here is another one

 

It looks fine! -1 that one spot.

 

yeah the heavy phonebook shifted but it holds really well

 

Welcome to the "Sh*tty Dodge Ram Dash Cover" club.

Mine started going a little over a year ago. Yours is the first I've seen that has cracked from side to side. Usually, like mine, they start at the defrost vents and come towards you.

Did Dodge screw the pooch on this one? Yes.

Did they or do they really care? No.

I didn't shell out the money for this truck and it's mods just to end up throwing a cruddy dash mat on it or glue down some cosmetic vacu-form piece of crap. Nor should I be wary of using some automotive interior cleaners or protectants that 99% of the rest of the world can safely use.

I'm waiting for mine to get just a bit worse before I replace it. I'm hoping to find an aftermarket supplier by then, rather than a MOPAR oem part that's probably going to do the same thing.

 

Well my friend you are entitled to your opinion but i would pump the brakes on calling a product a piece of crap without kowing the details. I researched this product before I paid for it and the benefits and the workmanship was outstanding. Unlike the OEM that you are going to replace your's with (yes mine cracked at the vents as well) this model with flex with the heat/cold temps and with the added vibrations of the truck. Over a period of time ,as we all know with this problem, this plastic becomes brittle and then cracks and you know the rest. This material is made out of a different type that allows it to flex and bend without losing it's shape or color. So you go right ahead my friend and dish out those megabucks for that brand new OEM and the 2 hrs it will take you to replace it(more if you are all by yourself I know I've replaced 3 for friends of mine which is why I chose this route which my buddies couldn't tell the difference) I'll stick with my choice for obvious reasons. BTW it's a 98 and although I keep it up and running well it will go to my son as a 1st vehicle until college then it will become a farm truck of some sort.

 

I've seen these "overlay" products and think they look cheap, I've seen those carpet "dash mats" ... I HAD a custom van in the 70's I don't care to repeat THAT look thanks. These just cover up a problem with a questionable cosmetic fix, much like people's houses I've worked on where they've had aluminum installed to cover rotted fascia and other exterior trim. The problem here is that Dodge had a supplier that used substandard raw material and a faulty forming process, then they proceeded to ignore their use of an inherently defective part. It's a fine example of how NOT to produce a quality vehicle, as well as a primer in extremely poor customer care. And they wonder where their customers have gone ...

You're content with a glue and patch job on your vehicle? Go ahead on. Me? I have a higher standard.

 

I know all about the horror stories of the earlier Dodge inferior materials when it came to the interior of the truck. Me personally I didn't buy my truck for it to look "PRETTY" inside maybe you and your higher standard did and that's cool. What I did was less expensive and works just as well which saves me money to invest in the areas that will keep me and my truck on the road and that's in the mechanical area. I've seen alot of "PRETTY" trucks on the side of the road not running. Good luck with your OEM dash.....I see you're still a Dodge customer though. Take care PS I will agree with you on the carpet dash.

 

People advocating a dash cover are merely masking the problem. The dash is going to continue to crack and disintegrate. My dash (1997) is starting to crack at the vents as well as off on the sides. After reading several articles on custom interior dashes, I think I'm going to find someone who does fiberglass work and have a custom fiberglass dash made. It's pathetic that when I remove the bezel from my dash face that a few of the mounting tab receptacles are broken.

 

Once again I'm not advocating it I said this works for me. I've installed few replacement OEM dashes and it's a peice of work not to mention $$$$$ but hey if yall like it I love it. Hopefully I will be in an 09 by June and all of this will be behind me because instead of my daily driver it will be my tooling around towner and my son's 1st vehicle when he gets his license.

 

You know what intrigues me?

I do custom sub boxes and have used vinyl on some wacky shapes, I'm wondering if the same could not be done to the dash. Of course it would entail removing to do the job right. Getting an exact match OEM vinyl product is not a problem, just wondering how it would hold up in that location. Does anyone know the UV filtering numbers on the windshield?

The other thought would be to simply spray the new dash with an OEM color match paint before installing. Both the under material and the paint would match so any scratching or marking that might occur would be highly unnoticeable, plus it would shield the crap plastic from UV.

And I'm not pissing on anyone who cares to use the cover up method, it's your vehicle. But I keep my ride in excellent repair, both cosmetically and mechanically. I've seen too many vehicles that have become a warren of patch and cover repairs over the years that, in the end, are just a sum of it's parts ... ie junk.

What toasts me is that I currently have the inside of my truck gutted to upgrade my sound install wiring and I don't have a plan or what I need in order to do the dash while I'm in there ...

BTW: VW/Dodge, your sig pic never fails to crack me up.