How To Add A Power Driver Seat to Ram Heavy Duty DS Trucks – OEMSeats

Heavy Duty Tradesman seats got your back aching? Upgrade to a power driver seat, it's a quick easy upgrade and there are a couple different ways to go about it! You can fully replace your existing seat with a powered seat, or you can upgrade your existing seat to have power functions.

If you have the Vinyl interior and are looking to stick with vinyl your only option is to upgrade your seat or purchase a pre-upgraded seat. RAM did not produce a power vinyl driver seat from factory.

Ram Tradesman, Big Horn, Lone Star, and Laramie Seats

Full Replacement

Why Replacing Just The Driver Seat Is A Bad Idea

A manual cloth interior will have the "Tradesman" pattern seat bottom. A powered cloth interior will have the "Big Horn" pattern seat bottom. Please note that these names are not official and just for ease of explanation. If you were to only replace your driver seat you'd be left with a mismatched interior. To do this correctly you either need to replace both front seats or you can move your 'tradesman' cloth over to the "Big Horn" seat. If you have a four door the front row will not perfectly match the rear row due to the extra stitch but in person it's nearly impossible to notice.

Safety Considerations

If you go to replace both front seats you have to make sure you find a perfect match. The Ram HD has optional side impact airbags and optional passenger occupancy detection. You must make sure you use the same options if you're going to do a full replacement.

Do Other Ram Seats Work?

The 2019 - 2024 Ram Heavy Duty uses seats that are very similar to the 2009 - 2018 Ram as well as the Ram Classic but there are some important differences, especially when dealing with Chassis Cabs and fleet vehicles. Due to these differences the Ram Heavy Duty cannot use the 2009 - 2018 Ram Seats. Ram Classic seats can work but patterns are different so they will not match. Airbags and occupancy sensors are different between models. In many cases the floor plug will be significantly different as well. The Ram 1500 DT Seats have even more differences.

Unless you're replacing your entire interior we recommend just converting your existing driver seat to power.

Ram HD Driver Power Seat Conversions

If your current seats are still like new then you should consider conversion instead of replacement. While complete replacement Ram Heavy Duty seats are periodically available, we regularly have access to the parts required to convert your existing driver seat to power.

Check out our Ram HD Power Driver Conversion Kits and see the installation instructions below.

Installation Instructions

Step 1: Remove Trim

Recline handle removed via C Clip

Pry off middle cover panel from the rear

Undo large hidden phillips screw, unclip recline linkage

Remove philips head screw on rear of trim piece under carpet flap

Lift trim up from the rear to unclip from the “outer” trim piece. Slide forward to remove fully. Remove "inner" trim piece

Step 2: Split Leanback & Cushion

Lay the seat on it’s side and undo two 13mm bolts attaching leanback.

Disconnect the airbag connector. The airbag connector features a red locking mechanism that must be “pulled out” before being pushed down to release.

Flip the seat onto it’s other side and undo the 13mm bolts. We recommend doing this on it’s side because once the last bolt is off the leanback will fall if not supported.

Step 3: Remove Lower Cushion & Cover

The lower cushion with the material is easily removed by undoing the four plastic clips
Remove the one push pin on the outer side near the recline lever.
Set aside the cushion & foam for later.

Step 4: Leanback Disassembly

Unclip the plastic clip on the very bottom side of the leanback.
Zippers are hidden inside the sides.

Ram HD Power Driver Seat Swap, Step #4c

Use a rubber mallet or light hammer with a block of wood to lightly tap the headrest retainers. They will become “flush” with the surrounding metal and then you can simply lift them off from the top.

Undo the two 10mm bolts on the outer side that hold in the side impact airbag.

Detach the airbag wiring harness retainers and ensure the airbag bolts are pushed "out" of the slots in the seat frame. Lift the manual seat frame out (or pull the cushion vertically off).

Step 5: Leanback Reassembly

Insert the new frame onto the old seat
Align the airbag bolts and fasten airbag using original hardware
Fasten airbag wire to frame at original points and run the wire, along with the leanback wire, through the hole in the cover that allows them to pass through.

Rezip, then re-clip

Push headrest retainers in.

If the seat is looking at you: The flush button goes on the left. The larger button goes on the right. Both buttons face right.

Step 6: Seat Track Wiring

Disconnect all wires from the original seat track. It’s a seatbelt and the airbag, fairly minimal. They’re clipped to the seat springs.
Reattach the factory wiring harness onto the powered seat base.
Undo the T50 bolt that fastens the female seatbelt end to the seat track. Fasten to powered seat track & connect to original harness.
By reusing the original harness you ensure a code free installation.

Step 7: Cushion & Leanback Assembly

Drop the cushion onto the seat track and fasten to the track using the four original clips and one push pin.
Take your time to carefully align and thread the two front bolts that go to the leanback.
Reconnect factory airbag wire connector & new power seat connector.
Fasten rear 13mm bolts to finish connecting the leanback to the track & cushion.

Step 8: Trim & Switch Installation

Reattach outer trim pieces on both sides.
The outer trim slides on from the front then goes down
The included switch panel installs in the center of your original trim piece. Connect the wiring harness for the seat motors at the front.
Connect the lumbar harness at the rear.
Fasten harness in place on seat springs.
Snap switch panel back in
Verify all connections & install

Step 9: Wiring in Vehicle

Wiring Using Factory Power

Most RAMs are pre wired for power seats. Add the main power and ground pins to your original seat harness by simply ‘unlocking’ the floor connector pin lock. Push the red locks on both sides forward when the connector is unplugged. You can now add the power and ground pin.