Express to Laramie Dash/Cabin Harness Swap

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1500Teej

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Good morning everyone.

I appreciate all the time and resources this forum has dedicated to help DIYers like myself. I wanted to “Express” my goals of making my interior feel like a premium one so (Allow-Me/a Lara-mie) ‍♂️ (puns are fun) to detail my progress. So after researching (scanning through the various forums on this site) (SERIOUSLY I THANK YOU ALL THAT CONTRIBUTED) I’m gonna swap my full dash, crash bar and harness for one I picked up out of a Laramie. I already did the seats, center console and 7” cluster swap and 8.4 uconnect and rear view mirror. Granted my Express harness doesn’t fully connect to the 8.4 hvac controls and such. So after doing more research (scanning through the various forums on this site) I decided to swap everything out instead of buying the 8.4 uconnect harness and bridging it into my factory harness. The cost for the harness was very reasonable and I would have purchased this but when planning out my project I decided to price everything out and search around locally and see what I could find and so far it’s been one of the best decisions i’ve made since I decided to purchase and create myself another sport truck (I had a 99 lightning about 5 years ago and sold it and been missing it every since)

Now here’s the juicy part. I haven’t found an article addressing this (YET!!) (If this is read I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong but onward!) I’m gonna see if this Laramie 8 speed (Dial shifter) dash to seats harness will work with my 5 speed transmission (Column shifter). Now before I’m flamed allow me to present more details about what all I have and why I chose this.

I have the entire dash/crashbar/complete dash harness even with the alpine amp still connected along with all the ambient lights bells and whistles the whole shebang!! Along with the steering column and steering wheel. Included with all of this is all the connectors and everything that’s attached to the dash light switch push button start the oem smart key fob with keyless enter n go and even the hvac plumbing !! I got it for a price that I couldn’t refuse out of a junkyard. So I’m gonna swap all this out this morning and see with I can get her to function normally like she would dress out the factory. I have alfaobd & vlinker mc+.

My overall plan is to create my version of what I think a hybrid-esque scatpack ram r/t would looks and feel like. I know, nobody asked for this but it’s happening.

If someone hadas done this, swap a laramie 8 speed harness into a 5 speed truck. Did it work anything to look out for? If not, no worries, I’ll know if this was foolish or trailblazing in the next 5 hours . Anyway I’ll post some pics before and after. There’s enough dash removal vids and post out there. Thanks for reading. replying and offering advice that pertains to my endeavors. Thanks again!!!
 
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Wild one

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Good morning everyone.

I appreciate all the time and resources this forum has dedicated to help DIYers like myself. I wanted to “Express” my goals of making my interior feel like a premium one so (Allow-Me/a Lara-mie) ‍♂️ (puns are fun) to detail my progress. So after researching (scanning through the various forums on this site) (SERIOUSLY I THANK YOU ALL THAT CONTRIBUTED) I’m gonna swap my full dash, crash bar and harness for one I picked up out of a Laramie. I already did the seats, center console and 7” cluster swap and 8.4 uconnect and rear view mirror. Granted my Express harness doesn’t fully connect to the 8.4 hvac controls and such. So after doing more research (scanning through the various forums on this site) I decided to swap everything out instead of buying the 8.4 uconnect harness and bridging it into my factory harness. The cost for the harness was very reasonable and I would have purchased this but when planning out my project I decided to price everything out and search around locally and see what I could find and so far it’s been one of the best decisions i’ve made since I decided to purchase and create myself another sport truck (I had a 99 lightning about 5 years ago and sold it and been missing it every since)

Now here’s the juicy part. I haven’t found an article addressing this (YET!!) (If this is read I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong but onward!) I’m gonna see if this Laramie 8 speed (Dial shifter) dash to seats harness will work with my 5 speed transmission (Column shifter). Now before I’m flamed allow me to present more details about what all I have and why I chose this.

I have the entire dash/crashbar/complete dash harness even with the alpine amp still connected along with all the ambient lights bells and whistles the whole shebang!! Along with the steering column and steering wheel. Included with all of this is all the connectors and everything that’s attached to the dash light switch push button start the oem smart key fob with keyless enter n go and even the hvac plumbing !! I got it for a price that I couldn’t refuse out of a junkyard. So I’m gonna swap all this out this morning and see with I can get her to function normally like she would dress out the factory. I have alfaobd & vlinker mc+.

My overall plan is to create my version of what I think a hybrid-esque scatpack ram r/t would looks and feel like. I know, nobody asked for this but it’s happening.

