1994 Dodge Ram Van 350

[Swims350]

I think you are going to find that van to be incredibly useful. I'm loving mine and realizing I should have got a big van YEARS ago. Just yesterday I went down to visit @Swims350 and carried a couple squarebody bedsides down there, then came back with a squarebody hood and a Trans Am roof in the back... all with TWO rows of bench seats installed. That long van is quickly becoming one of my favorite vehicles that I own.

come on now you forgot about the tbi 350 engine with heads off, the fullsize spare and misc. tools/items as well

 

[ChuckN]

Nice find! I’ve heard nothing but good stuff about those vans. My boss years ago had one, it was his daily driver and tow rig for his autocross race car. He went everywhere with that thing and did everything with it. Later on, I rented a room when I was in college, and the homeowner laid carpet for a living. He loaded up his Dodge van with really heavy rolls every day and it never missed a beat. I’d have one in a heartbeat.

 

[Grit dog]

How many miles on that beauty? Spose you haven’t gotten it unburied yet?
It’s only gonna rain for 2 more days to get the dust off!
We had several 90s Dodge gassers back in the day and recently that 99 Durango. IMO the old 318/360 and the early OD transmissions were pretty darn bulletproof.
Seen a lot of them with high miles. Not quite a small block Chevy imo but damn close for simple and stone reliable.

 

[SirRobyn0]

How many miles on that beauty? Spose you haven’t gotten it unburied yet?
It’s only gonna rain for 2 more days to get the dust off!
We had several 90s Dodge gassers back in the day and recently that 99 Durango. IMO the old 318/360 and the early OD transmissions were pretty darn bulletproof.
Seen a lot of them with high miles. Not quite a small block Chevy imo but damn close for simple and stone reliable.

I agree with your thoughts exactly. I have the 3.9 v-6 in my Dakota which is basically a 318 minus 2 cylinders. 450K on that motor I've done valve cover gaskets on it once. 96' Grand Cherokee has 375K on it's clock that the 318, both are the injected magnums. Dakota had it's tranny rebuilt at 400K GC at about 370K.

I remember when the transmission went in the B-van and I'm really not sure why it went so early in it's life but my friend was the second owner so who knows what might have happened prior to his buying it.

I thought it was around 120K, but when I got inside it I discovered it's just turned over 150K before it was parked, so if I posted my lower mileage guess I was wrong. It's 150K. Still a lot of life left in that motor and that van. Like I said I could see still owning it well into retirement. Given what I've seen out of the Dakota and the GC I should be able to get at least 200K out of it. And it's not going to be a daily for sure so that will help.

If you might recall I use to talk about turning a suburban into a sort of simplified camper as a retirement project, well it might be this van instead. And I might start much sooner than retirement. I'm already thinking, building a bedframe in the back that sits on top of the rear wheel well and goes to the back door. Tall enough to slide luggage and gear under, so probably a mattress and no box spring. That's the start. We have a koolatron, which is one of those 12 volt coolers so maybe building a dedicated place for that to be. A second battery to run the rear lights and the cooler when the engine is off. Be neat to figure out a way to run a microwave, but probably not realistic. Be plenty of room for us and the dogs. We use to sleep in the back of her minivan on long road trips, but it's harder on me and not good at all for her. I think having a real bed would make a big difference for her. Oh and a curtained off area for a cassette toilet. So that's floating around in my brain.

I have a clear path to the door. I have everything off the roof of the van. I need to get his stuff out of the back of the van and then the moving of his chit is done! I won't have anytime until, possibly Friday, if not then Saturday or Sunday. This weekend is a bit busier than last but I should be able to find time to finish up the chit clearing if nothing else. Then I gotta get proper pics!

 

[Grit dog]

^I like it! Is it the extendo version? 12-15 passenger or whatever that is? If so that’s a lot of room.
No lack of #vanlife info out there either to give a guy some great ideas.
Agree, if you need real power you’ll have to spend some real $ on batteries, a min 2kw inverter and a DC-DC charger. Or generator.
Then down the rabbit hole you go….lol

 

[SirRobyn0]

^I like it! Is it the extendo version? 12-15 passenger or whatever that is? If so that’s a lot of room.
No lack of #vanlife info out there either to give a guy some great ideas.
Agree, if you need real power you’ll have to spend some real $ on batteries, a min 2kw inverter and a DC-DC charger. Or generator.
Then down the rabbit hole you go….lol

Yep, it's the extended version 15 passenger 4 rows of benches. The back two are out and if I can find them in his mess I can have them, but I'll pull one more row out and see how that works out. It's just the two of us and the dogs, so that leaves room for a friend or two, or maybe I'll end up pulling all the benches out we'll see. I just called my insurance co and had them add it to my policy effective this coming Sunday. So I need to get the title transferred on Friday and get the van out and driving so I can run it into work on Monday, which reminds me I need to order a radio for the van!