Hello Everyone,
After months of heart-tugging deliberation and research, I've finally decided to take the plunge and start my journey into doing this van life thing that I keep reading about on this forum
I've decided to christen her (it?) "Vanorama" ...
Having closely followed Vancity, AdventureVanMan and Bob on their respective YT videos, I knew that I wanted a high-roof cargo van, which meant the choice was narrowed down to the Sprinter, ProMaster and Transit.
It was easy to rule out the Sprinter because it is by far the most expensive of the three, not just in terms of initial outlay ($40k for one with 28k mi anyone?), but in terms of repair cost ($150 for a 10 min oil change at friendly dealership anyone?) and lack of places that will repair diesels.
Initially, I ruled out the ProMaster as well because I'm in the camp that finds the humongous PM front bumper BUTT-ugly ... but at the same time, I do find its squarish rear-end rather handsome. Having previously owned a Dodge Ram 1500 pickup whose transmission failed with less than 3000 mi on its odometer was another reason why I ruled out the PM. To further confirm my fears, the FCA group (all three: Dodge, Ram and Chrysler!) occupied top spots in the list of "Top 10 Least Dependable Automakers: 2018 J.D. Power" -- oh how reassuring! And if you want to throw in Fiat, the progenitor of the PM, you can add a 4th to that list!
The two main cons of the Transit however were i. slightly higher cost (for slightly used vans) and more importantly ii. I'm 6'0 and unfortunately the Transit MR is 5'11.5" in its interior height. The HR is not only considerably more expensive, but it clocks in 81.5", which is way more than I need. My van design will be completely stealth, so whereas a MR may get an annoyed look by neighbors when parked in your friendly suburbs, a HR will most surely stand out -- i.e. not in a good way. Not only that, I suspect that extra height will incur a significant MPG hit, and having towed a small travel-trailer on a windy day, tall is not fun when driving.
Both of the above reasons finally drove me back to considering the PM. The PM is perfect, because it's interior height is 76", which if I subtract 1" for the flooring, 1" for the ceiling insulation, 1" for the my shoes, gives me exactly 1" for my unruly hair! Not only is the HR not excessively tall on the inside, but because it is a FWD and dispenses with the driveshaft, the floor of the van is lowered as well, meaning its exterior height is a manageable 99.4" vs a honking 110.2" for the Transit. Exterior length-wise both are comparable at just under 20'. Another pro of the ProMaster is the interior cargo width, which is a few critical inches more for the squarish PM vs the roundish Transit -- that 2 extra inch makes a BIG difference in being able to fit a standard mattress and sleeping comfortably using a space-efficient width-wise layout.
I can deal with the ugliness, and I can spend $100 on an aftermarket rear-view camera (standard on the Transit but not on the PM), and I can overlook the notoriously bad driver cab ergonomics, but reliability is a foremost consideration for me ... Case in point: CaptainVantastic had their brand-new PM break down on them in the middle of nowhere and was (initially) quoted a warranty repair time of "several weeks" by the Dodge dealer! Transmission seems to be a Ram weak-point ...
So just wondering ... Are they any PM owners on this forum (cargo vans or Class B's) who have >80k on their vans and can honestly vouch that they'll gladly buy another given a choice :huh:
After months of heart-tugging deliberation and research, I've finally decided to take the plunge and start my journey into doing this van life thing that I keep reading about on this forum
I've decided to christen her (it?) "Vanorama" ...Having closely followed Vancity, AdventureVanMan and Bob on their respective YT videos, I knew that I wanted a high-roof cargo van, which meant the choice was narrowed down to the Sprinter, ProMaster and Transit.
It was easy to rule out the Sprinter because it is by far the most expensive of the three, not just in terms of initial outlay ($40k for one with 28k mi anyone?), but in terms of repair cost ($150 for a 10 min oil change at friendly dealership anyone?) and lack of places that will repair diesels.
Initially, I ruled out the ProMaster as well because I'm in the camp that finds the humongous PM front bumper BUTT-ugly ... but at the same time, I do find its squarish rear-end rather handsome. Having previously owned a Dodge Ram 1500 pickup whose transmission failed with less than 3000 mi on its odometer was another reason why I ruled out the PM. To further confirm my fears, the FCA group (all three: Dodge, Ram and Chrysler!) occupied top spots in the list of "Top 10 Least Dependable Automakers: 2018 J.D. Power" -- oh how reassuring! And if you want to throw in Fiat, the progenitor of the PM, you can add a 4th to that list!
The two main cons of the Transit however were i. slightly higher cost (for slightly used vans) and more importantly ii. I'm 6'0 and unfortunately the Transit MR is 5'11.5" in its interior height. The HR is not only considerably more expensive, but it clocks in 81.5", which is way more than I need. My van design will be completely stealth, so whereas a MR may get an annoyed look by neighbors when parked in your friendly suburbs, a HR will most surely stand out -- i.e. not in a good way. Not only that, I suspect that extra height will incur a significant MPG hit, and having towed a small travel-trailer on a windy day, tall is not fun when driving.
Both of the above reasons finally drove me back to considering the PM. The PM is perfect, because it's interior height is 76", which if I subtract 1" for the flooring, 1" for the ceiling insulation, 1" for the my shoes, gives me exactly 1" for my unruly hair! Not only is the HR not excessively tall on the inside, but because it is a FWD and dispenses with the driveshaft, the floor of the van is lowered as well, meaning its exterior height is a manageable 99.4" vs a honking 110.2" for the Transit. Exterior length-wise both are comparable at just under 20'. Another pro of the ProMaster is the interior cargo width, which is a few critical inches more for the squarish PM vs the roundish Transit -- that 2 extra inch makes a BIG difference in being able to fit a standard mattress and sleeping comfortably using a space-efficient width-wise layout.
I can deal with the ugliness, and I can spend $100 on an aftermarket rear-view camera (standard on the Transit but not on the PM), and I can overlook the notoriously bad driver cab ergonomics, but reliability is a foremost consideration for me ... Case in point: CaptainVantastic had their brand-new PM break down on them in the middle of nowhere and was (initially) quoted a warranty repair time of "several weeks" by the Dodge dealer! Transmission seems to be a Ram weak-point ...
So just wondering ... Are they any PM owners on this forum (cargo vans or Class B's) who have >80k on their vans and can honestly vouch that they'll gladly buy another given a choice :huh:
