Owners' Stories
2002 Dodge Ram Van 3500 Stories
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1997 Dodge Ram Van 3500Visitor, Isleton, CA, September 30, 2011 11:11I bought a 1997 dodge ram 3500 12 passenger van with 240,000 miles on it from a church, they said it ran fine. A craig's list special for 2,000 dollars. I drove it around the SF Bay area for a few days before loading it up and heading to burning man in the desert above reno nevada. As I was driving around testing it, unloaded I noted that it was hard to start and it heated up to 4/5 of the temp range on the gauge. I replaced the thermostat and changed the coolant, and changed the oil again (replaced the 10w-30 with straight SAE 40 due to the low engine oil pressure light coming on at idle when warm). I also added a bottle of chemical to the coolant to keep the temp down. Then I loaded it FULL to the top with camping gear (3,000 lbs) for the party. It made it the whole way and never overheated or went above the 4/5 gauge mark. GREAT VAN!! It is still hard to start, leaks steering fluid and A/C problems, but for 2K, what a machine. I'm keeping it for next year's burning man party as well. Thanks to the church for taking good care of it and servicing it regularly. ChristianFlag ThisLike0
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1998 Dodge Ram Van 3500miken807, Dover, DE, August 11, 2011 12:33I have the Dodge 3500 with a coach house conversion. I found that if I put more air in the air bags, it added more weight to the front and took away the sway.
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1997 Dodge Ram Van 3500Visitor, Laguna Niguel, CA, August 04, 2011 12:25I have the exact same Roadtrek. I had the exact same problem. Tried the T-bar, but the Bilstine shocks helped the most. It's not perfect, but tolerable. I have had it with the shocks for 13 years now.Flag ThisLike0
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1997 Dodge Ram Van 3500Visitor, Lincoln, NE, April 21, 2011 13:03This 97 Dodge Roadtrek is very stable insofar as "sway" is concerned. The problem is the steering gear cannot hold the vehicle from wandering or swerving when encounering a side wind. I think the problem is the gear and perhaps too much caster adjusted in the alignment.Flag ThisLike0
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2002 Dodge Ram Van 3500Visitor, Roselle Park, NJ, May 31, 2010 14:38I have a 1997 Coach House. I had a major swaying problem. I remember when we where in Fargo, ND when a huge gust almost threw us on the middle of the highway. I replaced the shocks with a Bilstein and it solved 90% of the swaying. I still had to drive with both hands to be sure that don't happen againFlag ThisLike | 2 people like this2
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2002 Dodge Ram Van 3500Visitor, Claremont, CA, May 27, 2010 23:29My 1997 Dodge Roadtrek 190 also sways over 60mph. I had the front end rebuilt and installed a Safe-T bar on the front axle. It helped, but I must stay at about 60 mph or under. The Chevy Roadtrek doesn't have this handling problem.Flag ThisLike | 1 person likes this1
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1996 Dodge Ram Van 3500Visitor, Bronx, NY, April 18, 2010 20:09Get A New CAR!!!Flag ThisLike | 1 person likes this1
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2002 Dodge Ram Van 3500joannb33, Santa Fe, NM, January 06, 2010 17:27I own a Pleasure-Way Excel TS Dodge Ram Van 3500 which is an RV, not a regular van. It sways on the highway. I have taken it to the Dodge dealer several times for repair. Never could fix this problem correctly. Also, ball joint pushed out on front passenger side and A frame needed to be replaced. But that is the mechanics fault, not the vehicle itself. Never really got to enjoy my van due to so many problems.
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