Dodge made a lot of trucks for the Air Force, although it appears that the numbers are a bit cloudy as to just how many. The seller of this 1985 Dodge Ram D-350 Crew Cab says that it was from Lackland Air Force Base in the late 1990s and then sat in a field until 2022 when they bought it. They have it listed here on eBay in Marble Falls, Texas and they’re asking $11,995. Thanks to Russell G. for the tip!
The seller has provided a video and I had to do a couple of screenshots to get a partial view of the rear of this truck, and also an engine photo. Neither of those were shown in the bank of otherwise good photos that they provided. They showed a photo of the data plate and that’s great, but here’s what it looks like. They don’t list a VIN or any other information at all in the regular eBay section where sellers usually put the VIN, the mileage, and all of those things. This side is actually Air Force Blue, it just looks black in the photos.
The back and tailgate look pretty good to me, maybe they just forgot to take a photo, but having the video is nice. They say this cool crew cab was at Lackland Air Force Base in the great state of Texas until the late 90s when it was parked as surplus and sat outside for over two decades. As such, there’s a bit of rust to deal with, and some in unusual spots such as this gaping hole shown on the roof. The bed looks great, though. This is a rear-wheel drive truck, and there were two different bed lengths for the crew cab. I think this is the 165-inch wheelbase with a long bed, but a short bed was available with a 149-inch wheelbase.
GAAA! That interior doesn’t appear original, bummer. I’m not sure what happened to the dash, could that be the original color? The seats are from a 2005 Chevrolet pickup but they have the original Dodge bench seat if the next owner wants to put it back to original, which, of course, I would do in a heartbeat. Comfort is one thing and they say these seats are great, but I’m all about originality. Mr. Boring. The crew cab seat looks good but there’s a bit of work to do inside as you can see, it’s had a hard life. The air-conditioning is said to still work, though!
We don’t know what this engine is because there’s no mention of it, no VIN shown, and the VIN tag is worn out so it’s unreadable. A 318 and 360 would have been the only two engines for the D-350 pickup, and the seller mentions they have another 360 available. I’m going with this being a 360-cu.in. OHV V8, which would have had 175 horsepower. They say it’s used almost every day for deliveries and seems to have developed a vibration that they think is the driveshaft, and the transmission leaks about a half-quart a month. Hopefully, they are somewhat easy fixes. Hagerty is at $7,700 for a #4 fair-condition truck, which is where I’d put this one, not that I’m an expert by any means. They’re at $12,700 for a #3 good truck and this certainly isn’t at that point yet so they may be taking offers for a while. What’s your offer on this very cool Dodge one-ton Crew Cab?
This is a cool truck. And I honestly believe it should be fixed up. I have to say, though, whenever I see a hole rotted through the roof of any vehicle, my first response is to blame a vinyl top… HOWEVER…… I think……..In this case…… I wouldn’t have a leg to stand on…. I’m pretty sure its safe to say that the Navy, most likely, didn’t order this Dodge with a vinyl top. That being said, it needs eveything, I agree with Scotty about the interior, to quote Scotty, Gaaa! Seems to about cover it, but again, how many crew cab Dodges from this era do you see? It could make a great family hauler when done. My Dad had a friend who, back in the 80’s bought an old late 70s era Navy short bed half ton Dodge. Slant 6, automatic, it wasn’t pretty, but the Navy kept it mechanically in great condition. This was probably well maintained when it was in service.
I’m pretty sure Scotty said Air Force.
I apologize, he did say Air Force, I meant to type that, my Dads friend bought one from the Navy and that was stuck in my brain when writing that.
One of the local Les Schwab Tires had a ‘78 like this they were selling 10 years ago, also previously of USAF ownership, though with a 318, 4 spd and 4WD. With the plow blade on the front he’d sell it to me for $4800.
Apparently that was about $5k more than my domestic CFO was willing to allow..dang it.
Now this is a real work truck. The overblown and overpriced “trucks” people drive around in nowadays are a joke, none worse than that Tesla “truck”.
Somehow we gotta get back, but I guess with AI etc., there isn’t much chance of that.
Agreed. Try finding a basic 1/2 ton 8′ bed truck. Maybe an F150 in trade trim or a Chevy. Nothing from Dodge and Toyotas seem pretty heavily optioned.
You gotta buy them or they stop building them.
Imagine. Trucks like this used to be considered huge.
The enjoyment I would get trying to watch my kids parallel park this monster.
I was stationed at Lackland then and these were everywhere. I wonder how many were auctioned off locally in San Antonio?
These trucks were used as “alert” vehicles by SAC Bases. Would be parked by the alert “shacks” for use by crews to go to the B-47s & B-52 bombers when an alert was sounded. Have never seen a hole like this on the roof of a vehicle like the one in the picture.
HBC, roof rust like that is very common here in the Redneck Riviera (FLA).