Thanks for the video.I just bought one of these and I'm very pleased with the vehicle as a whole. I'm not one to fuss about cup holders. However, the bottom holder that you speak of I experienced a problem with as twice within and hour a beverage container fell out and rolled under my feet while driving. So, I won't use them anymore for safety reasons. Personally, I appreciate your comments and candor.
Thanks, but I'd consider much of your input about cosmetics. Too many cup holder? Ignore excess. Don't need dash clipboard? Ignore it. Delivery driver might find it useful. The improperly secured cup holder seems like a very serious defect that could cause distractions, spills and hot coffee injuries, maybe accidents. PLEASE PROVIDE INPUT TO MANUFACTURER. What I hoped for was your opinion of stuff like, drivability, visibility, noise, rattles, instability, MPG, acceleration, breaking, air conditioning, heater, glare, power level consistency (e.g, lights dimming when using accessories at night), and stuff like dat there. Planning to buy one for conversion to stealthy van living. I'd welcome any additional input. Kudos and thanks again.
Preston Ren I have one. The few annoying thing I found is the seat belt chime. My dealer didn’t even act like they could turn it off. I’m in and out a lot on a private property so after 10 mph it keeps going off. I found a cheap easy fix though and made a video about it on my channel. Otherwise the steering wheel not tilting was annoying for a bit cuz of where they put the cruise control stick it’s right where the turn signal is normally.. otherwise I love it! Heat and a/c work awesome. I do have a bulkhead divider so the cab space heats and cools easier though. Mine is the 159 high roof version and the headroom is amazing inside! I got mine used so someone has screwed the cup holder down so now I understand why. Lol I love having extra cup holders though. Works for holding little parts too. The clipboard I do agree is useless for me cuz most paper is white and causes a bad glare in the windshield while driving. All in all I love mine! I do house maintenance btw and have shelves on both sides. Not camping but I’ve heard they are good for that. The beauty of these is you can do so many different things. Best of luck.
He did say it wasn't a typical review and was quirks. I'm looking to buy one in the next few months and any feedback from owners is a godsend. Being a commercial van not much for videos on these things short of camper conversions.
I just picked up a leftover 2018 Promaster 136" high roof new on Thursday. So far love it flippin HUGE width and height. Gonna be an adventure prepping this for its multi use lifestyle.
Agreed, pretty sure the engineers weren’t expecting people to jam a coffee mug into the cup holder 😂 now they need to add a tiny graphic for no solid coffee mugs
The clipboard is interesting. If you put a printed page in there, it will be visible in the windshield like a heads-up display. The curvature of the clipboard is the same as the windshield, so the page appears to be flat and standing vertically in the windshield. I'm not sure if this is what Dodge was intending but it's very coincidental. Of course the page will be a mirror image in the display.
We rented one and got a large drink in a Styrofoam cup from Loves truck stop and it fit perfectly in that weird shallow cup holder on top. We kept it and used it for drink refills the whole trip, no issues. :)
Designed by Fiat. Maybe this is why the quirks? The clipboard on the dashboard top, dumb idea I agree, I can imagine an 8x10 pad of white paper with the sun glaring on it and reflecting on the windshield. Is the van very reliable? EDIT: Ok never mind the reliability question, I just saw your other video in regards to front strut and transmission....question answered!
What alternate universe do you inhabit that still has full service gas stations with attendants? Oregon? And what do you expect from an Italian design? Rational choices?
Actually I found this review not to bad. We have a 2018 Winnebago Travato which is built on a Promaster 3500 van and what he pointed out I found to be the exact same things I thought were goofy. Once I installed the sumo springs in the rear, the driving experience completely changed for the better. Other wiseI find the van to be a good vehicle.
Not many Promaster videos on RU-vid so asking anybody who places reviews about it. Seriously considering getting a new one to be used has a do it all second vehicle. Part time camper, part time 'pickup truck,' and part time handicap van with cargo ramps. Originally was going to get an awd suv for road trips, but decided on a high roof van so we can keep my Uncle in his medical wheelchair when we take him places. How is this thing for reliability, is anything falling apart besides your cupholders LMFAO. I like quirky videos like this one showing potential owners some odd ball stuff you might not consider with a normal review or road test. Would you take it on a 1,000 mile vacationing road trip or would it drive you nuts? Thanks for the review, I hope the little one has graduated to a training wheel normal bike by now ;-)
Considering I beat it up pretty bad its doing ok. It had a major warranty job a while back. The flywheel housing somehow ended up being cracked so it took two weeks to get fixed. Mostly because it was a special order part for the dealer. Otherwise at 64k miles so far so good. Some minor gremlins im noticing coming around the corner but technically nothing else has broken yet. Will do an update video soon. Stay tuned
@@vulpixgrant even with some minor occasional issues this still is the best thing on the road especially if you're on a budget. I want to buy another one
@@AmazingAndre When I order mine, it's not going to be used and abused as a work vehicle. Even when I owned pickups I pampered them like frigging Pre-Madonnas lol. 2019 136"wb high roof in silver with the black composite floor and upper/lower black armor for the walls. Will be the single most expensive car I ever purchased even with discounts :-/ Currently have a 2014 Altima I bought used for a great price that I hope to keep as my daily driver if the $$$ add up correctly. That's why I'm so anxious for feedback on these things. Most of the people who do give me feedback love the things! Good thing since I sat in one and kind of fell in love myself.
