The Promaster we found was the base model so we knew we wanted to make a few adjustments to the cab area. We ended up replacing the radio, installing a backup camera, installing cruise control, putting the seats on swivels, and adding nicer looking floor mats.

Radio replacement:

The radio that came with our Promaster was a terrible single din radio. We knew we wanted something that could connect to our phones, play music off a SD card as well as support Android Auto/Apple CarPlay. There were many options that would work for us but we settled on the Pioneer ACHNEX-4200 (there are newer models now such as the 2550NEX). Note, if your Promaster has a stock radio with steering wheel mounted controls, this part list is not correct and other parts are required.

Part List:

Pioneer AVH-2550NEX (Buy on Amazon)
Metra Electronics 40-VW12 Antenna Adapter (Buy on Amazon)
Metra 70-1784 Radio Wiring Harness (Buy on Amazon)
Metra 95-6523 Installation Dash Kit (Buy on Amazon)

The first step was to disconnect the battery so we could get rid of the stock Promaster radio. There are two small holes on either side of the stock radio intended for a special tool for removal. We used a bent metal cloths hanger, inserted the ends into the holes, and the radio popped out. The radio is attached by a few electrical connections in the back that you can remove once the face of the radio is off.

In order to have space to install the dash kit for the new radio, the storage shelf below the radio had to be removed. The dash kit allows a nice original manufacturer look to the radio trim and secures the new radio.

Before the next step, we looked up the designation of each of the wires coming off the new wiring harness. This info was included in the radio installation instructions and it seems the color coding is generally consistent between brands.

We connected the same color wires by twisting the ends together and ignored some wires from the new radio that did not apply to our installation (rear speakers, etc). We then plugged the radio harness into the van plug and tried to boot up the radio. It worked!

The only connection we had an issue with was the auto dimming feature. It is supposed to change the brightness of the stereo when you turn on lights or adjust the brightness of the dash. Honestly, we don’t really miss it and just have the brightness set at one level or have it auto adjust at a set time (around dusk/dawn).

Next, we soldered the connections we had originally twisted together, from the wiring harness wires to the radio wires, and used heat-shrink tubing to protect the connections.

An important part of getting this radio for us was easy access to Android Auto and/or Apple CarPlay, which the new radio supports. The Promaster has two USB ports. We decided to wire the one to the right of the steering wheel to the new radio. It required removing the existing USB cable from its housing (which required taking the dashboard apart further) and running a new USB male to female cable. We secured the new USB cable to the existing housing and it allows us to easily plug in a phone for navigation or music.

Once we had everything tested and functioning we reassembled the dash, installed the dash trim kit and inserted the radio.

Back up camera:

We purchased a back up camera from Reversecamera.com, but right now they do not seem to stock any Ram Promaster reverse cameras. I found an identical looking back up camera on Amazon (Buy on Amazon) which appears to be the same one I purchased but available from a different vendor.

Part List:

Brake Light Rear View Camera (Buy on Amazon)

The back up camera we purchased mounted as part of the middle running light above the rear doors. It gets sandwiched between the light and the sheet metal, similar to how the OEM factory back up cameras are installed.

We first unplugged the middle light above the rear doors from the inside. The power cable has a clip that can be unplugged, then the light is unscrewed from the outside.

We next removed the radio (that we just installed) and ran the camera display wire from the radio compartment to the rear of the van. It was run below the steering wheel, through the dash, and up the A-pillar over the drivers side door, before hitting the ribs of the van which would carry it all the way to the back. We also tapped into the brake light wiring in the rear of the van to provide a signal of when the van was in reverse. That signal is used to automatically pull the back up camera display on to the radio.

We connected it all, loosely put the radio back in to the dash and tested it out. It worked!

Cruise control:

The control box. We mounted it behind the dash, in the space to the left of the steering wheel.

We decided we wanted to have cruise control because we anticipated that we would be driving long distances on highways at times. In retrospect, we don’t use it as much as we thought we would. It works fine, but often times we are driving up and down hills/mountains and it is not so useful there. The cruise control works pretty well, but some times it overcompensates and upshifts more rapidly than I would like or overshoots the requested speed briefly (usually on hills if you keep it on). A fully built Promaster conversion can be heavy and the engine has to work at times on steep roads.

Part List:

Rosta Cruise Control Kit (Buy on Amazon)

The installation is fairly easy and comes with illustrated instructions.

We mounted the control box behind the dash and plugged it into the ODB2 port. We mounted our control box near the steering column in an empty space with adhesive velcro.

Only one wire had to be soldered to the ignition to provide power and we drilled a small hole in the steering column to mount the cruise control stalk.

The rest of the installation involved plugging the power wire, the ODB2 wire, and control stalk wire into the control box using the attached connectors.

Floor mats:

This may be the easiest upgrade we made to the van.

Part List:

Northridge Floor Mat (Buy at Lloyds)

We ordered a mat from Lloyds which was custom cut to fit the dimensions of a Promaster front area. The front of a Promaster van is a magnet for dirt and there are a lot of crevices that are hard to clean. We chose a mat that has depth to catch water, dirt, mud and rocks. We can easily vacuum it out or take the whole mat out of the van and shake it out.

Swivel seats:

Swivel seats were an easy way to add more seating to your van when parked and open up the limited square footage for not that much money. We did research and wanted to ensure we could swivel the seats with the driver and passenger doors closed (some apparently need you to open them slightly). Our only dislike of the swivels is that they add a few inches to the seat height so Sarah’s feet do not rest all the way on the floor when she is driving. It is possible to buy a shorter seat base to lower the Promaster seats.

Part List:

Swivels R Us Promaster Swivels (Buy on Swivels R Us)

We decided on the Swivels R Us swivels. We ordered them online and received them promptly.

The installation process was relatively straightforward. We disconnected the battery before starting and left it disconnected for at least 5-10 minutes. We were unclipping the airbag sensors and wanted to ensure there was no chance of them going off.

We unclipped the yellow and orange wires under the seat that run from the seat to the floor. These are the airbag sensors.

The factory Promaster driver and passenger seats have a base and a top. The base is bolted to the floor and the top is bolted to the base and contains the seat as well as the sliding mechanism to adjust the seat.

We removed the top of the seat by undoing the bolts in the below photos.

These bolts connect the seat itself to the base.

We then placed the swivel seat in the correct orientation on the base and then installed the original bolts. We had to twist the swivel to be able to access the bolts.

Lining up the swivel seat bolts with the seat base. You can see the unplugged airbag sensor wires below.

Next, we reinstalled the top seat to the swivel using the provided hardware and reattached the airbag sensors. The airbag sensors should run through the open circle in the middle of the swivel seat base.

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