Since there's a kit out there, it makes me think those ram discs don't just bolt up. It'd be nice if it were that simple. Even if it were that simple I probably still wouldn't tackle it since the drums have served me well - I'm still on the factory shoes/drums. but... it is a notable improvement. I hope someone gives it a shot.

 

Stay away from these old GM calipers (Cadillac Seville). We used them for a few years on the trucks that we manufacture. They show up a lot in aftermarket kits but not a reliable part.
Nothing but trouble. The self adjusting stops adjusting and your left with no park brake and a low pedal. The later style GM calipers work well but don't interchange.

 

Were these the same calipers used on the N-body cars also in the 80's? (Grand Prix, Lumina, etc..) I recall those all sucking pretty bad too. Same issues with them seizing, no parking brake, low pedal... If they are the same I'll stand clear.

 

Not sure if they are the same or not. I know from looking at the pictures on the link you posted that those are the bad ones that we used for a while. Even out of the box we had about a 30% failure rate. I would bring in 10pr at a time and we would bench test them and send back the ones that did not work or leaked.

 

I can't imagine that putting discs in the rear will accomplish anything other than outflowing of money!

These trucks are so heavily biased toward front end braking, I imagine the rears do almost nothing. I've had 4 Dakotas, and run each way over 100K miles, and never once did I change 1 part on the rear drum brake assembly. They should last a good long time

 

I would normally agree except that most of my braking issues relate to the rear drums causing mild pulsations when stopping. Either due to irregularities in the drum, runout, friction variances or whatever. I can turn them, sand them or replace them. Issues are back after 10-15k miles max.

Had similar issues on the 05 Dakota too. Dodge dealer fixed the rear brakes on this 2011 twice already before it even had 28k miles on it.

 

Interesting that this problem has followed you from truck to truck.
You don't happen to drive with your foot resting on the brake pedal do you?
Some people do this without knowing and it will eat brakes and heat up the drums causing them to warp. You also go through brake light bulbs with this habit.