How a convoy of Ram pickups will serve as the backbone of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade

Updated Nov 27, 2015
This Ram 2500 will be towing one of the parade’s 27 floats.This Ram 2500 will be towing one of the parade’s 27 floats.

Though the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will only require the brute strength of one Ram 3500–rated at 31,210 pounds of towing capacity–a host of the truck maker’s 1500 and 2500 pickups will be put to work Thursday along the 2.5-mile parade route.

Ram recently landed an exclusive partnership with Macy’s making it the official truck of the parade which draws an estimated 3.5 million spectators each year in addition to 50 million watching on TV across the country.

Ram will be providing approximately 70 trucks and vans to the parade, most of which will be used behind the scenes.

But more than a third of those pickups will be trucks will be used to tow each of the parade’s 27 floats. The floats are often two or three stories tall, weigh between 4 and 8 tons and range between 22 and 50 feet in length.

This year, the parade will feature six new floats:

  • Big City Cheer! by Spirit of America Productions
  • The Colonel’s Road Trip to NYC by Kentucky Fried Chicken
  • The Cranberry Cooperative by Ocean Spray
  • Discover Adventure! by Build-A-Bear
  • Heartwarming Holiday Countdown by Hallmark Channel
  • Snoopy’s Doghouse by Peanuts Worldwide, celebrating the 50th anniversary of “A Charlie Brown Christmas”

And in the lead up, many of the Ram vans in use will be used to transport the more than 40 balloons being used in the parade over the George Washington Bridge, according to a report from the New York Daily News.

“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 told the Post. “We’re excited.”

All throughout the parade, Ram will be tweeting behind-the-scenes video, so give them a follow here.