Hopefully this new tip BKA gave us works for me posting pics. We are getting ready to venture up from Phoenix to Santa Barbara and up the coast to Cannon Beach. We will then stop in Portland to drop the wife to fly home so she can get back to work and I will head down to Crater Lake, then to Klamath Falls, to Nevada City, taking hwy 49 as far as I can and back home to Phoenix from there. This 3 week trip is our longest in our TC and I thought I would remove the back seat to give us a little more storage, as it is pretty limited in the Lance 865. It came out pretty good giving us about an extra 12 inches of space from front to rear. It took about 30 minutes to pull out the rear seat and another full day (12 hours) to make up the rear and back support. This time included running for parts, running for tools I didn't have, naps and lunch and dinner. I'm sure anybody that is properly equipped and more experienced could do it in half the time. I was happy with the way it turned out. I will be putting the rear seat back in my truck when I get back from our trip. Now that it is built it will be easy to remove and replace in the future.

Very niceI have been giving this some thought myself. Better set up for the dogs. I usually haul a 14 ft utility trailer with my Rhino on it so storage isn't an issue But a set up like yours would be perfect for the dogs.

Nice job... I like the removable feature. How hard is it to remove the seat?One of our TC friends installed an alumnum storage box in the rear area of his crewcab GMC... he wanted a lock storage for his toys... and the ammo. He covered the lock box with carpet so that if you look in the very dark windows there is nothing to see.Now he is limited to one passenger forever... We might want to take our 3 great grand kids with us sometime and would need the attic (errr I mean back seat.)I'd try to do it your way.

The hardest part removing the seat was all the bolts had locktite from the factory on them. It took approximately 30 minutes to remove the rear seat.

I did our F-350 the same way, except I laid the plywood on top of the seat so we can have passengers if needed. I also added an inch of carpet padding under the finished fabric. Works great for traveling with our yellow lab. It does give her access to the center console that she thinks is hers. But, then we don't spoil our dogs? Do we?

Is that the megacab then? my quad cab doesn't seem that big, judging from the under seat storage bin location.the back support added extra complexity, especially attachment points, nice work. I lazily opted for just putting a cushion again the rear wall of the cab.does your ram have an electronic air vent in the rear wall of the cab? with no seat covering it, I can hear it open and close as I'm driving down the road, kinda weird.

Replacing the back seat with platform in my 2014' RAM

17 Replies

GpnAZ
Explorer
Jul 29, 2014
dadwolf2 - Thanks Mike, I used wood closet rod with 1/4" hard ply, 3-1/2" round, screwed to the end of the closet rod, painted black.

homefor2 - My truck came with the folding platform which I use often also, but I wanted that extra 12" of room that the seat was taking for our 3 week trip.
homefor2
Explorer
Jul 29, 2014
My truck came with the optional folding platform. It has storage bins under it and flips out after you fold the seat part up. Fantastic feature that we use all the time. In fact the platform is usually folded down for cargo and we rarely use the seats. I love this feature.
dadwolf2
Explorer
Jul 29, 2014
Looks nice Mark. What did you use for legs?
twodownzero
Explorer
Jul 28, 2014
Looks a whole lot better than the cardboard box I cut as a support for my dog's carrier! I wouldn't want to remove my back seat though as stereo equipment is behind it and under it. I do miss my flat load floor though; that was a very useful part of the truck that I gave up for a bit of stereo equipment.
GpnAZ
Explorer
Jul 28, 2014
Photomike - Thanks Mike, I might be able to squeeze some photo gear under there, it's only about 6", otherwise it will be in the overhead cab. I enjoyed looking at your website, nice job on that.

Mello Mike - Thanks Mike, it will be nice to get out of the heat for 3 weeks!

jimh425 - Thanks, I wouldn't give up my backseat either, it will be going back in after the trip.

Marshfly - You're right, there is a quad cab for the 1500, not the 2500/3500. There is a crewcab and megacab for the 2500/3500. I didn't secure the support feet so I can access the under floor compartments, although it is limited access.
Marshfly
Explorer
Jul 28, 2014
Here's no such thing as a quad cab anymore in the 2500/3500. They all get the longer crew or the even longer mega. The quad is Ram's answer to the extended cab and only available now on a half ton.

That came out nice. It's a shame that you couldn't make the feet to where you could still access the under floor compartments. Actually, it's a shame you can't access them with the factory fold flat floor down.
jimh406
Explorer III
Jul 28, 2014
Looks like a good job even though I wouldn't give up my backseat.
Mello_Mike
Explorer
Jul 28, 2014
Looks great, Mark. Terrific use of space. Enjoy the trip.
campn4walleye
Explorer
Jul 28, 2014
My husband did that same thing with the exception that he didn't remove the seat. His bench seat flips up. He flips up and made a perfect fitting platform out of MDF and placed a large thin doormat over it so that nothing slides. Now the weim can ride in comfort and we can carry our scissor jacks.

It looks nice and can be removed when we need to use the seat for passengers. He's brilliant!
Photomike
Explorer III
Jul 28, 2014
Very nice job. If it wasn't for my son coming with I would do this as well. The spot under the platform is great for storage of my camera gear - out of sight, out of mind!