I drive a 2015 and the gas door latch broke too easily. Have to use velcro to keep it shut. Mileage changes all the time. Sometimes I get as much as 23mph sometimes I get only 14mph. But it's been a very reliable van, unlike the Ford Transit which has to have the drive shafts serviced every 33k.
I've got a Fiat Ducato - the Dodge's European cousin. I watched this with interest to see how the US version was different. The main difference for the US market seems to be more cup holders. Someone must have told them Americans like to keep hydrated. My van was built with three seats in the front but just one cup holder. Instead of the row of three cup holders we get a lockable glove box. Someone must have told them Europeans like to keep a lot of gloves. My clipboard lifts up if you tug at the clip part. Apparently on Euro vans, like the Dodge vans, the clipboard doesn't lift up if you have a passenger side airbag.
After driving a "fleet" promaster for a year. You definitely missed a lot of quirks. 1. You can't lock the front doors with the key in the ignition 2. The radio turns off immediately when the key comes out and doesn't turn on unless you push the power button 3. The headlight bulbs always burn out. 4. The breaks seem to be very low quality and leak fluid. 5. The front tires wear down quickly. 6. The drivers door hinge is very weak. The plastic part breaks off then the metal one goes and then the door falls off. 7. The windows don't roll all the way down. 8. If you want to unlock the doors from the key it takes 2 separate buttons to do so.
Dan Lacker yeah. You are right about some of these others. I planned to make another video on it but never got to it. I however didn't experience some of the things you're talking about though. My brakes have been working perfectly. So do the doors. Headlights are still original although licence plate light keeps coming in and going out.
1. that's what the door lock button on the dash is for 2. seems normal to me 3. bit of an exaggeration? Early models did have bulb life issues; this has been addressed. 4. the brakes are fine 5. it's front wheel drive. The fronts will wear faster than the rear (opposite of RWD) 6. I look forward to seeing proof. If there was a hinge problem the people on the PM forum would be talking about it. 7. true 8. Wrong, or at least misleading. The cargo doors have a separate button.
most of these aren't an issue for me or in my van. the tires wear quickly because it's a front wheel drive. duh and the doors don't lock with key in ignition so that you don't accidentally lock your keys inside
I have 54,000 miles on my 2014 1500. I do live in Oregon and had a Sprinter 05 before I got the 1500. They want to release the gas because they think you have a Sprinter and you need to open the driver's door to open the fuel tank door. I am still on the original tires and only rotated them one time. Front and rear brakes made it 50k give or take. The clipboard is non functioning on the RAM version of the van, you can access it by removing the radio if you NEED to. The placement of the e-brake handle is wacky to me... slide off the seat and get a treat? NOT. The "A" pillar and mirror combination make a heck of a blind spot so you have to be on the lookout for pedestrians or as they cross they stay in that spot. When I get out of the van both front doors unlock. I would like the passenger door to stay locked as somebody could jump in when you are getting out. Not too likely but still something I would like to control. The windows do not go all the way down but I "might" have noticed it if I looked at the window and the door and thought about it, I did not so I live with it. The bulbs do burn out, I am on my third pair of low beams. I uploaded a video on changing the bulb as it is a real bear! My radio does not need to be powered on every time I start the vehicle. The power outlet on the dash is not hot when the ignition is off. The cup holder does hold cups firmly and there are plenty of them. I keep a plastic beer type solo cup in one and throw that loose change and minor stuff that seems to accumulate in it. When I worked with my dog I kept her water cup in one. Just a few of my observations worth what you paid for them.
