Starting in the early Sixties, trucks started to get fun. Off-roading, camping and other outdoor recreation really came into its own. International was first out of the gate with the ’61 Scout, followed by Ford in ’66 with the Bronco and Chevrolet with their K5 Blazer in 1969. Chrysler Corporation was late to the party, but the 1974 Dodge Ramcharger (and Plymouth Trail Duster sibling) was a worthy competitor.
While the Scout and Bronco had their own unique body, the Ramcharger was clearly based off of the all-new 1972 Dodge full-size pickup. That was not a bad thing, as the ’72 pickups were pretty sharp, no-nonsense vehicles.
The Ramcharger most closely resembled the contemporary Chevy Blazer, as it was pickup-based and included a lift off rear roof section. These trucks were pretty basic in standard form, with RWD, a 225 CID Slant Six and synchronized 3-speed manual transmission.
Early versions came with only the two bucket seats – even the rear bench was an option! Of course, like most 1970s American iron, you could load them up with all sorts of options – brush bars, 2 tone paint, deluxe interiors, A/C, tinted glass, and full-time four wheel drive.
Just like the interior, you had lots of options for power. Yes, the Slant Six was standard, but you had a full range of small- and big-block Mopar goodness on the table. You could start with a ‘cooking’ 318 or 360 V8s, but if you wanted lots of power and torque, the 400 and time-honored 440 V8s were also there for the taking. All it took was money.
Now, if you just wanted the SUV look, but planned to stay on city streets, you could get the two-wheel drive Ramcharger, and turn it into a burly Cordoba of sorts, with whitewalls, chrome wheels and all sorts of luxury goodies, as the ’77 above sports. Much like today, there were plenty of folks who liked the look, but couldn’t care less about taking their brand-new ride into the wilderness.
The Ramcharger continued from 1974 to 1980 with only minor changes, though a new grille with stacked quad headlights was added for the 1979 model year. In 1981, the Ramcharger and all full-size Dodge trucks got a mild facelift, with single rectangular lights and minor sheetmetal changes. The cool removable top was gone; all Ramchargers would have fixed roofs from here on out. Interestingly, a 1983 ad touted the RWD version as an economical way to tow your boat or trailer. Equipped with the 2 BBL 318 (5.2L) V8 and three-speed automatic, it achieved 20 mpg highway – not bad. By the early Eighties, Dodge was calling the RWD Ramcharger the Ramcharger Two – is that like a Mustang II or LTD II?
Continuous improvement was the watchword for the Ramcharger throughout the Eighties. A new grille was added for 1986, and clearcoat paint was a new feature. The 318 got fuel injection in 1988, producing 230 hp and 280 lb ft of torque. One year later, the 360 also received FI, good for 240 horses. By now the Ramcharger was available in base and LE versions, with the LE featuring high-back bucket seats with fold-down armrests, nicer upholstery and more chrome on the outside. The handsome ‘telephone dial’ alloy wheels shown on our featured Ramcharger were added in 1989, and in 1991 a smoother front end with more color-keyed trim was added. The Ramcharger would continue in this fashion through 1993 when production ended.
It was essentially replaced by the four-door 1998 Durango, though a 1994 Ram-based Ramcharger (shown above) was offered in Mexico only from 1999-2001. Too bad it wasn’t sold in the States.
I found this snowplow-equipped Ramcharger in West Davenport recently. While it’s obviously seen better days, I was drawn to it. You just don’t see these on the road anymore. Judging from the alloy wheels it is either a 1989 or 1990 model.
While the exterior was rough, the interior was very presentable. It is clearly an LE, as it sports those very comfortable-looking high-back cloth buckets. Power windows too.
I think these trucks look really good in all-black. This photo from the 1987 brochure gives you an idea of how sleek this Ramcharger looked when new. Despite using essentially the same body since 1974, it still looked good.
Another neat feature of these trucks is that huge bay window above the rear fenders, added in 1981. I like how they tucked up into the roof. I have never driven or even sat in one of these, but all that glass should make for a very airy cabin, especially for rear seat passengers. If you like these full-size Dodge SUVs, I recommend watching the classic Chuck Norris movie, Lone Wolf McQuade. His ride is a supercharged police Ramcharger, and its feats during the course of the movie are second only to the Bluesmobile in my opinion.
Yes, Dodge was late to the party for the 1970s four-wheeler craze, but they more than made up for it with a production run that lasted from 1974-1993 and continues to this day in the current Durango lineup. And you have to love anything with Mopar V8 power!
The 2nd generation Ramcharger wasn’t sold in the US because sales of two-door SUVs, especially the larger ones, had cratered by then. It still would have been nice to have, and with all those shared components from the pickup it couldn’t have cost all that much.
