Best cargo van?

Wally, check out the Toyota Hi-Ace. It's literally everything I've ever wanted in a large van. Too bad it isn't sold in the US.

I don't know how much it would cost to buy, I would guess that you'd get one new at a dealer in Mexico at a decent price then proceed to hemorrhage money to legally import it.

Tyler Wick wrote:Anymore updates on the promaster build outs?

So far I've only had an issue with the spare tire lowering mechanism, which I'm not using anyway after upgrading to more off-roady tires. I just wrapped up the latest round of build-outs (photos here) for an extended road trip.

forever baffled at how climbers afford promasters and sprinters. i can hardly afford an astro, maybe an e150 if i get lucky and find a sick deal.

teach me your ways.

Soulless Ginger wrote:forever baffled at how climbers afford promasters and sprinters. i can hardly afford an astro, maybe an e150 if i get lucky and find a sick deal. teach me your ways.

Be a decent software engineer and do contract work remotely

Tyler,

Take a look at promasterforum.com for the latest. I kind of stopped keeping up on it when I got rid of mine.

I think my problem may have been fixed shortly after I got rid of it with a softwear update. Other issues to look for are water leaks, especially in the drivers side rocker panels; radiator leaks in early gas models (most have been taken care of); and other smaller things that have a service bulliten out for them (just make sure the dealer does them all before delivery).

If you've read my blog you know the story, but I honestly can't reccomend the Promaster simply due to costumer service. Once all the "bugs" get worked out I think it would be an awesome van, but I'll never own a FCA product again!

Good luck on your search!

Soulless Ginger wrote:forever baffled at how climbers afford promasters and sprinters. i can hardly afford an astro, maybe an e150 if i get lucky and find a sick deal. teach me your ways.

To add to what Tyler said about working remotely in tech:

It's easier to find remote work as a developer, but there are other remote jobs. I work remotely full-time, year-round in software product management, btw.

Also, don't rack up a bunch of student loan or credit card debt, don't live in the Bay Area, and don't breed.

One more.

Yeah, get 500k on a pro master, or a transit. Good luck

Soulless Ginger wrote:forever baffled at how climbers afford promasters and sprinters. i can hardly afford an astro, maybe an e150 if i get lucky and find a sick deal. teach me your ways.

yo at around your age I was eating ramen and driving a beat up corolla :) I used to think sprinter owners are mostly rich spoiled kids until I met many and recently became one myself.

mate, i drive a beat up camry haha. but I'm in the market for a van right now. well i say i am at least, but when i see a good deal i tend to get cold feet. I'm afraid of committing i guess.

I got a 2004 Dodge/Mercedes sprinter a few months ago. Been frequently repairing it ever since. It's nice to drive when it's not having an issue.

I'm in the market for a used cargo van and have limited knowledge in the area of vans as I've driven mostly pickups.

I've found a couple of local vans available that I'm looking at: they both 2012 Ford E150 4.6L V8 vans and one has 68k miles and the other has close to 100k miles. Does anyone have an experience or comments with the reliability of the E150's and specifically the 4.6L V8 motors ?? The vans are in good shape and I can probably get them for an OK price but I'm a little reluctant on buying a used vehicle that are fairly high mileage (especially with a gas motor).

FWIW, I've done the diesel pickup thing before and have no desire to own another diesel even though the vehicles have a longer lifetime.

WIW, I've done the diesel pickup thing before and have no desire to own another diesel even though the vehicles have a longer lifetime.

Why not?

I love my 2015 ford transit cargo. They're affordable with low miles, good gas mileage, lots of space... only issue is the buildout is tough because there are no kits and parts don't just ";fit"; into factor holes or cutouts etc. great van though. I was considering sprinters but I couldn't afford any without tons of miles and I was scared of the emissions bs. Going bad and costing me thousands just to clean up my exhaust.

Check out @superpitted on instagram for a few recent pics of the thing.

Ill chime in for my 2015 Dodge Ram Promaster. It took me about 5 months to build it out. I have taken it on 2 trips. Colorado Springs to Moab, and Colorado Springs to sheld road.

The gas milage is about 18-20 miles a gallon with the van fully loaded with gear plus bed, shelves. Cabinets and hutch.

Going up the road to shelf, which isn't really that bad, I was bouncing all over the place lol. Felt like an amusement ride. Luckily nothing broke.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me. I love it so far.

The promaster vans don't have a lot of clearance at the rear axle. About the same as a sedan

I spend 1 1/2 months converting a 2005 158wb Sprinter It come out really nice but with the bigger vans makes it hard to turn on narrow dirt roads. On the first road trip I got it stuck at Rifle when I did a K turn. Also because the vans are tall and light it is hard to drive then in high winds 50MPH winds made the trip back from Spearfish more very interesting. People say they get warning lights in 15 mpg winds.

The mpg is good 22 and the price was right.

I went with a 2014 high roof promaster diesel. It's been great so far, just a minor issue requiring a software update. 14500 miles.. a few long trips, getting it ready for full time living. I have been getting 21-25 mpg depending on terrain, wind conditions, and fuel quality.

The promaster rear axle is actually only about an inch lower than the rear diff pumpkin on the rear wheel drive sprinters, so not much difference. For my use, the front wheel drive of the promaster is much more important than the extra inch of clearance.

Tyler Wick wrote:I went with a 2014 high roof promaster diesel. It's been great so far, just a minor issue requiring a software update. 14500 miles.. a few long trips, getting it ready for full time living. I have been getting 21-25 mpg depending on terrain, wind conditions, and fuel quality. The promaster rear axle is actually only about an inch lower than the rear diff pumpkin on the rear wheel drive sprinters, so not much difference. For my use, the front wheel drive of the promaster is much more important than the extra inch of clearance.

The front wheel drive and being wider is nice. It did increase the length of the whole van.

This is what I'm talking about, it is well below the center of the wheel. I guess it is not the axle since it is front wheel drive. To me it just begs "hit me" with a rear diff pumpkin I can drive around rocks.

Do you take yours on dirt roads?

dan, what size is your promaster? 2500? gas? that rear axel looks retarded.......