2018 Ram Promaster 1500 High Roof Review - Is It Good For Your Business Or Camper Build?

[@drottle]

Former Amazon driver here, the dodge had the best turning circle, best roof height, and all around was the best to daily drive. It did feel cheaper than the fords and they’re the ugliest but the pro master was my favorite of utility vans. 8.5/10 commercial vehicle!

[@bricegraham8256]

Facts. I was never an Amazon delivery driver however we did get one at the shop from Hertz we had to do a bit of work on. Test driving it your right, the turning radius is very good, visibility is excellent. And I love the seating position and it accelerates pretty well. (Now commenting on the video itself) Zach I agree with you when you mentioned the rear solid axle. I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks that looks weird seeing that regular axel rather then it being a differential. The other weird thing is since this vehicle is front wheel drive there's so much of nothing between the engine and the rear end underneath. Just the exhaust and brake lines it's rather jarring.

[@drottle]

@@vuckyabx ford transit, I really like the build quality in the cab but it’s definitely aimed more towards consumers than commercial clientele. Fords feel more like cars where dodge feels more tailored to 5% more efficient

[@adamogden5212]

as a chrysler tech I can say it's a good van as long as don't plan on owning a long time. the power and drivetrain just can't handle constant abuse. it's basically an grand caravan k frame, engine, transmission, front suspension for the most part. So if your a business where the bad is constantly loaded down, or making a camper out of one the stress on the weak for this application drivetrain will cost you down the road. honestly the most reliable bulletproof van is the Chevy express/ ford e series the older style vans I have seen so many with 700,000 miles and I have both hit the million miles mark with no major engine work. the transit vans have timing chain and turbo problems. there is a reason there is a one year wait on the old express van GM is gonna stop making it in 2024 because it's so outdated but in a way you can make a more reliable van there gonna be v6 turbo dual cams from here on out like Ford and Ram so if you want a van the just works and will keep working chevy express or the ford e series vans.

[@celsovera91]

I thought I was the only one that refer the promaster as a Dodge

[@objective7042]

@@adamogden5212 Amazon delivery vehicles requires to turn off and turn on the engine an average of 180 times a day. As a Technician, what's your take on the wear on the engine these vehicles will take?

[@goktugyaman3759]

This van is used by European businesses since 2006 under the badge of Fiat(Ducato), Peugeot(Boxer) and Citroen(Jumper). The latest model is still working as a post van in Turkish roads.

[@stevenjoy3537]

Citroen Relay in UK

[@louisbeerreviews8964]

@@stevenjoy3537 and fiat in uk

[@reallyrandomrides1296]

"I don't think many kids grew up with Ram Promaster posters on their wall." Well... I didn't, but only because they weren't available then. While my classmates were drooling over exotic sports cars or American muscle cars, I was drooling over Ford Aerostars, Dodge Caravans, Chevy Astros, etc (I won't even get into station wagons, lol). In college, I drove a Ford Econoline cargo van and was very proud of it. And that was not lost on my classmates, but we all had a good laugh over our automotive tastes. I've owned or rented just about every kind of van and minivan. Yes, I'm a freak.

[@ottovonbismarck7094]

God this thing is so divisive for tradesmen, you get those that love the turning radius, ride height, and snow maneuvering of the promaster, and those that despise it with all its being and want a chevy express

[@tall_dude1233]

The official vehicle for Amazon deliveries!

[@unlockmobility]

You are reminded of Spiderman because the headlights are the same shape as Spidermans eyes ;)

[@arthos4551]

I absolutely hate these things. I'm 6' 3" and in order to see a stoplight I have to bend over the wheel to see it. Doing long trips is extremely uncomfortable, the seats are garbage. The Nissan NV2500 are my go to even if it's a bit outdated.

[@Redneckboy991]

I agree. I'm 6'2" and I've had some people honk at me because I'll get distracted at a light and don't always hunch over the steering wheel waiting for it to change. So true about the seats. They look nice but are very stiff. My other beef is that the cab design makes it so that you can't comfortably rest your arm on the door which makes for a sore shoulder at the end of the day. It sucks for the passengers as they have no arm rests.

