VP4 Radio Swap

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n8dh

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Hi guys, I have an opportunity to get a VP4 radio out of a 2015 Ram for a good deal and I was thinking of doing the swap. I've read through the threads but they've gotten so long and drawn out my head is spinning haha. My truck has the 7 speed fan single zone HVAC with the 5" connect.

1. Will the VP4 radio work with no errors even though I don't have navigation in my truck now? Or do I need a bypass harness?
2. Do I need the HVAC module and conversion harness even though I have the same blower setup? Or is the module needed because the some of the climate stuff is handled through the radio? Could I just grab the harness and module out of the donor truck and have things work properly?

If you have any other tips etc. that would be appreciated.
 
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n8dh

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BTT....hoping someone could help me out on this :)
 

Atcer2018

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It’s probably not getting much traction because it’s been beaten to death in other threads. As our trucks age out and people buy newer ones the swapping out of equipment for nicer options becomes less and less. I have a 2018 that already has the 8.4 and dual zone climate control it if memory serves me correctly you can still use your analog gauges without the new head unit. I’m not sure how everything buttons up but I’d personally grab that harness from the donor vehicle because you can definitely convert your present setup to automatic climate control through the head unit. I do believe you’ll need the dash climate unit from the donor vehicle. You won’t need a bypass harness as it wasn’t till 2018 that they came out with the security gateway. I’d do it if I were you as it’s a nice upgrade. One other question for you. Are you getting the new head unit for a steal? I ask because the 2018 and newer units offer CarPlay and Android Auto. If you’re paying good money for a 2015 unit may want to add a few hundred more and get the latest and greatest stuff.
 

Atcer2018

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You can reach out to M2 Mods in the vendor section for guidance and any parts you may need for the conversion. The guys name is Brandon and he isn’t a big company. It’s a small mom and pop type shop and if you buy from him his parts are quality. I see under his vendor page he has a section pertaining to climate control upgrades so that may be a good place to start. I’ve personally purchased his Auto 4X4 clutch pack lock harness and it works flawlessly.
 
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n8dh

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It’s probably not getting much traction because it’s been beaten to death in other threads. As our trucks age out and people buy newer ones the swapping out of equipment for nicer options becomes less and less. I have a 2018 that already has the 8.4 and dual zone climate control it if memory serves me correctly you can still use your analog gauges without the new head unit. I’m not sure how everything buttons up but I’d personally grab that harness from the donor vehicle because you can definitely convert your present setup to automatic climate control through the head unit. I do believe you’ll need the dash climate unit from the donor vehicle. You won’t need a bypass harness as it wasn’t till 2018 that they came out with the security gateway. I’d do it if I were you as it’s a nice upgrade. One other question for you. Are you getting the new head unit for a steal? I ask because the 2018 and newer units offer CarPlay and Android Auto. If you’re paying good money for a 2015 unit may want to add a few hundred more and get the latest and greatest stuff.
Yeah, I figured. But because it's been beaten to death there is so much garbage to wade through on those threads haha.


I appreciate the input though. The guy wanted $200 (CAD) for the radio which I thought was pretty good...your thoughts?

I haven't seen much in the way of 2018+ radios for sale second-hand but the Android Auto feature sounds really nice.
 

Atcer2018

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$200 is a good price! Kinda hard to pass that up as the Android Auto capable radios would probably be more than $600 used. It would be great if someone who has already been through the upgrade would reply. There are a lot of owners that have done it as evidenced by all the posts. I’m a fan of the climate control and if you’re going with an upgraded radio may as well do the climate control too especially if you can get the needed parts and harness cheap.
 

crash68

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If you already have the 7-spd fan, upgrading to the 8.4 radio should be plug-n-play. You shouldn't need an HVAC module, if I remember it was for some of the lower trim trucks without the 7apd fan.
As for navigation, if you have the shark fin antenna on the roof the GPS antenna is built in to that and both 8.4 radios had GPS(one you had to pay extra to unlock the nav)
 
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n8dh

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Thanks for the input, guys. Unfortunately the ad wasn't quite accurate so the bezel etc. wasn't available so I didn't pull the trigger. I wanted to grab everything out of the parts truck in one shot instead of piecing everything together, so I'll keep sitting on this until something comes up later.
 

TheEnder

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The radio will work but you will not have touch screen controls over the climate control unless you want to get screwed and buy the OEM harness etc.

If you just want the radio to work, and have volume control, you can purchase this:

 

reddawg67

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Or you can get your quality harness from m2mods or if you look hard in the posts you will find directions for making your own or contact @Mpgrimm2
 

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