Hansolo
Junior Member
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2018
- Posts
- 24
- Reaction score
- 18
- Location
- Woodlands, TX
- Ram Year
- 2018 Ram 1500 Express Quad cab
- Engine
- Hemi 5.7
I recently purchased and installed the following off of Amazon (from Ohio Diesel Parts):
https://www.ohiodieselparts.com/pro...00-2500-3500-1-2-front-driver-seat-spacer-kit
This is a remedy to an issue I saw with the non-power driver seat in my 2018 Express. Mine only has the pull lever under the front of the seat to slide back and forth and the handle on the side to recline the back rest. There is no adjustment for bottom cushion tilt. This is a much cheaper route than the better option of swapping in a power seat from a higher model truck with the bottom tilt, lumbar adjust etc. (I was not going to throw down that much cash).
As I drove my new Ram for a while with the seat stock, I noticed I felt like I was sitting just a bit lower than I would like in the cab and that I was tilted too far forward on the bottom cushion. It felt as if I was fighting sliding forward all the time and it would cause my legs to cramp a bit after drives longer than 30 minutes.
The first thought you may be having while reading this is that I must be a short man. I am 6'1", so this is not something height related. Although, I must say that if I was shorter and wanted a way to get up higher in the cab, this would be a good solution (kit has the option to raise you 2 inches. I did the 1 inch mod).
With the 1 inch mod at my height, I am sitting as high as I would want to be and the bottom cushion is tilted back at a comfortable angle. Raising the seat 2 inches would be too much as my head would be about 3 inches from touching the roof. If you are 6'3" or taller and just want to tilt the seat cushion back without any additional height, you could try and only install the front brackets.
Anyway, it took a few days for me to adjust to the new driving position and feel. I love it now and my legs are much more comfortable. I can also see better sitting higher and feel safer. Win win.
Only thing I would say I don't like is that because of the tilt back of the bottom cushion and added leg support, I need to slide the seat further forward to reach the pedals comfortably. This is not necessarily a bad thing though as I am closer to the radio knobs etc which is nice.
If you are thinking what I was when I first was looking at this kit... "I can go to Home Depot and get my own washers, bolts and such"... don't. Spend the money on this kit as it is made custom for this application. After seeing it and installing it, I was VERY happy I did not go the HD route!
No need for a tutorial because this is quite easy to figure out even though there are no real instructions with the kit. The referenced website above walks you though it but does not have pics. Only the front brackets gave me some grief and they sent me one image that answered the question (basically that the front brackets do not lay flat, they install vertically).
You probably already know that taking out the bolts that fasten the seat to the vehicle can be tough because of how highly torqued down they are from the factory. You might need an extra breaker bar with your socket wrench. Also, give it all you got when tightening new bolts in for kit (unless you are Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson).
You DO NOT want to have anything loosening up on you while driving when it comes to your seat.
Here are the pictures of the kit installed in my truck.
Under the front of the seat. You can see the brackets underneath.
Rear spacers (first pic is size ref with penny). You can barely see them installed under stock brackets in 2nd pic (I only installed one per)
And here is how it looks overall from the side
https://www.ohiodieselparts.com/pro...00-2500-3500-1-2-front-driver-seat-spacer-kit
This is a remedy to an issue I saw with the non-power driver seat in my 2018 Express. Mine only has the pull lever under the front of the seat to slide back and forth and the handle on the side to recline the back rest. There is no adjustment for bottom cushion tilt. This is a much cheaper route than the better option of swapping in a power seat from a higher model truck with the bottom tilt, lumbar adjust etc. (I was not going to throw down that much cash).
As I drove my new Ram for a while with the seat stock, I noticed I felt like I was sitting just a bit lower than I would like in the cab and that I was tilted too far forward on the bottom cushion. It felt as if I was fighting sliding forward all the time and it would cause my legs to cramp a bit after drives longer than 30 minutes.
The first thought you may be having while reading this is that I must be a short man. I am 6'1", so this is not something height related. Although, I must say that if I was shorter and wanted a way to get up higher in the cab, this would be a good solution (kit has the option to raise you 2 inches. I did the 1 inch mod).
With the 1 inch mod at my height, I am sitting as high as I would want to be and the bottom cushion is tilted back at a comfortable angle. Raising the seat 2 inches would be too much as my head would be about 3 inches from touching the roof. If you are 6'3" or taller and just want to tilt the seat cushion back without any additional height, you could try and only install the front brackets.
Anyway, it took a few days for me to adjust to the new driving position and feel. I love it now and my legs are much more comfortable. I can also see better sitting higher and feel safer. Win win.
Only thing I would say I don't like is that because of the tilt back of the bottom cushion and added leg support, I need to slide the seat further forward to reach the pedals comfortably. This is not necessarily a bad thing though as I am closer to the radio knobs etc which is nice.
If you are thinking what I was when I first was looking at this kit... "I can go to Home Depot and get my own washers, bolts and such"... don't. Spend the money on this kit as it is made custom for this application. After seeing it and installing it, I was VERY happy I did not go the HD route!
No need for a tutorial because this is quite easy to figure out even though there are no real instructions with the kit. The referenced website above walks you though it but does not have pics. Only the front brackets gave me some grief and they sent me one image that answered the question (basically that the front brackets do not lay flat, they install vertically).
You probably already know that taking out the bolts that fasten the seat to the vehicle can be tough because of how highly torqued down they are from the factory. You might need an extra breaker bar with your socket wrench. Also, give it all you got when tightening new bolts in for kit (unless you are Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson).
You DO NOT want to have anything loosening up on you while driving when it comes to your seat.
Here are the pictures of the kit installed in my truck.
Under the front of the seat. You can see the brackets underneath.
Rear spacers (first pic is size ref with penny). You can barely see them installed under stock brackets in 2nd pic (I only installed one per)
And here is how it looks overall from the side
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