising as the Rumble Bee 392 Track Pack and SRT have 8.1 inches (206 mm) of ground clearance as well as an approach angle of 16.6 degrees.
More: Dodge’s Plastic Splitter Guards Are A Weird Fad That’s Splitting Opinions
While we wouldn’t advise taking them to Moab, owners shouldn’t have to worry about the splitter being damaged during transport or driven around town.
That being said, Trostle was referencing some questionable life choices made by Dodge Charger and Challenger owners. Buyers of high-performance variants would leave shipping guards on their vehicles, ruining the aesthetic and paint at the same time.
As Car & Driver noted six years ago, Dodge started using shipping guards for the 2015 model year. They were initially bright yellow and designed to be removed by dealers prior to delivery. However, some didn’t and it became common to see Chargers and Challengers driving around with plastic protectors still attached.
To discourage the practice, the company eventually traded out the fashionable yellow guards for hot pink ones. This seems to have discouraged the practice, but people are still selling used yellow guards on eBay for around $50 per set. There’s even an aftermarket for similar looking components.
