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Old 09-17-2013, 10:02 AM   #51
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Re: Dodge Promaster

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Originally Posted by BajaSportsmobile
And yet, those exact same brakes on your E-350 are on an E250 as well as E350 box van, ambulance or Class C Motor Home with a much higher GVWR, as is the same frame, drive shaft, wheel bearings, shock absorbers... GVWR's are way understated. It is proven every day in third world countries like right here in southern California.

When I bought my F250, I first considered a F350, until I learned that there were only three differences in the two trucks: 1) the badges on the body. 2) the height of the lift blocks under the rear springs. 3) licensing fees.

You don't have to throw out the milk on the date on the bottle either.
Sorry, I don't drink milk, or Cool-Aid for that matter.

For my van's particular year, the detailed specs show there are significant differences between E-150, E-250 and E-350. The frame is heavier for the E-350, the tires heavier rated, the rear axle much heavier, and so on. That's not to say Ford may have not used same parts across some models on some years, but it doesn't change the fact that GVWR is meant to communicate to buyers that the vehicle they are looking at is rated for a certain total load.

When a prospective buyer looks at a Sprinter 3500 with a GVWR of about 11000 pounds they can feel comfortable that it will carry that load with reasonable safety. On the other hand a Sprinter 2500 with a GVWR under 9000 pounds won't.

In the case of the ProMaster, there appears to be subtle differences between 1500, 2500, and 3500. If someone wants to load a 3500 above 9350 pounds that's their business, but I'm not buying a Winnebago Trend or any other RV on the basis that I'd have to exceed the GVWR just to carry minimal camping supplies. Given a choice (and there are plenty of choices) I'll buy an RV with adequate cargo carrying capacity.

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Old 09-17-2013, 10:46 AM   #52
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Re: Dodge Promaster

Whether an over GVWR vehicle is safe to operate or not is not a real concern to me. Ok, some of the overloaded vehicles I see worry me, but I'm referring to my vehicles.

What stops me from doing it is the possibility of a lawsuit.

In our lawsuit happy society, a person operating a safe but over GVWR vehicle could be sued in an accident they did not cause. Even worse if they happened to be at full or partial fault. I can see an attorney arguing the van could have stopped/turned/avoided the accident if it had not been overloaded. It will be very difficult to argue against the van being over GVWR. If the possibility of losing everything doesn't make you think twice then you don't think like I do.

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Old 09-17-2013, 04:37 PM   #53
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Re: Dodge Promaster

I'm still not going to worry about it. Do I get points because my heavy van does a bit better in snow? My guess is nobody is gonna run to see the door sticker before I can unload it...at least provided I can. Besides my van doesn't look like this


I might be more worried is the van looked like a stock cargo van over an expedition vehicle. Maybe its happened but I've never heard of somebody running to see if an RV has too much camping gear in it.
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Old 09-18-2013, 07:20 AM   #54
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Re: Dodge Promaster

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Not only do I not know what the total weight of the Trend is, I also don't know what the chassis is rated at. I don't plan to purchase one.
For what it's worth, Winnebago now has Trend model on their WEB site including specs. GVWR is 9350 pounds as expected. I could not find empty weight which is unfortunately typical.
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Old 09-18-2013, 10:49 AM   #55
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Re: Dodge Promaster

Is this the Dodge Pro Master thread ? I must have gotten redirected.
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Old 09-18-2013, 01:42 PM   #56
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Re: Dodge Promaster

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Is this the Dodge Pro Master thread ? I must have gotten redirected.
That never happens on this site!

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Old 09-18-2013, 03:49 PM   #57
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Re: Dodge Promaster

Help me understand what is acceptable thread drift. I'm honestly not sure what the objection is.

The "Trend" is based solely on ProMaster chassis; at least for now. Seems like a direct conection. It along with Travato highlight the very first use of ProMaster vans to build RVs in USA. Discussion slowly drifted in that direction when they were used as examples to address issues like FWD not being ideal for RVs, FWD not providing enough ground clearance, and chassis lacking dual rear wheels not having sufficient capacity to build an adequate large Class B.

Being fairly new here I'd appreciate knowing what is typical of this forum. Is the intent to limit ProMaster discussion to Class B vans as would be used to build a Sportsmobile?
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Old 09-18-2013, 04:25 PM   #58
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Re: Dodge Promaster

I guess if it was titled Dodge Promaster Sportsmobile, discussing the Trend could be an off topic issue but there are several threads on site that discuss/compare non-SMB to SMB vehicles. I say no foul.
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Old 09-19-2013, 02:27 AM   #59
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Re: Dodge Promaster

Sorry I was refering to the Ford chassis talk but inretrospect even that's germain because it is an example of weight rating we can relate to. I also think discussion of the Trend is good because there seems to be talk of SMB delving into the class C realm due to Fords plans to still build cutaway chassis even after they have phased out the standard van.
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Old 09-19-2013, 08:46 AM   #60
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Re: Dodge Promaster

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Originally Posted by stanw909
Sorry I was refering to the Ford chassis talk but inretrospect even that's germain because it is an example of weight rating we can relate to. I also think discussion of the Trend is good because there seems to be talk of SMB delving into the class C realm due to Fords plans to still build cutaway chassis even after they have phased out the standard van.
Thanks, good to know. I don't want to hijack thread.

Regarding your comment above, I would think that if SMB tried their hand at a Class C or Class B+ again it would be at the lower end of the size spectrum. And latest industry practice seems to have smaller RVs going towards Sprinter chassis for fuel economy; even though price is higher.

With Sprinter, ProMaster and Transit soon to offer cutaway chassis which should be more fuel efficient than Ford E-350, I can't see SMB going that route unless it was solely to go 4WD. To me it seems the ProMaster would be ideal, or a future Transit.

Having said that, I'm confused why Thor just announced a couple of days ago that they will be producing a new class of RV based on an E-350 stripped chassis. I don't personally see it as all that new a concept, but the interesting part is that it suggest the E-Series chassis must be planned for the foreseeable future otherwise Thor wouldn't invest in a new model to have the chassis discontinued in a year or two. Ford's plans are puzzling.
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