I've got a low miles 1996 Ram Van 3500 with a 5.2L V8 that came without air conditioning.
I bought it off a buddy who used it for a few years in his business before he retired. Its got 48,000 miles on it. I've owned it for 21 years but its mostly sat unused most of the time due to the lack of a/c. I like the van, and now that I can't buy anything like it new these days, I'd really like to find a way to make this a year round vehicle.
I did a google search and all I find is roof top kits for camping, this isn't a camper, its a cargo van and I need the air to work when I'm driving it not when I'm parked or connected to some generator.

I thought about finding a parts van with ac but it seems every one I find is also built without ac.
Was there ever a kit to fit these vans? I know there used to be companies that did 'dealer' installed ac for some vehicles but I've never seen a kit for one of these vans.

Has anyone added ac to their later Ram Van?

 

By 96, I thought A/C was almost standard...... Where are you at?

I would keep looking for a parts van with a/c. Find something with a blown engine or trans, that you can pick up cheap.

 

I'm in NJ. I've looked at dozens of vans in the junk yard but none have ac.
There's a dash change that will also affect what years I can use. I think I may be limited to 95-97 models as donor vans?
Mine has no vents for ac, it didn't even come with a radio.
I've owned nine one ton Dodge vans with he first being a 1974 Tradesman 300, then a 1972 Sportsman which was my only window model, right on up to a 2001. All were work vans except the '72.
My favorite by far was my 74 Tradesman, I should have never sold that one. I dumped it after buying a new 1984 because I needed room in the driveway. .
None of my newer vans have ever come close to my '74.

Dodge vans seem few and far between around here lately. They're either low mile conversion vans or beat to death old contractors vans with no ac. I also see very few 95-97 models. Even fewer older vans. I can't remember the last time I saw an old Tradesman on the road here.

Not having ac didn't bother me so much when I was younger but as I get older, its become a necessity.

 

They make universal AC kits like this one.

 

I like the idea of the universal kit and under dash unit but making the aftermarket ac compressor fit looks like a real pain.
I wonder if a factory ac compressor, mounts would work with an after market under dash unit?
Also, where would the underdash unit mount? On the right side? There's no room on the driver's side and the engine box takes up most of the middle area.
My van has a cargo partition and I've got plexiglass panels fitted to seal it up in the winter, so the area it has to cool is small. I even made up foam board inserts to insulate the cargo wall a bit. This spring I intend to see if I can insulate the cab area a bit better, especially the floor. I get a ton of engine heat in the summer coming up around the floor near the dog box. I also just found brand new factory rubber mats with juke backing to replace the dry, cracked one's in the van now. The originals basically cooked from the heat. In the summer, driving in light shoes is a bad idea as your right foot gets uncomfortably hot. This one and my 1992 were the same way.

 

You need to come down here to Florida and go to a pick your part and grab the whole factory system. the yard I go to has complete untouched units all the time. I built my cargo van up using all junk yard parts.I dont understand why some of the vans are even there for junk.

 

There's very few junk yards around here these days, the EPA regs drove most of them out of business years ago.
The few we have left don't have trucks. Most never did. On top of that the Cash for Clunkers program about wiped out anything older than about 2009 or so.
There used to be a local U pull it type of yard near here but they closed up 20 years ago and they built a shopping center there. Nothing replaced it. We have 'scrap' yards, but nothing with whole cars. Cars that go there get shredded immediately after getting unloaded. Most of the smaller yards only have vehicles that were completely worn out, not many crash vehicles. There's not much sense in taking parts from some worn out old vehicle with 400k on the clock.

Is the firewall and rest of the dash the same with and without a/c?
Is the non air dash wired for a/c?
(I tried to ad a/c to a Ford p/u once and the whole cab was different).