First Ram Promaster van class B

[bobojay5]

Tonight Winnebago introduced a new class B offering on the new Ram Promaster van calling it the "Travato".
More info to come.

[mlts22]

I am guessing this floorplan is something to get a concept model out the door. Once ProMasters get into upfitters' hands, I'm sure we will see better ones.

For example, Roadtrek made a number of engineering decisions/compromises (which had to take a while to perfect) to make the SS Agile usable. Both beds have cabinets over where the feet go, the bathroom sink is on a drawer, and there are only the two front seats for a table. There is always the aisle shower concept which for 1-2 people might be a workable idea, and allows for a much smaller amount of the vehicle to be devoted to a bathroom, although it would be nice to have a dedicated bathroom sink, as opposed to a sink inlay.

I'm eager to see what can be done with the relatively limited length of this chassis. The Transit will be of similar dimensions.

The ironic thing is that about six months ago, I posted asking about rigs in the 20 foot range, finding only SMB and RT offerings. Looks like by the end of 2014, we will have a lot more choices for the 20-21 foot length vans.

[Sunnygirl]

Now that I've seen the floor plan with the bed dimensions, I'm wondering what the target market for the Travato is. The largest bed is 46x75. That's an inch closer to twin bed size than it is to full size. I don't see that as a reasonable bed size for two adults, so I can't see this being the choice of a couple travelling alone - unless they like sleeping in separate beds. The other bed, at 42x72, isn't big enough for a tall adult, and is barely wider than a standard twin size bed. There's no way two of my kids would peacefully share that bed. So I can't see this rig working well for a family with more than one child, either. It seems to me like a compromise that won't fully satisfy anyone, except maybe a single adult travelling with a single child. Maybe my expectations for comfortable sleeping are too high.

[topless]

RobertRyan wrote:

topless wrote:
Front wheel drive AND a Fiat? Never, ever, even consider one.

They well and truly outsell Sprinters in Europe as Class B bases.

That may happen, but I owned one Fiat is was a POS and I've owned 2 FWD and vowed never again. Add those 2 together and you get a vehicle that I will never drive.

[RobertRyan]

markpolo wrote:
Here's the spec sheet and floor plan. Note: this is still pre-production so there may be changes.

This Class C version has a GVWR of 11,000lbs is 26ft long and has a payload of 2640lb.

[markopolo]

Here's the spec sheet and floor plan. Note: this is still pre-production so there may be changes.





Maybe not for everyone but I can see a family with young kids choosing this a second multi-purpose vehicle.

It would be like a small apartment for a single traveler. Leave the rear bed set-up, permanent dinette.

[mlts22]

Looks like the specs are "meh" from what was listed on the class B forum. 14 gallon FW tank, 4 gallon water heater, 11 gallon black, 15 gallon grey, 6 gallons LP (80% usable), 24 gallons gasoline, exterior width, 6' 8".

It appears to be competing with the Chevy vans mainly, probably the closest would be the 170 Versatile.

[Davydd]

Sometimes the other parts of the world come over to us. Here is a CS-Reisemobile DUO short 144" wheelbase 4WD Sprinter from Germany parked next to us at Laird Hot Springs in Canada.

[McK]

RobertRyan

Thanks for all of the great post on this and other topics. I enjoy seeing what is available in other parts of the world.

[RobertRyan]

mlts22 wrote:
Europe has a lot of choices for very useful vehicles. The US really doesn't.

I think one reason is to keep costs down"too" many unique vehicles would drive up costs.
Here is another 4 X4 Van deriative from Europe. It has 32forward speeds in its AMT gearbox(Automatic and Manual Gearbox). It has a 3,850lb payload or a 5,600lb payload Off Road. Performance not far off the Unimog . A IVECO DAILY 4 x4. Just been released in Australia,it stands 9ft

[mlts22]

Everywhere else in the world gets three choices for Ducatos: FWD, RWD, and 4WD. Here in the US, it is FWD or nothing. Similar with Sprinters, where you can get 4WD by paying a couple grand across the pond.

Europe has a lot of choices for very useful vehicles. The US really doesn't.

[RobertRyan]

mlts22 wrote:
The Ducato is FWD, so it would be hard to attach a driveshaft to a transaxle, as well as make clearance for the transfer cases. This means that for almost all intents, a 4x4 conversion is out of the question.

They do sell a 4x4 version of the Ducato in Europe, equivalent to a Sportmobile.


As well Mercedes does sell a 4 X4 Conversion from the factory.

[RobertRyan]

Dayvvd wrote:
The Sprinter will remain in a class by itself because the Ram Ducato can't equal the Sprinter in size and design freedom. Their competition will be with the Ford Transit and in looking at the specs on both now I think the Ford Transit has greater design opportunities.

The US Sprinter has it over the RAM Promaster version of the Ducato in size. Here we have the equal in size to the Sprinter, the VW Crafter (basically the same thing but built by VW)and the IVECO Daily Vans.
The Ducato can be stretched to 27-28ft with the double axle version.

[mlts22]

The Ford Transit will have more upfit ability because it is RWD, so it can be upfitted with a third party 4x4 system like Quigley's or Sportmobile's.

The Ducato is FWD, so it would be hard to attach a driveshaft to a transaxle, as well as make clearance for the transfer cases. This means that for almost all intents, a 4x4 conversion is out of the question.

Ford also will have the six speed auto across the board. To boot, the EcoBoost is getting over its teething problems, getting 20+ MPG numbers on heavier vehicles, although this is heavily dependent on how heavy one's foot is.

[Davydd]

The Sprinter will remain in a class by itself because the Ram Ducato can't equal the Sprinter in size and design freedom. Their competition will be with the Ford Transit and in looking at the specs on both now I think the Ford Transit has greater design opportunities.