If someone hadas done this, swap a laramie 8 speed harness into a 5 speed truck. Did it work anything to look out for? If not, no worries, I’ll know if this was foolish or trailblazing in the next 5 hours . Anyway I’ll post some pics before and after. There’s enough dash removal vids and post out there. Thanks for reading. replying and offering advice that pertains to my endeavors. Thanks again!!!
You should go a step farther and swap the 8 speed in,you'll have the wiring needed for the 8 speed swap doing what you're doing.That'll get you alot closer to your idea of Scatpack R/T,all you'd be missing would be the cars 6.4
 

Yogee2020

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There is a guy on YouTube and maybe on this forum who is doing almost what ur trying to do with a hell cat engine and the Laramie seats dash and interior hooked it up and looks amazing his handle I think is boosted motor something like that worth the watch
 
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1500Teej

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You should go a step farther and swap the 8 speed in,you'll have the wiring needed for the 8 speed swap doing what you're doing.That'll get you alot closer to your idea of Scatpack R/T,all you'd be missing would be the cars 6.4
That’s the plan I’m just building it as I go.
There is a guy on YouTube and maybe on this forum who is doing almost what ur trying to do with a hell cat engine and the Laramie seats dash and interior hooked it up and looks amazing his handle I think is boosted motor something like that worth the watch
His videos inspired me to attempt this. I’m unsure if I’ll hellcat swap but I’m definitely doing engine work/swap down the line.
 
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1500Teej

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So just an update. I have my new dash in the car and all bolted up and connected. I haven’t tested anything yet because I ran into an unforeseen issue with the door panels.

I thought all front doors were made the same. Seems the 2013 single cab doors are HELLA LARGE. So my quad cab front door panels wont line up
image-jpg.512598
 
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Wild one

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That's cause the regular cabs have the biggest doors,if you'd of asked a few of us would of clued you in,lol. I have a buddy who converted quad cab door panels to fit his regular cab,so you might be able to do the reverse and mod the regular cab door panels to fit your door panels.It's been several years since i talked to him about it,but if i remember right he melted the plastic rivets out and swapped the center panels out,and re-riveted everything back together,so give them a real close look and see if you can do the same
 
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1500Teej

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That's cause the regular cabs have the biggest doors,if you'd of asked a few of us would of clued you in,lol. I have a buddy who converted quad cab door panels to fit his regular cab,so you might be able to do the reverse and mod the regular cab door panels to fit your door panels.It's been several years since i talked to him about it,but if i remember right he melted the plastic rivets out and swapped the center panels out,and re-riveted everything back together,so give them a real close look and see if you can do the same
Thanks for the advice. I would probably either see if someone has some R/T single cab leather door panels that they wanna sell or trade because I have a ton of stuff left over from this swap.
 

Wild one

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Thanks for the advice. I would probably either see if someone has some R/T single cab leather door panels that they wanna sell or trade because I have a ton of stuff left over from this swap.
Widen your search as there's alot of regular cab 4X4 Sports out there,and alot of them have the same panels as the R/T's.My regular cab 4X4 Sport has more options then 3 of my buddies R/T's have
 
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1500Teej

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Widen your search as there's alot of regular cab 4X4 Sports out there,and alot of them have the same panels as the R/T's.My regular cab 4X4 Sport has more options then 3 of my buddies R/T's have
I will definitely keep that in mind thanks Wild one. I have everything back into the truck except the door panels. I'm attempting to source a 8 speed tranny and swap that in since I have the dash and cabin harness and the dial shifter for a 8 speed equipped truck. I'm sure I will need more items and parts.

I went searching and I found this forum
https://www.ramforum.com/threads/8-speed-swap.180898/
it gave me the advice I needed. Once I get this sorted out I will be back and post more pics of the finished product
 
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pittrader1988

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isn't it just cheaper to trade and get one with what you want?? I have a tradesman, and it's bare bones. I'd like to upgrade the interior exactly how you are doing (heated/cooled leather with Uconnect) but I can't find the seats (checked eBay). Seems expensive to do when you include labor. I am just thinking about this because the upgrade would be great on over the road trips.
 
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1500Teej

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isn't it just cheaper to trade and get one with what you want?? I have a tradesman, and it's bare bones. I'd like to upgrade the interior exactly how you are doing (heated/cooled leather with Uconnect) but I can't find the seats (checked eBay). Seems expensive to do when you include labor. I am just thinking about this because the upgrade would be great on over the road trips.
It all depends on the individual. I could have got a R/T model and that would ga e been that but I like the challenge of tinkering and it feeds my creative side lol tmi but it all depends and as for price it depends where you look. When it comes to the upgrades I’ve done so far
Laramie seats and center console and evic 7” cluster - $500
8.4 UAS uconnect non nav w/ bezel -$250
Laramie complete dash and harness and crash bar - $450
Laramie full leather steering w/ smart key w/ remote start -$100
8hp70 4x2 transmission -$450

So adding taxes and little things here and there and I’m about 2k in the truck with some nice upgrades and i’ve spent a third of what I brought the truck for, 6k so I have a 8k truck so far and I am having a blast hitting all these challenges aka brick walls and at the end if it’s mine. My monthly payments so low it feels like I own it. $160 a month because I didn’t want a car payment or atleast to feel like I didn’t have a payment so yeaa my situation is specific to me. I can’t speak for others.
 
