Thoughts on Ram ProMaster FWD Vans?

[Vantastic Adventure]

I've unfortunately owned one of these. I now own a Sprinter. It was a $10k mistake - broke on me before I even got it off the dealer lot. Despite two months of trying to get them to fix it, they wouldn't / couldn't and I sold it, disclosing the issue to the next buyer.

Contrasting that van to my Sprinter is like comparing a Geo Metro .... well, to a Mercedes Benz =) The difference in build quality is very noticeable.

 

[KMG]

KMG, like you I am a big fan of the NV, though I haven't pulled trigger on buying one yet. I'm surprised there's not more buzz on this site about them. How's the gas mileage on V8? Still debating V8 vs V6.

Sorry for the late reply. Just forgot to check back. I get a low of 10 and a high of 16 with my high roof. Average 12 around town and 14.5 highway. I wanted the V8 power for towing and while in 4WD.

 

[BajaSportsmobile]

Do tell... the whole story.

I've unfortunately owned one of these. I now own a Sprinter. It was a $10k mistake - broke on me before I even got it off the dealer lot. Despite two months of trying to get them to fix it, they wouldn't / couldn't and I sold it, disclosing the issue to the next buyer.

Contrasting that van to my Sprinter is like comparing a Geo Metro .... well, to a Mercedes Benz =) The difference in build quality is very noticeable.

 

[MDM54]

Had a Chevy Express AWD until it broke down and left me stranded in the Red Dessert of Wyoming. Was able to limp into Rawlings the next day and got to the Chrysler dealership just before closing. The sales manager put me up at his house that night and the next morning we drove down to Montrose CO and picked up a Promaster high top 159" model. Another night at the sales manager's place and the next morning morning backed up the new to the old and transferred all my stuff. Stooping in the Express and standing in the Promaster with enough head room to do jumping jacks left me with zero buyers remorse. The Promaster has the same great V6 engine that my Wrangler does but you'd never know it by driving it. Both perform well.
The only time the AWD Express would stop is when it got high centered.
The Promaster is a great comfortable, capable on road vehicle but is not up to off road use. Off shoulder use with slow caution and all terrain tires is possible. Only place the stock tires are going to get you is stuck if you venture past the road shoulder. Replaced them with BFG KO2 which helped considerable but the one less drive axle compared to the Express (with the same tires) cannot be overcome with tires. Then the 4WD Sprinter became available and I was going to jump ship until I drove the Promaster around the farm. Conclusion: another drive axle will surely get you stuck further out , but will not change the tippie off road nature of any high top van. Perfectly fine tip factor on road though. Still have tempted fate going off shoulder a few times. The front wheel drive suspension is not up to dropping into a hole or rut at any speed above a crawl and at that you need to ease into it. So powering your way through a tuff spot is not an option. Going down hill, first gear is way to high to do anything to control your decent and riding the brakes is necessary. After ruling out the 4WD Sprinter I have considered carrying along an American made Warn winch mounted in a cradle (plenty of room for it) and mount it in the rear receiver hitch for when the inevitable off shoulder stuck situation presents itself. Recommended must have options: Drivers 6 way adjustable seat. Same for the passenger side depending on how you feel about the passenger. Arm rests are left off of some seats for some reason and you need to make sure you get them. Overhead shelf in the cab (probably not the official name). The lack of any and I mean any flat surface within reach of the driver to store anything is a very serious unforgivable flaw in this vehicle. This includes the multiple cup holders that are not reachable with out altering your driving position. There is one cup holder in the door within reach but all bottles fall out of it when the door is opened. Upfitters option (probably not official name) will allow you to add electronic stuff in the cargo area. Heated mirrors.

 

[KMG]

Thanks for the review MDM54.

 

[Warn Industries]

I have considered carrying along an American made Warn winch mounted in a cradle (plenty of room for it) and mount it in the rear receiver hitch for when the inevitable off shoulder stuck situation presents itself.

If you have any questions about finding the right winch for the rig, feel free to PM me.

- Andy

 

[Herbie]

Have an anecdote on this topic from our recent trip up/down the CA coast this summer.

We were staying at Kirk Creek campground, right on the bluffs. It's your basic campground where each site gets a table, fire-ring, and a semi-level graded, but unpaved, driveway. Up a few sites from ours, someone pulled in with a Viva! RV. (Winnebago Class B based on the Promaster). Given that the driveways are all on a compound slope, there's always a little work to level things. I use the lego-style blocks, and needed two stacks 3-blocks high on my downhill side.

The owner of this Viva had the classic stepped "ramp" of laminated 2x8s cut at an angle. Their site sloped mostly right-to-left, and slightly front to back. (They backed into the space). They placed their ramps on the left side, and tried to pull forward (slightly up hill) onto the leveling blocks. Yes, you called it - they dug a nice ditch with the front left wheel, but couldn't get the RV up onto even the first 2" board of their leveling kit. Yes, they might have had more success backing down-hill onto the blocks, but I assure you the fore/aft slope was pretty mild. The bigger issue seemed to be that with the right/left slope and the way the weight shifted rearward when accelerating, they couldn't keep the left-side (downhill) drive wheel loaded enough to drive it up a 2" block.

I was shocked and amused.

Lucky for the owner's, they'd booked adjacent 3 sites with friends so the Viva went into a different space. They also figured out how to use the slope to their advantage the second time.

 

[Quest4ADV]

I love my 2015 PM diesel. It's the 136" wb, high roof. I realized when I bought it that it wasn't an off-road vehicle, but quite honestly I'm getting old and the wifey just has no desire to go out in the boonies

Tons of room, I can stand up in it, I built a bed across the back that I can sleep sideways in. It drives like a dream, I love the auto-shift transmission, just a flick of the wrist to shift up or down.

Plus I can take everything out of it in about 10 minutes and have a huge capacity van to haul crap my wife buys

Different strokes for different folks.