[@keenandolan8420]

I also have the same tall guy issues not to mention the build quality is garbage unfortunately for me my promaster has had no issues and it sucks

[@reallyrandomrides1296]

Nice to see high roof vans becoming more common now. Way more practical for work use or for allowing the ability to stand up in a camper van conversion, a very useful thing. I agree, it won't win any design awards, but it's a very practical body style. I've heard the reliability isn't the greatest, though as you said, Amazon Prime and many other large corporations have fleets of these. A Ford Transit, Mercedes Sprinter or Nissan NV might be more reliable. I'd like to see Toyota or Honda offer a high roof van, either full size or compact in the US and Canada.

[@mikeypv6]

It amazes me as someone that lives in UK to see these vans with such a nice big V6 petrol option... we only ever see commercial vehicles with diesel engines... this vehicle in the UK comes with a 125hp 2.3 4cyl Turbodiesel or a 3.0 4cyl Turbodiesel with 180hp... I would love to drive a silky six van

[@miniaddict4534]

I’m inclined to defend the reliability of this van because it uses a 3.6L Pentastar engine. I’ve had years of experience with it and the ZF transmission. The combo is used in every entry-level Dodge, Jeep, and Chrysler model. I’ve experienced the Pentastar and ZF as a minivan, as a muscle car, as an off-roader, and as a pick up truck. I’ve pushed these cars to the limit each time, and they’ve never given me an issue.

[@tag206]

So glad I will never have to work on one of these oversized minivans again.

[@kebabaluba]

Several companies build camper vans out of that chassis here in Europe, they are decent camper vans too

[@Purpiii]

I drive a Promaster at work and the lack of 5mph ticks on the speedo drives me nuts

[@turbo_alice]

FYI this is sold as the Fiat Ducato/Citroen Jumper/Peugeot Boxer over in Europe :)

[@TheBarth79]

Opel Movano 22' too.

[@davemack7908]

Love the BFB test win!

[@brianlee9233]

Me too! I love it. I feel like Zack should win the BFB test more often.

[@celsovera91]

This van just brings me bad memories when I delivered Amazon packages for a couple months

[@bwofficial1776]

I always found it funny that because these are commercial vehicles, they're not required to have a third brake light. The way the center back light sticks out for the camera is Chrysler "innovation", ditto for the beam axle with the brake lines just hanging there. Interestingly, these got facelifted way back in 2014 in Europe but we still get the pre-facelift nose. Because of front wheel drive the load floor can be lower and flat.

[@elisorrells5314]

The Chevy Express/GMC Savana is definitely the most reliable van for sale today, especially with the 4.3. They’re just ancient compared to the Ford Transit

[@damilolaakanni]

The 9 speed automatic transmission isn't an FCA designed unit, it was sourced from ZF. Honda uses the same transmission.

[@celsovera91]

Coworker of mine used to work for the post office and he would drive the promaster as a mail truck. He told me he would have to hide the keys because nobody wanted to drive the LLV's and they wanted the promaster because it had ac

[@bwofficial1776]

USPS is moving to these in my area as the LLVs finally die. I've also seen a few right hand drive Mercedes small vans with the MB star covered up with the USPS logo.

[@celsovera91]

Usps not good enough to be seen showing off the mercedes logo

[@celsovera91]

It's sad that GM never made a van similar to Promaster or Transit. Their express/savana vans date back to 1996 and they still sell it to this day. If you want a high roof on those vans, you have to go aftermarket.

[@miniaddict4534]

It’s true these style of vans surpass the Express/Savana in cargo capacity and fuel economy. The silver lining about the Express/Savana is their towing capacity. The 2500/3500 models can tow twice as much as the ProMaster and Transit vans. Express vans are great for someone looking for something with the towing capacity of a 3/4 ton truck (e.g., F-250, Ram 3500, etc.), but can’t afford one. These vans are much cheaper than their truck counterparts.

[@EnthusiastCarHangar]

Upfront and down below…. Time to for a change haha otherwise a good video.

[@bapa6396]

As a letter carrier, some heavier routes with more parcels now have these vans. I’m not a fan for one reason, unlike LLV you have to press the brake to shift out of park. I know it’s habit to most, but not me! It because quickly annoying

[@maxeluy]

Is weird to see a Fiat Ducato with a V6

[@nolahahnshouse3389]

One similar just literally drove by me while I’m watching this video while sitting in my garage lol

[@TheBarth79]

The most powerfull version of this van in UE(doesnt metter is it Fiat Ducato,Peugot Boxer , Citroen Jumper or Opel Movano they are same van) was 3l Diesel 180 HP.Now engines are smaller only 2.2l but HP from 120 to 180 .

[@bwofficial1776]

That little power to move a fully-loaded van is inconceivable in the US. Here, even a fully-loaded van needs to be able to get up to highway speeds in seconds or risk being run over. Our country is big and spread out so we need more power.

[@TheBarth79]

@@bwofficial1776 In 2018 when i bought my Fiat Ducato (2,3l 120hp) You could buy really underpowerd enginie 100hp 😂. Lucky in same year this weakest enginie was deleted.

[@Dankcatvacs]

wow 280 is but torque is what pulls 269 lb-ft at 4,175 - 4,800 RPM so it aint no truck motor but it'll do till it doesn't

[@bazilwreckerloughead]

A friend of mine has one of those he made into a camper.

[@WeisserAudi]

These are my town’s new mail vans since they don’t have any LLVs

[@Rich_123]

So what does that left fan button do? It doesn't seem related to the actual climate controls.

[@kyleh1974]

I always hated the steering wheel position.

[@EnthusiastCarHangar]

It’s by a rebadged Fiat. That’s what’s wrong with it. Even in Europe Fiat vans are not as good as the ones from Ford, Mercedes or VW.

[@Mattthijs]

Dodge Ram? Thats just some disposable Peugeot/Citroën thing 😂

[@MotorTorq_ZA]

The ram promasters have reliability issues because they are built in Mexico. The Fiat, Citroen and Peugeot ones are way better because they’re built in Italy. I know a lot of people who own the European versions they have not had much problems. It’s a bit like if you buy a Toyota it’s best to buy one made in Japan. Or if you buy a BMW it’s best to get one made in Germany

[@tamasnemeth4891]

I just won’t ever understand why you guys need 2-300hp big gasoline engines in everything. Like i get the philosophy in a charger or something like that, but the diesels in these jumper/ducato/boxers are more than enough to get the job done (8l/100km) . We do home a/c-s and have a diesel with a 5speed manual, it drives good.

[@bwofficial1776]

The US is a big country and things are far apart. Our cities are big and spread out, not tight and narrow and slow. We like to carry heavy things and still be able to get up to highway speeds quickly. If you drive a car with less than 200hp, you run the risk of getting run over. Our gas is cheap and not heavily taxed so we can afford slightly less fuel economy.

[@kc5077]

In the US we don't get many diesel engine options and the few diesels available are more expensive than the gas engines. Ram discontinued the lone diesel engine option for the ProMaster, so gas engines with more torque usually have more horsepower as well.

[@tamasnemeth4891]

@@bwofficial1776 Framing it like this, makes more sense, thanks

[@KingTheDetailer]

I have a 2018 promaster city, what size are the screws for the floor anchors ?

[@dave11686]

Interesting!

[@scoobiedude]

What’s next, a UPS truck?? 😂

[@mikesgarage394]

Headlights look like spidy eyes.

[@davinp]

Since Fiat bought Chrysler, quality/reliability has gone down because Italian engines are not reliable which is why Fiat failed in America

The Promaster has an American engine, in Europe they have diesel engines, the North American version has the V6 Pentastar used by most Dodge, RAM & Chrysler vehicles.

[@gogutzy]

doesn't surprise me at all that it's actually a fiat ducato.

[@TheIncredibleJumpman]

The headlights do look like Spiderman's eyes, maybe that's the comparison your brain is making

[@DR-on5by]

Nice Fiat

[@aviestrela]

If you want reliability they should have used diesel engine with the manual transmission and they go forever.

[@YouDontWannaFightMe]

Whatever you do, don’t buy one of these. Used to be a parts guy at a CDJR and it didn’t take long for me to realize these are hot trash. We’d always have a bunch of these in for majors work at under 80k miles and they’d be sitting in the back waiting on parts that were constantly back ordered. Get a Transit or Sprinter and thank me later.

[@elisorrells5314]

If you’re looking for pure reliability you can’t beat the Chevy Express/GMC Savana

[@disneyfan9099]

@@elisorrells5314 They always crap out around 150K

[@davinp]

That is a small screen and probably no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Automakers just put in a basic camera to comply with the law

[@RobertVivian]

Absolutely garbage when you want to work on anything in the engine bay, talking from experience.

[@daveherdman4728]

It's a Fiat