Glue those covers on your cracking dash

Question:

I own a 2001 Dodge Ram Pickup and the dash has started to crack with multiple lines running in all directions. An online search indicated that this is a widespread problem with Dodge trucks of similar age but no recall has been issued. Photos of some trucks show huge holes in the dash where large sections have just fallen through. My dash hasn’t progressed to that stage yet but the speed at which the cracks appeared is an indication that it won’t be long before it does start falling apart.

A replacement dash costs around $900 installed. An aftermarket form-fitting dash cover is available that can be laid over the existing dash and secured with silicon along the edges, and that costs around $100.

This is a work truck so I’m in favor of using the $100 solution. What can I do to the existing surface to help hold it together so pieces don’t fall into the inner workings below the dash? I’ve thought of spreading some type of adhesive and overlaying the entire surface with a very thin matting of some material before installing the aftermarket dash cover. My thought is that would keep pieces from falling and possibly jamming the switches and levers that operate the heater and A/C controls.

Would you recommend this procedure? If so, what type of spreadable glue will adhere to the existing dash and what matting material would you suggest?

Answer:

Covering the original dash with a well adhered layer of material would prevent pieces of the dash cover from falling behind the dash assembly and causing problems. You could use fiberglass mat or scrim fabric with an adhesive designed for use on vinyl surfaces, such as 3M Super Trim Adhesive (both the fiberglass and scrim are available from marine suppliers, some body shop suppliers, and online at places like fibreglast.com).

You could also use the same adhesive to completely glue down the aftermarket dash cover, in effect using that to hold the underlying dash pieces from falling apart. Just gluing the dash cover down would be easier but gluing a substrate material over the original dash and adhering the dash cover along its edges with silicone would enable you to replace that cover very easily if the need arose in the future.