Today, Plymouth is remembered for a number of notable cars: the Barracuda pony/muscle car, the Voyager minivan, the Reliant K car, and the high finned Fury, to name a few. But among its most forgotten models is the Trail Duster SUV. Yes, Plymouth sold an SUV, and what’s more is that it was not during the SUV craze of the 1990s, but from 1974-1981. While quite rare on today’s roads, there are still a few of these Plymouth SUVs out there that haven’t departed for good yet, like this tan 1977-78 spotted by Joseph Dennis and this red 1979-1980 example spotted by SoCalMetro.
If this SUV looks a bit familiar, it’s because the Trail Duster was a virtual clone of the Dodge Ramcharger (hmmm… I wonder where those names were came from?). Built on a shortened Dodge D-Series (later Ram) pickup platform, these two SUVs shared most of the pickup’s styling and mechanics. Most vehicles were equipped with full-time four-wheel drive, and through 1980, all came with removable tops for some open air off-roading.
Unlike large SUVs of the last twenty years, which are usually bought as macho suburbanite family mobiles, these SUVs were built for serious off-roading and were primarily marketed to people who actually needed a high ground clearance four-wheel driver for their active lifestyles or because they lived in rural areas.
Of course, even then Chrysler seemed to predict the future popularity of on-road SUVs, by offering a 2-wheel drive version, and advertising it for “around town”.
Much like the Dodge B-Series/Plymouth Voyager full-size vans, interiors of the Trail Duster were highly customizable, ranging from spartan to fairly loaded for their time. Those blue vinyl “sport” buckets are certainly an interesting shape, looking like the plushest laundromat chairs ever.
While SUVs were slowly becoming more popular, for whatever reason the Plymouth Trail Duster wasn’t profitable enough to keep around, and was discontinued after 1981. The Dodge Ramcharger continued with minimal changes through 1993.
I guess a Plymouth SUV was just a little ahead of its time, as I imagine a 4-door Plymouth SUV would’ve sold quite well twenty years later. Here’s a quick photoshop rendering I did using a Dodge Durango with a Voyager grille and badging. Trail Duster 2.0?
Or maybe the more obvious choice is the more recent version of the Mexican Ramcharger, with a Plymouth grille attached. Now what would that look like?
I once wanted a 2wd trail duster convertible with only 2 bucket seats and 2 rear facing buckets like a Subaru Brat or like a ski boat. That is one of my dream car list dream cars. If I ever got a collection like Jay Lenno the trail duster as I described would be on the top 25.
Ramchargers and Trail Dusters just seem like they’re fun. I’m sure this is erroneous, but it seems like anybody who owns one doesn’t worry about anything but making it to the sand dunes. 🙂
The last Trail Duster I can remember seeing was a slant-six powered version in a salvage yard about ten years ago. Did GM rip off the name with its Trail Blazer? 🙂
The Ramcharger / Trail Duster vehicles were as durable as an anvil and I have subjected a handful to some cruel use. Nothing really fazes them and the 4×4 versions climb like a billygoat. The ones I drove were all 318 powered, a variety of carbureted and fuel-injected and both two-wheel and four-wheel drive. I would love to have a ’93 as they were surprisingly nice inside plus that was the first year for the Magnum V8’s, so those had some serious power for the time.
Now it’s time to find a Plymouth Voyager van from this same period.
Brendan, I used to have some kitchen chairs shaped amazingly like those blue seats you reference. They were breathtakingly comfortable and I missed them after I sold them – despite their avocado green color.
I remember these being in dealer lots. But thinly. The Chry-Ply dealer seemed an odd place to buy trucks. Perhaps that’s why Chrysler finally killed these. Whether sales were thin because dealers stocked so few or few were stocked because sales were slow, the result was the same.
And those blue seats look like they might have been adapted from the B series vans from the early 70s.
Had a chance to check. Yup – here is the 74 Dodge Sportsman van with these seats. I was pretty sure I remembered these from the 73 Sportsman van my best friend’s family had in my youth.
I remember them as comfy. The only downside was that there was a gap between the seat bottom and the seat back. A driver or front passenger would occasionally have a wallet slip out of his back pocket and fall onto the floor behind the seat.
The exact same thing happens when sitting in either front seat of my ’05 Park Avenue. What were they thinking?
