Ram Promaster City Conversion Nearing Completion

[Binxie]

I came up with a simple conversion design for the 2015 Promaster City, which is a mini cargo van. The design is basically just a twin bed with lots of storage (for a tiny vehicle), a cooking area accessed from the outside back, a solar system, and a nice, big awning. It's a van to "live out of" not "live in." But the vehicle is rated at 29 mpg highway!

My buddy, James, is doing the craftsmansip. I'm not nearly as skilled as he is, and he's come up with many improvements on my original concept.

I'd wanted to be on the road a month ago, but we're getting close to the end ... Here's the video update:

[video=youtube]

Some more specs on the model are posted in the Van Dimensions Sticky thread.

Hope to see many of ya'll on the road and at the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous!

 

[myke]

Looks really good! 2 vents in such a small area should be offer pretty amazing ventilation... Were you nervous about cutting a hole in a brand new van? On a side note, do you know if that affects the warranty at all? I am thinking about buying new and was wondering about that...

 

[Binxie]

Were you nervous about cutting a hole in a brand new van? On a side note, do you know if that affects the warranty at all?

Myke, I wasn't *too* worried about cutting the holes, but James was. It turned out to be pretty simple because the steel is so thin, like thick paper. He just cut it with a jigsaw. However, he accidently put a small dent on the roof by sitting on it, and he's not a big guy at all, maybe 140 lb. Thin steel is, I guess, part of how the van has such amazing mileage. Fortunately, it's minor and hidden under all that roof rack stuff. Once we put a wind fairing on the front of the roof rack, you'll never see it.

The only thing that seems to void the Ram warranty as a whole is messing with the odometer. They have written a lot of flexibility in the warranty for modification, which makes sense given that businesses do all sorts of mods to work vehicles. The exterior sheet metal and paint has a 5-year warranty, but I imagine if I get rust at the vent holes, Ram won't cover that damage as it's an aftermarket modification, which is reasonable. We've taken care to make sure that rust doesn't happen, though, by repainting the hole edges.

Other than the vent holes and some screws, the only modifications made to the stock van have been removing two plastic floor covers just inside the sliding doors, which James replaced with the wooden steps/platforms, and disconnecting the rear inside ceiling light. We haven't touched the engine or drivetrain. In theory, I could rip out all the mods, except the vents, and resell this vehicle as a work van. But I plan to drive this thing for a decade or two until it's falling apart.

 

[myke]

^^ Awesome, thanks for the info! That's great to hear the warranty is mostly still intact.

Oh, and the solar panels look great. One more question... how are you running the wires into the interior? Through one of the vent holes? Or elsewhere perhaps?

 

[Binxie]

Oh, and the solar panels look great. One more question... how are you running the wires into the interior? Through one of the vent holes? Or elsewhere perhaps?

We used PG9 cable glands. Here are photos from the roof and the inside ceiling.

 

[LeeRevell]

We used PG9 cable glands. Here are photos from the roof and the inside ceiling.

Very neat idea!  Found them here:

PG9 Cable Glands:
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...vptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_3u069sjqx9_e

 

[myke]

We used PG9 cable glands. Here are photos from the roof and the inside ceiling.

Nice!

 

[Binxie]

I'd hoped to be done with the conversion and on the road by end of June. We never did finish, and I took it on the road in early September in a near-finished state. But living in it a while before finishing the cabinetry turned out to be a stroke of good luck!

You can compare the attached pictures to the original plans (in the video at this thread's beginning or posted as images here). Now I have a makeshift headrest. And the sliding-door cabinets that were supposed to be to the left and right of the bed are incomplete, as well as the chuck that was supposed to be in back. We also added a rough and ready wind fairing to the rack, with discussions for a better design later.

Now that I'm on the road, I don't see a need for the chuck or the enclosed shelves. Putting in lipped shelves to the left and right of the bed and a similarly sized headrest will be quicker AND make the van feel more spacious. There are other things I'd change as well on the inside, but I can happily live with the internals once we get the shelves and new headrest in. By buddy and I will put those in over Christmas.

But the great news is that the climate control — insulation; solar panels, vent covers, and wood pieces as a secondary roof; and the dual, fanned vents — have worked better than I even hoped. I've slept comfortably in everything from humid, low-90s sunshine to nighttime rainstorms in the low 40s without heat or AC. I haven't even cracked out the heavy sleeping back yet, just several thin blankets.

I do find I've overbuilt my power capacity. The 1500W inverter was a waste; I haven't used it once. That's the only expensive mistake I've made that pisses me off. But my batteries have been running the fans, lights, and my electronics successfully otherwise, never dipping below 12.7V thus far.

For my first conversion AND the first van I've lived in – over a month now! – I'm pretty damned pleased.

 

[WriterMs]

Wow... it looks cool, Binxie. Creating the wall to separate batteries and controls.. yet have great access to them looks like a good idea.

Love the pic in place at a great campsite... that is the best result of all.

 

[Canine]

Great Job!

 

[TMG51]

It's clear a lot of thought has gone into your design. I like the set up. I'm sure living in it will offer much practical experience on top (e.g., the inverter; I carry only a small 170 watt ciggy plug inverter, rarely used, except for the occasion I need to charge a device that can't accept an easy 12v adapter, such as my DSLR batteries).

 

[masterplumber]

I have a 1000 watt inverter, and so far I think the only thing it's been used for is my wife's curling iron. Glad I bought a cheap one to try, instead of a full sine wave model. That said, I think everyone's needs are different, and some people use theirs much more extensively. At least my wife is happy to travel with me on occasion. ; )

Your rig appears very well thought out for you needs. If the only big expense you made a mistake on is the inverter you've done very well. And who knows, one day you may find you need that capacity to help someone run a saw or drill or something.

 

[Binxie]

Passive Cooling in Action (see photo)

As soon as I get everything painting and organized, I'll post photos of the final interior. (Could be a few months. I'm not in a hurry.)

 

[aaronpope]

Great small conversion. 

What type of hit did you take on your gas mileage from the roof hardware?

Thanks.

Aaron

 

[LMTLMT]

Hello Binxie, yes, can you please talk about MPG. I believe factory numbers are 21city/28hwy. Before the build can you actually achieve the 28 mpg on highways? and what are your mpg numbers post build? I think your rig is awesome and for me the size of the promaster "city" is perfect for me as well. There is a $4500 rebate from Ram right now and I'm seriously taking a look at it. Thank you.

 

[youngun]

Hi,

We have been searching for a weekday-commuting/weekend-camping vehicle. Ram Promaster City Wagon caught our attention, along with nissan nv200 and Ford transit connect. 

The reason we would go for wagon version instead of the cargo version is because we need the second row seat for occasional family and friend visiting since this is going to be our only vehicle. 

Also, we only plan to have the camper setting for weekends/long weekends, or short trips. We admire vanlife style however we both have a full time job at the moment to build an early retirement. 

We haven't had the chance to go to the dealer to take a look at it. Are you familiar with the wagon version as well? We saw your post with the cargo version dimension in another thread. Thanks for sharing. We're wondering if we could actually sleep in with the second row fold. We're both under 5'8". 

Our current design is to have removable module boxes to set up a dinette for the day, then convert them into a bed for the evening. 

Any suggestion? 

Thank you very much.