Glastonbury 2025: 
Dodge Ram B1500 Day Van / Conversion Van
With much sadness it’s time to say goodbye to our amazing Dodge Ram B1500 day van ‘Rambo’ or ‘The Beast’ (as the neighbours call it)!
We’ve owned this van for nearly 3 years and in that time he’s been our surf wagon, holiday home, beach cruiser and just all round super practical lifestyle vehicle – an iconic US day-van with a wicked colour combo. Covered wall to wall (and ceiling) in lovely soft velour with tons of cupholders and armrests, the experience driving to destinations feels like being on an uber comfortable US road-trip. Plenty of room for our family of 4 (us, parents and 2 boys – 2 and 6) and all our stuff at festivals, camping holidays and surf trips. We sleep in the double bed, and our kids go in a cot / on a camping bed on the carpeted floor so super comfy.
Rambo is a 2003 (registered on a 2008 plate due to Japanese import) 5.2L V8 Swamper style truck that always turns heads with its all terrain tyres, muscle car paintwork and of course that beautiful V8 rumble. It’s a pleasure to listen to around town and on the motorway – it just growls away in the background (see video to experience the sound). Left hand drive isn’t a problem, as the height and all around windows gives you tons of visibility. It may look like a typical hightop camper but with the 8 cylinders pushing out around 230bhp it’s got plenty of poke. It’s more than capable of quickly hitting 80+ but due to the height we cruise it at a comfortable 65-70
• 5.2l V8 (Magnum) producing 230bhp
• Automatic with overdrive.
• Milage at 87000
• Glass-pack muffler / double tip exhaust
• ULEZ compliant.
• Yokohama Geolander AT-S tyres on 15inch chrome rims.
• Tracker fitted.
• Disc brakes / ABS
• 7 seater with 4 captains chairs (2 removable) and 3 person rear bench seat.
• Mid-top roof with storage.
• Registered as MPV which means you haven’t got to worry about van speed limits or camper-van insurance.
• Folding rear double bed with under-bed storage.
• In-car flat screen DVD player. (Pioneer JDM)
• Built in Canada 2003, imported to Japan in 2008 and UK in 2020
• MOT passed June 2023
• Meticulously maintained at North American car specialist Namco in Farnborough with last major service in June changing all fluids inc transmission.
Condition is great, the underside of the truck is clean and rust free with that amazing condition you only see in imports from dry states or countries like Japan who don’t salt their roads. But like any 20 year old vehicle there are a few things to note:
• Tiny patch of bubbling on a seam, but nothing that needs attention.
• Few marks on the velour where it’s got dinged by a bit of Lego or kids bike, but nothing to detract from the condition
• A few areas where the top layer of paint has chipped away including a small section that’s been touched up above the windshield prior to our ownership with some very minor surface corrosion
• The driver’s seat as pictured could do with restitching.
The van drives well and feels surprisingly tight for such a large vehicle, with good brakes and not as much body-roll on winding country lanes as you might think. True it’s not going to win competitions for speed / handling but is fun and easy to control – old school without being a chore. It’s not going to win any prizes on fuel economy returning around 20-23 mpg on the motorway… so no different to a VW type 2 or even any big engined petrol SUV. It’s not a daily driver so we always treated it as our guilty pleasure – the cost of filling it up (or ‘cool tax’) was more than offset by the smiles and experiences we’ve had in such a unique and fun truck. Life’s too short to have boring cars!
As you can probably tell from this listing The Beast has been a big part of our lives and given us tons of happy memories… but a recent house move and family circumstances just mean we aren’t using him enough and we’d like to see someone else enjoy this wicked van for the summer.
Located in Brentford TW8. Call 07982 638807 to arrange viewing.
This van was converted out of the factory by Regency conversions and is the classic US day van / conversion van. It is registered as an MPV with 7 seats, and the inside is very luxurious indeed with night blinds, DVD player / flatscreen TV, velour wall to ceiling, fitted carpets and large faux leather seats. The rear bench is a pull out double bed, which is extremely comfy to sleep on.
The rear bench seat folds down to a comfortable double bed. We sleep on that, and our youngest (aged 2) sleeps in a travel coat on the floor. The eldest (aged 6) sleeps on a camping bed also on the floor. To do this we take out the mid-two captain’s seats and keep them in our gazebo as comfortable chairs.
The contact details for this vehicle are no longer available because it has either sold or the listing has expired.
Insurance options are available through our partner, Ripe Insurance.
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