One thing that’s common to all the recently deceased domestic brands is their lack of a strong truck franchise – Plymouth, Mercury, Oldsmobile, and even Pontiac, since not all Pontiac dealers carried GMC trucks. Chrysler survives on the dwindling strength of its minivan franchise, plus now being effectively paired at retail with Dodge/Ram and Jeep, and Buick because the Chinese love the brand.
It’s true that not getting certain car models (R-body, at first, Cordoba) or being up against others (Newport) didn’t help Plymouth, but the real killer was the lack of trucks, and truck-based, or truck-inspired vehicles in a market where almost half the sales fall into those categories,
I find the tan with brown striped seats to be the more “interesting” interior.
It’s been my experience that not only are Trail Dusters few and far between, but if you find one it is more likely to have the slant 6 than it’s Dodge “sister”. And at least for now, these are slightly more plentiful than Broncos of this time frame….and certainly Blazers, and also cheaper to buy. Thanks to supply and especially demand, the Blazer will remain at the peak for price and the Trail Duster will languish in the valley.
Instead of a Plymouth version of a Durango, a truly savvy Chrysler should have countered Ford’s Bronco II with a similar sized/priced product. Maybe an AWD Reliant wagon ?
In reality though, I don’t think there was really a need for a Plymouth SUV by the late-’80s, once Chrysler purchased Jeep. By the mid-’90s, most Jeep dealers had been incorporated into Chrysler-Plymouth franchises, so these dealers had the SUV market pretty well covered with Wrangler-Cherokee-Grand Cherokee. Dodge dealers got the Durango, and eventually most dealers became Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep dealers.
Where I do see a possibility for Plymouth is in the early 2000s in the crossover segment. Had Plymouth been kept around, they should have developed some sort of smaller CUV to compete with the RAV4/CR-V and maybe a mid-sized one several years later. Even today, Chrysler has yet to produce a truly competitive mid-sized CUV.
Even today, I can see the ’97 Plymouth Pronto concept (that ultimately inspired the PT Cruiser) jacked-up a bit with AWD. The Styling still looks good now, and doesn’t have the tall, narrow rear like the PT Cruiser. Of course, this spot is now covered with the Fiat 500X.
There are always very few odd Plymouth models somehow kept in a good than should condition, without obvious reason. Just few minutes ago there was a slowly moving Plymouth Acclaim next to me, no rust on the quarters, with all hubcaps in place, and white wall tires all around, not really common. Even with a shiny 1996 exclusive World’s Motor Capital America’s Automobile Centennial plate with two shining screws ( usually the first to rust ) it left me very confused. He must have a winter car but I just can’t imagine what it would be.
There are still few Trail-Duster/Ramcharger hanging around in Michigan especially in north countryside. Some are retired military vehicles more spartan than police fleet, and I think camp Grayling was the source for those trucks, at lease before the stock became Chevrolet K5 Blazer.
Amazing how 2 door SUVs have disappeared as well. Besides the Trailduster and Ramcharger, there was the Chevy Blazer, GMC Jimmy, and Ford Bronco. And of course the S10 Blazer, S15 Jimmy, and Bronco II. Now even most Jeep Wranglers have 4 doors, though a 2 door is still listed on their site. And even trying to find a 2 door pickup is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Two door trucks…
Oh they probably have the badge of Comcast or NAPA :O
On that note I should add this exceptionally harsh winter seems to have brought some late-model Broncos out of the woodwork, presumably as winter drivers and/or for plow trucks. I’ve been seeing a lot more lately than I have in some years.
My granddad had a 1976 Ramcharger. The rear seat was basically just screwed to the floor. You’d ride with your knees in front of your face. Also, the top was sealed on with that black, tar-like body sealer, so he never removed the top thoughout the dozen or so years he owned it.
I’ve always liked the Ramcharger and was quite surprised the first time I noticed a Trail Duster. Both of them are quite rare around here, and I really don’t ever remember seeing them in the same numbers as K5 Blazers or full-size Broncos.
It’s easy to see the appeal though–top-down motoring in a big brute like this (even with the fully-framed doors still on) must be quite an experience, especially on the beach or on a trail. I thought it was a shame that the K5 Blazer lost its removeable top when it became the Tahoe; it didn’t even have to be standard, just an option, with a full roll cage like the Wrangler so that rollover protection was not compromised. Would have been something that the right person would have paid extra for, I think, though it might have taken a while to amortize the tooling and R&D cost.