The interior of the ’89 here nicked several parts from other concurrent Dodges – the seats used in the Omni, some K cars, and full-size vans; a steering wheel from the Dynasty and Caravan, and armrest and door panel bits from the Diplomat.
The ’81 restyle included a non-removeable roof in addition to the larger quarter windows. Most pre-’81 Ramchargers had a bolt-on removeable steel roof. The Ramcharger (and Plymouth Trail Duster) were unique in that they were available with big-block V-8’s.
Back when I was in highschool I tried to buy a 440 Ramcharger, It was pretty rusty (this was 1999) but it ran and the guy who had it used it as a plow truck. I offered him 500 bucks and he said yeah but he told his business partner (they used the truck to plow their parking lot) he said he wanted a grand so when I came back the next day with the cash it was a nogo.
If I don’t ad it to this story it could be lost to history. These later Ramchargers with the wrapped into the roof rear side glass had a curious tiny rain gutter that was only about 4 inches long that was mounted from the rear side glass to the lift gate. Why? Gutter mounted roof racks were a thing back then and that tiny rain gutter offered a place to mount a rear roof rail.
To grow old and forget and mix things up. The rain gutter that I mentioned was on the Ford Bronco II. Not the Ramcharger. Where are my glasses?
I wish Dodge had put those on. My son and I had to build a convoluted setup using the front door gutters and the rear liftgate gutter to make a rack for the kayak without drilling holes. The factory optional rack was taken from one of their station wagons and did bolt thru the roof but looked odd to me so we built one.
Back in the mid 80’s, a friend bought one of these, probably used, but whatever. He was proudly trying to describe to a group of us what it was and I helped him by saying “it’s a Chrysler Blazer” He was so excited he started almost stammering, yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s it! Nobody knew it by name, but they understood what a Chrysler Blazer was.
I have no idea how good or bad it was, but at least I knew what it was. I didn’t see many of them then and now I can’t remember when the last time I saw one. But the genre was booming, engineering had to be nearly nil so even without a ton of sales they must have been profitable.
I had a fairy Highly optioned one of these. it was a ’77 Model Ramcharger SE with the 440 – It was a nice fairly original truck. I used it for camping, towing the race car and other such things. I never took it off road or in the snow / salt as it was so nice.
It passed everything except the gas station. It loved the gas station and was equipped with the towing package and the 35 Gallon gas tank.
Beautiful Ramcharger! I actually really like the first generation styling on the Ramcharger best. Same with the 1972 era Dodge pickups. They come across as very unique, and original. Love the curvy 1970’s lines, that match well with Chrysler styling at the time. The brush bar and fog lights, really add to its great looks.
I find the later versions appear an attempt to pull back. And convey more market conformist styling, and image. More GM-like. Less original, more mainstream, and more reactive to the competition.
They were strong but thirsty vehicles. We had an ’89 with 360/TF to pull our daughter’s horse trailer. Even without a load it got maybe 10-11 mpg while our ’77 Gran Fury with the same engine and trans would get 16-17 on the hwy. The Ramcharger was a good hauler, but got T-boned hard while she and a friend were leaving a McDonalds one night (not her fault) . After 2 months and $10K of repairs paid by the ins co of the guy who hit her it did look like new but we didn’t trust it anymore so it was traded for a Dodge 3/4 ton extended cab with 400, even better for trailer hauling. The ‘charger was Mopar’s version of a big Bronco or Blazer, and every bit as good or better for its intended purpose.
Mine got 8MPG, Towing, empty, going uphill or downhill, or even just putzing around town, It always got 8MPG
My 88 with 318 FI would get 15 mpg pretty easy on the highway. But it had the 3.21 gearset and I think Mopar tuned them for decent efficency when ordered that way. They also were much happier at 55-60 mph then 70 even still with the cruise set at 65 I could get 16 on long trips.
I have an 1988 my father bought it used in 1998 and I drove it my senior year in highschool thru college. My Brother drove it for a while and then it sat behind my parent’s garage until last year when my son took it over. It’s back on the road but needs a lot of work. I love these things and to reply to the author yes the back seat is shockingly roomy and airy but a bit stuffy with no opening window so they put a tiny roof vent behind the seat to get airflow back there. It’s also a bit of work to get back there but pretty much like sitting on a couch once you get in.
Mine went offroad often and was quite good at it. Versus a pickup these have much better weight balance and turning radius with the short wheelbase. The fuel tank and spare both sit behind the rear axle. with that weight back there I could go much further on a trail without engaging the transfer case then my friends in pickups.