Is it just me or does the seating position really suck! I’m 5’11” 210 lbs and the wheel is just about in my lap with the wheel all the way out. Also you sit perfectly straight up and down and have zero leg room because of the front wheel drive!. I also have 8100 lbs total van weight and the front wheels slip very easily in rain. The sprinter I had before this blows this away.
holy crap thats a clipboard!!! i've had mine for 2 years and didn't know what that was or why it was there. thought it was a handle but it didn't lift anything
I just rent one for moving short distance and the plus is really are the 6' foot plus inside rear cargo area plus the low loading floor compare to a Ford Transit that I rent before . For long distance driving , not sure about the bus ergonomic , I'm very tall and to match the lack of leg space a couple of thick pillow could maybe cure this plus they could match the very uprigth steering column setting all the way up . And going that way , you're definitely not stop by the lack of headroom .There also some quirk about beep tone for nothing ( don't have time to read or roll the menu to do some setting ...rent-a-van ) . The key fob system isn't the best too . Some time the latch doesn't respond . The handling at first seem very vague but you get used to it and in the end , not too bad . The ride is very good , with or without heavyload . The front windshield offer a good visibility but the front little fix glass door , plus the big ( but very good rear view ) mirror impeded the front-side visibility . If you like to put your elbow outside when the side glass is down you gonna be bothered by them . You can't put them down all the way . And finally to stop this review , the brake are very good too . Good modulation with heavy load , it's comforting . ( ok this canadian rented van got only 5000 km ) . I even consider to buy one but not sure if the Chrysler reliability blend with Fix-It-At-Tony is a good idea , about the reliability of yours , Amazing Quirk's ???
Oh man. So many things but the biggest were: turn radious , low step in where you almost don't need a high top and it has a nice devider that keeps all the smells out of the cab
Ahhh I see. We just got the Everest 870... that thing is huge!! We have the 650 and it’s a tight fit in our good ole express van so we need one of these vans with the higher roof... I just wanted to see what the differences are.
@@dannytello25 the machine i have actually gets prettty hot. Runs 230 degrees and has good suction. Its just that it breaks down so much. Alfeady had to put a nee motor in it since the thing is all aluminum we couldnt just replace the head gaskets. We actually tried but the bolts wouldnt hold
Three minutes and 30 seconds into the video showing the charging ports and above the ports is a round shallow hole for a cigarette ash container,optional equipment, not a shallow cupholder
Really like the look of this van from the outside (particularly some of the higher-end conversions), but the interior quality and design is absolute junk. Very poorly thought out and very cheaply executed. Have you seen the price of these things with no options? For that kind of money, they should be doing a MUCH better job with regard to quality, fit and finish. And where's the manual transmission for these? The Fiat Ducato (which is what this is with a Ram badge on it) in Europe are almost exclusively manual. The ridiculous automatic gear shift knob sticking out of the middle of the dash bugs me. Really wish they'd done a better job with these. I prefer the look of them to the Ford Transit, its main competitor, but the thing was clearly built to fall apart, not to last.
Will try again but with the aid of a 5 in1 putty knife prying it simultaneously so I don't break the paper holder (I did pull really hard on it before)
Must be kidding me. You should’ve seen the vans from 20 years ago. I would imagine you would only have that immense trouble with the gas door location one time. As for the cupholders seriously? I have several these bands and none of the cupholders of ever come out with the drink holder. I personally find a driving position quite good. This is a truck after all not a car. I will agree that the clip holder is goofy. But overall he’s a really nice trucks in all of ours have held up very well. I would hope that the Gaspar location and a clip holder are not deal breakers. You ought to see he dinosaur vans that GM is still peddling.
My husband is actually looking at one of these to replace his truck. He likes to do wood working with expensive hardwoods that can't get wet. Also, I guess, if we have to move things, this would be ideal. Thank you for the really quick reply. :D
The van that Steven (my husband) is looking at is the really short one. The reliability thing is his worry. We tend to keep vehicles for a really long time, so it is more of a challenge in that respect. :)
I just dont understand how these engineer can be so disconnected from the end user. The basics of items in todays vehicles have the least fore thought in them. Even more important, the cargo vans are far too expensive for what they are. Every bit of todays cargos vans are complete garbage and we have no alternative except to buy earlier models that were more reliable at the cost of picking up someone else's ride that's possibly been beat into submission .. likey because of employees driving them care less than the honey badger or the fact the business owners just want to run them with no maintenance whatsoever . So used is basically out of the question. That leaves us with an over priced new one that will never last an 84 month term even if it were taken care of or did not rust out. us contractors are proper fooked.
I'm not too picky. I didn't say I can't live with those issues. Having said that, since it is a vehicle I spend 8 hours a day in , saying its just a work vehicle is a bad argument
Looks are deceiving. I started with nothing and worked harder then most to have something. Pretty sure work harder than you and have more than you. All you know is how to troll people and say stupid shit