“Or maybe the more obvious choice is the more recent version of the Mexican Ramcharger, with a Plymouth grille attached. Now what would that look like?”
It does not look good. Trust me on that! The grille would need to be revised. If the Plymouth grille were made to be “manlier”, it could work. Think of it like a 1997 F150 grille.
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Once Jeep was purchased, the idea would never fly. You have the Cherokee and are soon to have a Grand Cherokee. I don’t even want to think about a Plymouth grille on a Jeep. That would be sacrilege!
What I wouldn’t do to get my hands on a 1st gen TD or RC. All the open air fun of a Jeep, most all of the offroad capability but with nearly guaranteed V8 power and truck towing capacity. Whats NOT to love? Seeing these, especially a clean example like the featured rig just makes todays soccer mom mobiles look pretty weak by comparison. I don’t even care if its a 2wd (that would look good on Cragar SS’s)…I will own one of these someday.
The Mexican Ramcharger. Isn’t that a hoot?
I recall Chrysler gave consideration to a full-size SUV based off the full-size truck. I’m sure a four door designed to compete with the Tahoe / Surburban / Expedition. It seemed like when talk would increase that an economic or fuel cost hiccup would come along and Chrysler would back away.
Considering how well developed the Mexican Ramcharger seems to be, I’m amazed and a little disappointed that Chrysler never did a full-size SUV for the U.S. market.
There was also a full size Plymouth Voyager van; rebadged Dodge B series, sold about the same time.
I imagine that Lee Iaccoca came in and said ‘Why is there a Plymouth truck?’, and pulled plug on the big rigs.
Never seen a Trail Duster in the wild and even after moving to the land that rust forgot has not yielded many Ramchargers. I suspect that if I went to Eastern Oregon and Washington two door SUVs would be more common.
So why do we call these 2 Door SUVs when they actually have 3 doors? We call Hatchbacks 3 door or 5 door Hatchbacks.
The 3 and 5 door thing is fairly new. Back in the ’70s, cars like the Vega, Pinto, and Gremlin were called 2 door hatchbacks. A hatchback is not intended as a way to enter or exit a vehicle. Vehicles like the Trailduster usually had a tailgate with a roll up window. I just realized that Mexican version Ramcharger has 2 doors. I guess they have less restrictive laws there.
The only Hatchbacks my family has owned were 3 Door Saab Hatchbacks and I have always heard them call them that. If I recall correctly even various Saab books some 20+ years old call them 3 or 5 Door Hatchbacks so I do not know if that was a Swedish term originally.
Thank you for the info and good points since no one calls a Subaru Legacy a 5 Door Station Wagon.
Good thought on the Swedish origin. The first time I heard reference to a 5 door car was when the Volvo 145 was introduced. The term 3 door naturally followed. But even the ‘late 70’s, a decade after the 145 came out, I think people just spoke of 2 door or 4 door wagons or hatchbacks, none of this odd-numbered stuff.
I recall these from back in the day. I dealt with a few in the collision repair business. I don’t remember the last time I saw one, they have thinned out pretty well in my part of the world. I always thought they were a direct copy of the K5 Blazer. Fun fact: I had some recollection that the early models had a frameless door glass. I did a little research to bolster my memory and it appears that ’74 was the only year they were produced that way. There must have been a lot of problems with them to make a change that quickly. I found this photo on Flickr.
The full sized Dodge Ramcharger, Plymouth Trailduster, Chevy Blazer, GMC Jimmy, and Ford Bronco were all pretty much the same. The late ’70s International Scout II was similar. Sort of like all the little FWD sedans are today. With 5 different models to choose from, they must have sold pretty well.
The early post-72 Blazers also had frameless glass. It was like those and the Ramcharger built the door-uppers into the roof. Chevy abandoned the design after a couple of years too. I have never known if it was a sealing problem or a manufacturing cost problem. The Scout II was the only one that kept true frameless glass, but then they did not have to hack the tops off of pickup doors to do it.
Seen Fords, GMs and Internationals of this ilk here in oz, but never a Mopar. Patrick Bell’s orange find above is especially appealing.
