Sportsmobile Promaster Photos

[rockymtnb]

Campervan North America has posted new photos of their Sportsmobile Promaster rental units. To the best of my knowledge these are the first photos of completed SMB Promaster units, based on the 136 inch wheelbase Ram Promaster with an overall length just under 18 ft.

http://www.campervannorthamerica.com/photo-gallery-treasure-chaser.shtml

It's a fairly basic conversion designed as a four passenger upgrade to the Ford Transit Connect mini-campers. But apparently it does have a full inverter and electric water heater, along with rooftop solar. Interesting drop-down bunk configuration too.

Not quite sure where in the subforums this belongs, but I'll start with the Sprinter area since the Promaster and full size Ford Transit have similar layouts and conversion options.

 

[REF]

Looks like a great rental alternative, they aren't cheap though.

 

[tonyvoudy]

Looks like a great rental alternative, they aren't cheap though.

Wow! Those rates are pretty high! You were not kidding!

 

[twogone]

Looks like a great rental alternative, they aren't cheap though.

plus prepaid cleaning :e7:

 

[windguy]

PeteM - thanks for sharing that link. You said in the other thread that this conversion was done by SMB-Texas.

what I like best about the pics is the scenery. really beautiful spot.
the Promaster and conversion, not so sure about.
do you guys like that conversion layout?
to me it seems really awkward having that L in the galley, which they call a storage area.
it looks like a shelf in that L becomes part of the bed. maybe it makes more sense seeing it in person.
I'd rather see a cabinet along the passenger side, which appears unused and leave the aisle open.
that hanging platform bed seems kind of funky. getting in and out of that could be interesting.

If a Sprinter, Transit and Promaster went on the dating game I think the Promaster would go home with a consolation prize. :b1:
Having said that I think it's great there are more options on the market for this style of van. competition and choices is a good thing. It would be really cool to see someone like Motor Trend to do a head-to-head comparison of all three vans.

 

[AlexM-SMB]

I'm going to rent that Campervan North American Promaster in a week to log some miles before I buy. If you have any questions fire away. It does seem like it will be an awkward layout.

 

[SCBrian]

I haven't seen the Promaster Dual Slider before. Layout probably is dictated by that.

 

[rockymtnb]

Must be Promaster season… Van Specialties has now posted Gallery pics for three of their Ram Promaster conversions. One appears to be a straight work van but the other two have more camping/RV features.

http://www.vanspecialties.com/van-gallery/#ram-promaster

The 'All Angles' unit appears to be based on the 20 ft Promaster and includes an Espar controller - perhaps that means diesel Promasters are now available? The conversion layout seems nice and roomy.

 

[SCBrian]

Out of curiosity I checked Outside Vans page:

http://www.outsidevan.com/next-mission.php

Limited inside pics.

 

[AlexM-SMB]

PeteM,
My apologies for the delay, yes, here are a few thoughts. I did rent the CampervanNA Promaster they call the "Treasure Chaser" and drove it from Vegas to SMB West to Zion and back. Plenty of miles. Overall, it was enjoyable to drive and my comments will probably mimic others on the forum. It was the gas 3.6L, and I averaged 17-18mpg doing probably 3/4 highway miles and 1/4 smaller and hilly roads. The van handled well at lower speeds and was very nimble and easy to drive on narrow winding roads. I thought it was a bit twitchy at 70+ mph and generally felt comfortable driving it a little slower than normal traffic speeds on the highway. The 3.6L was plenty powerful, but I wasn't thrilled with the transmission shifting selection. It needed to shift out of 6th to do about anything. No huge deal I guess. I really didn't like the engine braking algorithm. It did a good job of maintaining / slowing to a fixed speed on downhills but it was really too much. I had to apply gas to gain a little momentum as one would normally desire. A few times it downshifted suddenly as a hill got steeper to maintain a slow fixed speed, which jerked the van and ran RPMs way up. If you were on ice and this happened, I would fear loosing control/lawsuit. I expect the diesel will not have this problem. I'm 6' tall. The seats were surprisingly comfortable driving all day. Aftermarket seat swivels would make the seats too tall for anyone shorter than me. I was disappointed I couldn't adjust the driver side mirror high enough for me. How'd that get through QA? As stated elsewhere, I also had to slam doors to get the dash light off, struggled with gas pump auto shutoff more than normal, tripped on the ebrake handle, heard a little brake squeak, etc. Although I initially didn't like the lack of steering wheel tilt, I got used to the new hand position and it was ok. All this said, I still think it will be a great RV platform and still plan to get one. I just hope they work out a few more issues by the time I order.

 

[rockymtnb]

Alex, thanks for that first-person trip report on the Sportsmobile Promaster conversion. Your observations seem to match well with comments elsewhere on Ram Promaster forums. The need to shift out of 6th gear for any hill or acceleration seems pretty common for modern vehicles with tall overdrive for economy, even my Honda has to shift out of top gear for anything more than a flat cruise. But the forced downshifts for engine braking seem particularly problematic, I hope they'll revise those shift points for upcoming model years.

The only other Promaster RV conversion with significant user experience is the Winnebago Travato based on the 159" wheelbase chassis. Those users report smooth handling at highway speeds, so the difference between the 136" wheelbase "Treasure Chaser" unit's maneuverable but twitchy handling may be due to nearly 2 foot longer wheelbase on the Travato.

It's striking how much more interior space the Promaster provides compared to our Sprinter. We rented the "Two for the Road" Sportsmobile Sprinter from Campervan NA last spring before purchasing our Sprinter. A similar length Promaster provides almost 1-1/2 ft more interior length and 6" more width at cabinet height. However Sportsmobile's van dimensions page doesn't show that much difference because they assume a 14" footrest buildout behind the front seats for swiveling seats.