Used 1996 Dodge Ram Van Consumer Reviews

Best engine and the worst body/electrical ever

My 1996 B3500 Ram Van is still running strong, and while I put very low weekly miles on it I have driven it on several trips 1,500-to-2,500 miles. It was a government cargo van in Louisiana when I bought it in 2009 and I lived in Memphis. The engine is a beast and I can tear along at 80-90 MPH for 20 hours straight and it just yawns and keeps on going. In 15 years, I've never had the transmission worked on and just do the usual maintenance on it. I've replaced the fuel pump twice (8 years apart) and the engine control computer. I've just replaced the upper ball joints on the suspension, which finally wore out after 28 years. Minor stuff like an ignition coil were also replaced. The electrical system is the pits, and my speedometer is broke (I can live without it). The windshield spray washer has disintegrated, the tail lights wiring had to be replaced, dash lights went out and the horn is fussy. The AC runs but it doesn't blow cold air and replacing the refrigerant worked for about a week before fading away. It's a major repair and I can live without that as well. The body is pathetic. The paint (granted, original) is peeling or rusting all over, the roof is designed to gather water, the driver's side door latch system is all busted up and I use two gate latches to close the door from the outside or inside. The sliding door is a mess and barely latches, but it latches. The passenger door and rear doors do work fine, though. The van is massive, of course, and I can fit 10-foot lumber with ease and have routinely bought 4x8 plywood or drywall and it stacks flat in the rear. I've traveled with 2,000 pounds of cargo in the van on some of these cross-country trips, going 90 MPH for hours, and the van just laughs and says "is that all you got?" It's a piece of crap to look at and barely functional in several ways. And I love it. I bought it for $2,000 15 years ago and could sell it for $3,000 today because it has well under 100k miles on it. But despite the lousy gas mileage, it's so versatile and cheap to own and such a great hauler I'll probably just keep it. The engine will outlive me at the rate we're both going.