Best cargo van?

Dropped axles are common on non-drive axles... they allow simple, stable suspension designs and larger wheels. It is fairly common for people to "flip" a dropped axle to gain clearance on trailers and such, but I have not heard of anyone doing it on the promaster.

We do regularly take ours on dirt and rock roads, but nothing requiring a great deal of clearance of course. The worst one we have driven is the road into Bowman lake near Tahoe. In my opinion, if you want to do pretty hardcore off-roading in a $30k+ van with a nice build out and all your crap inside, you should be looking at a lifted e-series or similar with quigley conversion including upgraded suspension, etc.

Here are some pros of sprinter vs promaster:

Sprinter Pros: Better ride comfort, prettier exterior, a lot more existing build outs to copy, a lot more custom campervan parts ready to purchase, additional 1" of clearance at the rear diff, design has been around longer and the flaws are at least known, good deals on older models if you are willing to deal with the repairs

Promaster Pros: Wider interior (I'm 6'3" and sleep horizontally), FWD is much better for snow if you intend to ski out of it, cheaper if buying new or slightly used, many more service locations in the US, 159" WB length maxes out a normal parking space, the van itself (minus drivetrain) has been around for a long time in Europe as the ducato, so campervan ideas are out there, many more gas promasters available if you want gas

For me, the most important things were sleeping horizontally (saves 1-3 feet of interior length space depending on bed size), drivability in snow, and not getting stranded 500 miles from the nearest dealer if something goes wrong.

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

What are you talking about? The 159" WB Promaster is barely 3" longer than a 144" WB sprinter while having a longer cargo area. The 136" WB Promaster (similar interior volume to a 144 Sprinter) is 20" shorter.

Nick,

I have a 2500. Gets about 18-20 mpg when fully loaded. Before the build it was getting up to 22.

dan , is yours the gas engin?

Seems like it's almost 6 grand extra for a deisel. looked at a few promaster rear axels in parking lots and it looks low.. read the specs and it is listed as 6.8" clearance. that is the same as my astro van which does really well off road. Of course the astro is awd and pretty nimble.

I got another ~inch of clearance on my Promaster with more offroad oriented tires (Toyo Open Country). Haven't had any issues with clearance so far.

Fosana, you put a taller tire on the same wheels?

Nick Goldsmith wrote:Fosana, you put a taller tire on the same wheels?

yep, on stock rims.

Fassana are you gas or diesel? mileage??

Doing some van research:
1 )my dream rig would be the 144 high roof 4X4 Sprinter. new lowest price: $49K

2) 2wd Sprinter 144, high roof, 6 cyl. gas, 2016 : $38K

3) Ford Long ( 133 ) medium height ( 72 ID ) high ( 81 ID ) V6 gas $35K

4) Dodge FWD 2500 ( 136 ) high roof ( 76 ) gas $33K

5) Nissan 2500 high roof ( 76 ) gas $30K

Dodge, Ford and Mercedes come in Diesel for about $5k extra.

I have been looking for used as well, surprising how much they want- nearly same as new but with 100K miles.( for recent used) not looking at 5-10 years old etc.

Thanks for sharing this information.

geoff georges wrote:2) 2wd Sprinter 144, high roof, 6 cyl. gas, 2016 : $38K

Sprinters are all diesel?

yes all MB sprinters are diesel

The ford comes in V6 gas, I5 Diesel, I6 ecoboost

the pro master comes in V6 Gas, I5 diesel

Rob Warden, Space Lizard wrote: the pro master comes in V6 Gas, I5 diesel

The pro master comes w/ I4 diesel...

To geoff: There's little actual or practical difference between a 136" 1500 & 2500 (slightly stiffer rear suspension, which is already too stiff for a camper). Also, Sprinter 4 cyl diesel probably makes more sense than a 6 cyl for a 144" 2WD.

reboot wrote: (slightly stiffer rear suspension, which is already too stiff for a camper). Also, Sprinter 4 cyl diesel probably makes more sense than a 6 cyl for a 144" 2WD.

I would disagree about being to stiff. I recently put Koni struts (set to 75%), a spring assist and a sway bar in the rearend of my 3500. It increased stiffness by a significant amount which makes the whole thing much more enjoyable to drive and it makes being in the rear end bearable with the van in motion.

Didn't know they have ever made Sprinters with a 4 cylinder.

When did they start doing that? Was it just post-T1N? Very cool though.

Mike Brady wrote:When did they start doing that? Was it just post-T1N? Very cool though.

If you mean the 4cyl it was for the 2014 MY.

Mike Brady wrote: I would disagree about being to stiff...

I was talking about the promaster.

reboot wrote: I was talking about the promaster.

Gotcha. My bad. My SHC 170" was like land sailing before I beefed up the suspension! :)

Tyler Mugg wrote:anyone ever tried the teardrop trailer? i have been going back and forth on the idea of a van or a small teardrop. does anyone have any experience with the trailer?

I have seen one teardrop last time I was at shelf. Trailers make things more difficult parking and turning around. I have a small trailer that i use with my vanagon when I need to carry more stuff. A couple of times I had to get off turn the van around and put it back. I would rather have the van over a trailer