My mom had one of these, a 1982 model, two tone red and white, plaid red interior. They bought it brand new shortly before my brother was born. I was quite young but have some memories of it. Mom had been driving a 1979 Grand Prix, so I guess she needed a more practical car for two kids, though I don’t see how a 2 door high off the ground Sport Utility was the ticket! Haha! Anyways, she loved that “Rammer” as she called it. I do recall the hood ornament being stolen off of it from our driveway! It had a little skylight/vent window in the rear which was cool. Anyway, it stayed with the family for about two years. It was traded in on one of the first 1984 Dodge Caravans (with wood paneling) in town….
Was the Jeep Cherokee or the Scout II the first full-size SUV? GM & Chrysler reacted pretty quickly but then they didn’t have an SUV at all unlike the little Bronco to complicate things.
MoparRocker – I dare say the fuel consumption is ‘not to like’!
hehehe
Very true, but a modern Hemi swap would cure that. A FI Magnum 360 would be cheaper, but less efficient. Ive seen Cummins 6BTs swapped in too.
At the end of the day for me its all about scratching the itch. Lousy MPGs be damned! haha!
I haven’t seen a Plymouth Trailduster (or maybe I have when I was younger, but recognized it as a Dodge) and it kind of reminds me of how equally uncommon the Plymouth Voyager was. Not the minivan, of course, but the fullsize rebadged Dodge Sportsman.
I remember being in third grade and seeing this massive, old rusty van. It barricaded through the parking lot of a large shopping center where we were parked. I thought it was just another old Dodge van until it came closer….PLYMOUTH.
That was the first time I ever seen a Plymouth Voyager other than the common minivan. I was shocked and did a double take when I seen it. No way was it the (much older) predecessor to our newfangled and sharp ’98 Plymouth Grand Voyager I was sitting in, I thought. But it was, in a way, despite the ragged rumble of its V8 or the Slant Six and all.
I haven’t seen one again, yet I still see quite a few Dodge motorhomes from the same era plugging along.
I’d love to have one of the early, removable top models. Although if I were to own one, I’d need a garage and one of those ceiling-mounted roof remover things to go along with it. I remember how much of a pain in the ass it was lifting the hard top off a CJ-7 with two other people and I’m sure this would be an even bigger PITA.
I own an 85′ RC. That thing is more fun than a barrel of monkeys! Mine has the HO 360 in it with shift on the fly 4wd. It will climb a tree.
The mileage is not great, but better then you might think. Mine runs on propane which really helps. The conversion was done brand new and done correctly. With LPG you can rip off the cat and all the emissions gear, advance the timing, and gain serious power. I test drove a 2005 hemi truck thinking of replacement. It seemed weak by comparison.
The two door body looks cool but is kind of frustrating to actually use. Mine has the big side windows that wrap up onto the top. Awesome visibility.
As a truck it is actually very useful. I hauled 1200 lbs of cement plus all the tools for pouring it one day. With all that on board it rode like a Cadillac! Did not affect mileage one bit.
I wanted one of these since I was eight years old (first time I saw one) and despite the rust and dents I would not trade it for a brand new hummer.
I wish it was like that here. Propane conversions are legal, but the vehicle must still be able to run on gas, and all the emissions crap must stay on the vehicle, to avoid violating anti tampering laws. Only EPA approved shops are allowed to do the conversion. And even with the propane conversion, it still has to be inspected every year. There are only 2 counties in AZ that have emissions inspections, but they are super strict. I have found it easier to just have a vehicle registered in another county. I have a relative in the next county over, and have my V8 S10 registered to their address. We even put their name on the title along with mine. I have done way to much work and spent way to much money on it to ever consider going back to emissions legal.
Ya, here in the Yukon you can do whatever you want to an engine. It seems kind of odd to require emission controls on propane at all. Propane is the cleanest burning fuel there is, just CO2 and water. There is a reason you can run a propane forklift in a building.
Having a duel fuel setup is asking for trouble, you can’t optimize for either fuel.
I own a 77 Trail Duster Sport, 440. Just got it back on the road after sitting for 11 years.I have owned it for 23 years. I stopped driving it when gas prices got close to $5/gal. I get 6 mpg with 4.56 gears, so it is for local recreational drives off road. It’s a noisy beast that is fun to drive topless off road. It still needs some work, but is in drivable condition.