Dodge Trucks

Our Dodge Truck pictures were made by our photographers at car museums, car shows, and automobile auctions across the United States.

Dodge Trucks

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Dodge Trucks

John and Horace Dodge called all their products "cars," even though they shipped commercial chassis the day after they started production in 1914. The first "commercial car" with a Dodge-built body was the 1917 screenside delivery. A model with closed sides was also available.

Dodge built over 13,000 screensides and another 8,700 closed bodied, They also shipped nearly 2,000 unbodied chassis for truck conversions.

By 1920, Dodge chassis were a favorite among truck conversion firms. By 1921, Dodge was marketing all the trucks produced by one of these firms, Graham Brothers, whick became a division of Dodge in 1924. In 1927 and 1928, all Dodge-built trucks were sold as Graham Brothers trucks.

1939 was a milestone year for Dodge trucks. Dodge began promoting its trucks as "Job-Rated" - designed for specific service demands. It was a theme that got an immediate and favorable response from customers and, after more than six decades, is still synomymous with Dodge trucks. Truck collectors today still refer to the 1939 to 1947 Dodge trucks as "the Job-Rated Trucks."

The truck line itself was re-designed, with styling cued from the newly re-styled Dodge auto line. Featured was a "vee" opening windshield, a more spacious cab, and shorter front-bumper-to-back-of-cab dimension that allowed a bigger cargo bed. This design was used with minor revisions until 1947.

A new truck factory was opened in Warren, Michigan, at that time the world's largest.

The first new truck models since 1939 were introduced in the 1948 - 1949 model years. This new model was called the Pilot House Cab, an industry first because of its increased glass and higher cab position compared to previous years. The engines of the new trucks were moved forward while the front axles were moved back resulting in better weight distribution and a shorter wheelbase. The shorter wheelbase coupled with a wider tread front axle with a new "'cross-steering" resulted in a smaller turing radius and more comfortable driving.

Meanwhile, higher and wider sides on the cargo bed allowed a 40% increase in load capacity over earlier models.

In 1957, at mid-year, Dodge introduced the new Sweptside Pickup, designed to compete with Chevrolet's Cameo and Ford's Ranchero. To achieve the Sweptside look, Dodge Truck's Special Equipment Group fitted the rear quarters and bumper from a Dodge two-door Suburban station wagon to a standard 1/2 ton truck. For 1957 the truck line featured an all-new front-end with hooded headlights and a new bumper and grille as well as a fully opening rear-hinged hood. More important, a new standard-equipment V-8 gave Dodge the most powerful engine in the light truck field.

The Legend of the Dodge Ram

In 1932 sculptor Avard Fairbancks, having already done other Chrysler Corporation hood ornaments, was asked to do one for Dodge. Among other animals he sculpted was a mountain sheep. To Walter P. Chrysler and other corporation executives he explained that he liked the sheep because the bighorn ram he sculpted was "king of the trail." The executives were dubious. Then Fairbanks added, "Besides, if you saw one on the trail in front of you, you'd think: Dodge!"

Mr. Chrysler immediately said, "That's it! The Dodge gets the ram!" And it did, beginning with the 1933 models.

In 1980 the ram went from a symbol to a name - Dodge full-sized pickup trucks, beginning with the 1981 model year, were formally named Dodge Ram.

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