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1500Teej

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**Update**
I’ve been reading and looking through stuff and I have a couple question I’d like to ask so that the forum can flame or verify.

I have a UAS 8.4 out of a 2018 Ram

I have a the full laramie dash and dash harness with all the connectors and crash bar out if a 2017 Ram. Everything except the hvac stuff that’s bolted to the firewall.

I have the laramie seats and center console out of a 2018 Ram 1500

Everything is installed in a 2013 Ram 1500 Express that was wired like a
R/T model. I have wiring for remote start and heated/vented seats. i made the seats turn in and cycle through their functions - heat/vent both seats work

Here are the issues that I need help with and

I don’t have the T connector on the back of the dual zone atc climate bezel so I know there’s a harness that’s made so that is probably why I can’t turn my 4 speed fan (2013 hvac hardware mtc) down or off from the screen. So I need the harness from m2mods to correct and be able to change my hvac control and turn the fan off?

When I enable settings in alfaobd they appear on the screen greyed out and the physical seat switches for heat that sit at the bottom of the console won’t light up. Is that an issue with the 2013 bcm?

Also my media hub isn’t lighting up even though it’s connected it lit up once but through an engine cycle it went away?? Thoughts?
 

pittrader1988

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It all depends on the individual. I could have got a R/T model and that would ga e been that but I like the challenge of tinkering and it feeds my creative side lol tmi but it all depends and as for price it depends where you look. When it comes to the upgrades I’ve done so far
Laramie seats and center console and evic 7” cluster - $500
8.4 UAS uconnect non nav w/ bezel -$250
Laramie complete dash and harness and crash bar - $450
Laramie full leather steering w/ smart key w/ remote start -$100
8hp70 4x2 transmission -$450

So adding taxes and little things here and there and I’m about 2k in the truck with some nice upgrades and i’ve spent a third of what I brought the truck for, 6k so I have a 8k truck so far and I am having a blast hitting all these challenges aka brick walls and at the end if it’s mine. My monthly payments so low it feels like I own it. $160 a month because I didn’t want a car payment or atleast to feel like I didn’t have a payment so yeaa my situation is specific to me. I can’t speak for others.
Where did you get the seats and console for $500? I am looking online and see quotes of at least $2000.
 
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1500Teej

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Where did you get the seats and console for $500? I am looking online and see quotes of at least $2000.
Yeaa it was a bet/wager that I won against the owner of the yard. If I would have lost I would have had to pay full price.
 

bretthays

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I think it will be nearly impossible to find any used R/T Single cab door panels... I have been looking forever. Here's a guy on Youtube who was in your same boat and combined the leather arm rests from the quad cab door panels into his single cab panels.. turned out great.

Door Panel Project
 
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1500Teej

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I think it will be nearly impossible to find any used R/T Single cab door panels... I have been looking forever. Here's a guy on Youtube who was in your same boat and combined the leather arm rests from the quad cab door panels into his single cab panels.. turned out great.

Door Panel Project
Thanks for sharing this his panels look amazing. I might have to follow these steps if nothing turns up
 
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1500Teej

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I will look into this once I get these little alfa obd programming issues out the way.

Could use some help with why the bottom panel with all the buttons won’t light up? I have the connector in and I don’t know what the name of that would be to enable it in alfaobd the other part was I was reading about the 2013’s heated seat controls on the screen greyed out. Is there a fix for this? I wasn’t able to find it, maybe y’all know & my interior mirror dims but the little green light button between addis and 911 won’t light up. I have all the connectors and hardware I even enabled the options in alfaobd, it dims but the microphone for bluetooth no longer work and it did before I used alfaobd on it
 

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Wild one

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I will look into this once I get these little alfa obd programming issues out the way.

Could use some help with why the bottom panel with all the buttons won’t light up? I have the connector in and I don’t know what the name of that would be to enable it in alfaobd the other part was I was reading about the 2013’s heated seat controls on the screen greyed out. Is there a fix for this? I wasn’t able to find it, maybe y’all know & my interior mirror dims but the little green light button between addis and 911 won’t light up. I have all the connectors and hardware I even enabled the options in alfaobd, it dims but the microphone for bluetooth no longer work and it did before I used alfaobd on it
That i can't help with,my regular cab 14 Sport has pretty well every available interior option you could get on a regular cab in 14,so i've never looked into adding any interior options to it.If it doesn't make it go faster i'm usually not to interested in adding it,lol.The only thing i've added are paddle shifters,and i have to give that credit to my buddy who built a few of them back in 2015,and he installed them for me
 

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