Front Suspension Upper Arm problems of the 1998 Dodge Ram Van

Vehicle: 1998 Dodge b1500 Ram Van problem: at less than 40,000 miles I was told by a tire dealer that my upper ball joints were shot and that I should take the vehicle repair shop to have them replaced before the front end could be aligned. At 60,000 miles I finally decide to have it repaired. Not only was the ball joints bad, but one side had come loose in the upper control arm, and destroyed the threads and was floating free in the control arm. I consider this to be a serious saftey hazard. I am interested if this is a common complaint with this vehicle or not. By doing some research on the internet I see multiple complaint on other Dodge vehicles. Thank you for your attention. Joseph scheibenpflug.