Going Pro

Sprinter-based motorhomes have been unrivaled in their fuel-efficiency, and in my previous post I calculated that could save me something like $4K/year over traditional motorhomes. In 2014 a new entry will appear on the American scene that is expected to be on a par with Sprinter fuel economy. I'll take a look at several variations on this new platform in this post.

The fuel-sipping new entry is the Promaster van from Dodge. Errr... well, actually it's imported by Dodge from Fiat who owns... Okay, okay, have you stopped laughing yet? As I was saying, Promaster is actually a Fiat Ducato, and Fiat owns Chrysler/Dodge. Try to control your mirth while I explain that the Ducato has a long track record (more than 25 years, I think ), it's the most popular chassis for RVs in Europe, and, in fact, more motorhomes have been built on the Ducato chassis than any other van in the world. Reliability problems that Fiat is known for seem to be all worked out of the Ducato.

Variety is the name of the game with Promaster. It comes in seven different body configurations with both gas and diesel engine options, plus a cab-chassis that can be used for a custom body. At the moment, Winnebago/Itasca is the only motorhome manufacturer bringing Promaster RVs to market, but it seems certain others will follow suit. Sportsmobile has announced plans to build on the Promaster chassis, but I have yet to find any indication that they've actually started to do so.

My pattern in previous posts has been to present the attractive features of a particular design, then move on to it's drawbacks. With the Promaster, one of the biggest drawbacks is right there, staring you in the face:

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but Promaster ugly goes straight for the gut. It's possible some people would disagree. They'd be wrong. But let's press on and look at Winnebago's most compact Promaster design, the Travato.

What you notice is that the Promaster van isn't as long as the Sprinter, but it is wider:

The width allows, for instance, the bench seats and table to be reconfigured into a bed that's oriented across the van. Everything you need is packed into a remarkably small space. Another neat feature is that the rear bed hinges up against the wall to create a storage space for tall loads, such as bicycles. And the design includes windows in appropriate numbers and sizes. A video that provides a good introduction to the Travato is available here.

I started this post by claiming the Promaster may challenge the Sprinter in fuel economy. Because the Travato hasn't really gone on the market yet, firm numbers are hard to find, but estimates are 16 to 18 mpg for the gas-engine version. Not bad, it should cost me only $1K to $2K more per year in fuel than the Sprinter. I might accept that, given that gas is easier to find than diesel. There's also a promised diesel engine for the Promaster later on, and I wouldn't have a hard time believing it might give 22 to 24 mpg - actually beating a Sprinter with the V-6 engine. (There is a 4-cylinder engine available for Sprinter that can give 22 to 24 mpg, but I don't think it's powerful enough for a motorhome.)

Even with the fold-up bed, storage space on the Travato seems a little skimpy for full-time on the road, and the front bed would be very tight to sleep two people. Luckily, Winnebago offers a larger version using a custom body on a Promaster chassis. It's called the Trend.

There are two floorplans offered for the Trend, the 23B:

and the 23L:

I'm not really interested in the 23B because it doesn't have a bed that you can leave made-up all the time and still walk between the cab and the living space. I include it, though, because there's an introductory video for it, but not for the 23L. The slickest feature, which is available in both versions, is the bunk bed that lowers from the ceiling, shown as the dotted outline StudioLoft on the floor plans. This allows the 23B to sleep up to four, and the 23L can sleep up to six! This ceiling mounted bed is made possible by the 6'7" ceiling height of the Trend, which in turn is possible because of the lower floor available in a front-wheel drive van (no clearance needed for the drive shaft). 

Fuel economy for the gas engine Trend is quoted as 14 to 16 mpg: marginally acceptable to me. The diesel version will probably top 20 mpg, equaling or exceeding the Sprinter. The Trend has windows in all the right places; its price is about equal to a Sportsmobile Sprinter and considerably less than, for instance, a Leisure Travel Vans Sprinter. It also fits the 24' length limit I've adopted.

There's not much to find fault with in the Trend, except... it's ugly ( a shallow, but inescapable, criteria, I know), it's a Fiat, and, most importantly, it's not available now. The Winnebago dealers are saying "Any day now." But I refuse to commit to something I've never stepped inside, and even if I did, who knows how long the waiting list would be. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I really want to have my motorhome in time to drive it to a relative's wedding in Seattle at the beginning of August. I just don't have confidence that I could get a Trend by then, especially one with a diesel engine, which is promised a few weeks later than the gas engine version. Meanwhile, the deadline for committing to a Sportsmobile Sprinter is looming if I'm to have it by the end of July. So, in the end, the Trend is like other pieces of technology - computers and phones: there's always something attractive on the horizon, but sooner of later you have to draw a line and commit. Whether I'd choose the Trend if I had a chance to examine one first hand is a toss-up, but I just can't afford the time to find out.

There's one more post coming before I get back to describing my ultimate choice of the Sportsmobile Sprinter. The option I'll look at in the upcoming post is one I never seriously considered, but it's a classic that may be right for some people.