First Ram Promaster van class B

georgelesley wrote:

Davydd wrote:
I don't know a single Sprinter owner that has ever had to be towed and I know and have met many a Sprinter B owner. In over 100,000 miles driving some of the most remote roads in North America (Alaska and Yukon) with confidence I have never had a breakdown. I guess if that is your worry and driving criteria then you deserve a lesser solution that might breakdown and need to be towed. ;)

I guess I have to agree with Dave on this one. Worrying about a breakdown of a chassis that has been around for a long time is rather like letting the possibility of bad weather make you stay home. Can they break? Sure any machine can. Will they? Not likely to anymore than anything else. Buy Progressive Insurance like we did. Their towing coverage pays for the tow to the nearest facility that can fix your machine.

It was reading about the breakdowns and long tows (on Sprinter forums and Yahoo Sprinter groups for a number of years) that made my decision. Granted it is a great platform and breakdowns are rare, but for a woman who travels alone - mostly in the empty service-less prairies, safety and common sense prevailed.

While my local Dodge dealer will still do an oil change on any Sprinter, anything to do with warranty or requiring parts would necessitate a 300 mile drive. Personally I think MB has dropped the ball with the Sprinter and it will come back to bite them once there is decent competition - and this thread suggests that it is coming.

mumkin wrote:
I think Ford and the new Chrysler vans will push Sprinter out as quickly as the RV converters can get up to speed.

The 3.6 Litre Gas engine will be a liability. It appears they are not offering the Diesel like they do here. Not exactly great thinking there. The Insides of the Winnebago version, especially the collapsing bed look a bit pedestrian.

mlts22 wrote:
I wonder what its towing capacity will be. The ability to safely use a hitch mounted cargo rack or even a small enclosed trailer will come into handy.

Not much. You get a lot more with the diesel.

The Diesel makes a big difference in the towing performance

Davydd wrote:
I don't know a single Sprinter owner that has ever had to be towed and I know and have met many a Sprinter B owner. In over 100,000 miles driving some of the most remote roads in North America (Alaska and Yukon) with confidence I have never had a breakdown. I guess if that is your worry and driving criteria then you deserve a lesser solution that might breakdown and need to be towed. ;)

Ditto again

Davydd wrote:
I don't know a single Sprinter owner that has ever had to be towed and I know and have met many a Sprinter B owner. In over 100,000 miles driving some of the most remote roads in North America (Alaska and Yukon) with confidence I have never had a breakdown.

Ditto. :)

The concern about reliability can be used the other way. NCV3 Sprinters have been around since 2007, and the 2014 models mainly had cosmetic changes. The DEF tank has been around for a few years.

On the other hand, the ProMaster is a completely new product, with a new engine. The van itself has been around for a long while across the pond, but what is critical is the engine and drivetrain.

My take is that one can't go wrong with either vehicle, although the Travato makes a lot of compromises for CCC.

Davydd wrote:
I don't know a single Sprinter owner that has ever had to be towed and I know and have met many a Sprinter B owner. In over 100,000 miles driving some of the most remote roads in North America (Alaska and Yukon) with confidence I have never had a breakdown. I guess if that is your worry and driving criteria then you deserve a lesser solution that might breakdown and need to be towed. ;)

I guess I have to agree with Dave on this one. Worrying about a breakdown of a chassis that has been around for a long time is rather like letting the possibility of bad weather make you stay home. Can they break? Sure any machine can. Will they? Not likely to anymore than anything else. Buy Progressive Insurance like we did. Their towing coverage pays for the tow to the nearest facility that can fix your machine.

I don't know a single Sprinter owner that has ever had to be towed and I know and have met many a Sprinter B owner. In over 100,000 miles driving some of the most remote roads in North America (Alaska and Yukon) with confidence I have never had a breakdown. I guess if that is your worry and driving criteria then you deserve a lesser solution that might breakdown and need to be towed. ;)

It appears the bathroom door is a corner entry with a 45 deg. cutout of the corner thus the matching cutout of the bed.

Do the front seats turn? It looks as if they have to be shoved all the way forward to make the back seat and ottoman function with the table. That would not be a good solution.

The back bed appears to have a chunk cut out of it so you can get to the bathroom if it is down. You can sort of see it around 1:01 in the second video.

The half-dinette is interesting, with the table leaves which fold out to allow the ottoman (guessing it has a back when the van door is closed) and the front driver's seat to use it when turned around. I wonder how that makes into a bed though, as the front storage above the cab (0:14 on the first video) seemed to have several cushions ready to go.

how do you get in the bathroom if the back bed is down?

The bed has the corner cut out of it, presumably for bathroom access.