Which high roof van should I get?

We have a fleet of the Nissan vans and they are great, but the last time I tried to buy one the dealers told me that Nissan had discontinued that line.

We bought a Transit 250 high top and it has given great service so far. I love to drive it because, like Stick said, the windows and windshield give great visibility.

 

Whoever is selling them for that company needs to be fired... the #VANLIFE crowd would pay 10x that easy. But good for you!

 

Oh yeah, that's another thing I didn't mention about the MB Sprinter... Awesome visibility. You're sitting up pretty high, and the view all around the front is great.

I also have swivel seats, so you can flip them around when hanging out in the van.

 

I've got a buddy who has a promaster, and it is on its 3d transmission in under 150,000 miles. Uses it for his remodeling business and racing, mostly highway miles. He told me the same thing about the origin of the transmission

 

IDGAF how many people say their Promaster is great...anything from the Ram dealer with Fiat parts in it is a hard no from me.

 

Amazon isn't too happy with these things either.

 

Haha probably. He just wants them gone. I can’t believe they don’t trade them in.

 

Transit is a far better van than the dodge but it's not like the transit is perfect. Not sure if you're going new but they seem to have ironed out most of the kinks now.

 

Promaster is well known for transmission failures. It’s a minivan transmission expected to do work.

Ford Transit, all the way. If you’re looking at an extended with high roof, I’d consider a dually for rearend stability. I drove that configuration with single rear wheels and it was a handful, in high winds. Otherwise, it was a very nice van to be in. Standard V-6 did what it should, performance-wise.

 

If the transit dually is like the Sprinter, the inside width taken up by the extra wheels means you can only fit one bike in the back between the wells. The sprinter 2500 is right at 6’ wide inside and I fit two side by side with the TRS. Something to consider with the dually.

 

I second everything Brent is saying about his Sprinter. I have a 2016 170" WB High Roof but not extended and the van is amazing. I have 105K miles and get all my service done by a local Mercedes Van center. It's not cheap but they do a really good job and would trust driving the van anywhere. It's perfect for motorcycles, bicycles, camping, etc. etc. I even daily drove it during the pandemic and just recently got a car for my commute but could have kept going in the van.

 

Interesting the comments about transit vs promaster.

We service both, and see more transit issues. Ecoboost and brake issues mainly. Two blown up engines.in a fleet of 8.

As far as promaster, if you are talking the half ton, yes not intended for hard use. The 2500 is about bullitproof. Not one transmission failure in a fleet of 18 that we service with miles up to 200k.

If you are after the most reliable, see Nissan .

 

I’d like to know what the real Promaster 1500/2500 differences are. It’s my understanding, the Promaster is a Fiat body with a Chrysler drivetrain, to avoid the expense of EPA certification of the Fiat drivetrain. There can’t be much, if any, deviation from the original configuration, to maintain that certification.

 

I don't know the difference between the 1500/2500, but as far as I know, the only power train is the 3.6l pentastar engine with a 62TE transmission. The body is, or is based off of, the FIAT Ducato van.

 

I LOVE my 2016 Transit.

I bought it pre-CoVid with 105K miles on it. It had obviously been in a front end accident, as the paint match was done by a blind man, but it drove like it had 30K miles on it. It's a 350 Passenger van with the 3.5L EcoBoost with 6 speed trans, Medium Roof, Long Wheelbase (but not extended length so it fits in a parking space). I towed a loaded 6x12' trailer through the mountains and never knew it was back there. Much to my surprise and delight I found out later that the engine in it is a refurb. 55K miles later I'm pretty sure I could sell it nearly for what I put into it. Mileage sucks, but they all do, 12mpgs with the trailer, 15mpgs loaded or unloaded (no trailer).

I left 2 rows of seats in it and put heavy duty vinyl flooring over the existing carpet. I have 2 Pit Bull TRS plates so I can carry 2 bikes plus spares and a big rolling tool cart. Hard to see in this pic because I also added LED lighting and it's messing with the camera. Yes, that's a touring bike on the right.



I wish I had the updated Transit with the 10-speed, but that 3.5L is amazing. Over 400 ft/lbs of torque on demand.

I got the Transit because I needed the rear wheel drive for a trailer. The front wheel drive ProMaster seems to have more room inside (information from the VanLife crowd) but was front wheel drive and wouldn't pull a trailer as well.

-T

 

I should have read this thread yesterday. Last night an idiot Amazon driver pulled one of those things down my very steep driveway with a tight turn halfway.

Me: "that thing's pretty big, I can help you out"
Driver: "nah, I'm good bro"

He was not good. I let him play Austin Powers trying to get the thing turned around for a while before returning and helping him out. That's when I discovered they were FWD. My driveway has burning rubber marks all over the steep section now. He still managed to get jammed up on the inside retaining wall and had to back up and try again. Fortunately for him, that part is wood so the truck probably wasn't messed up too badly.

If it had been raining, he'd still be there.

 

Just need the FREE CANDY sign on the side too...

 

I love my Sprinter. 60k miles with only one small issue where an emissions wire fell on the exhaust. More details of my ownership experience so far in the for sale ad, but not for sale anymore. I ended up just keeping it in storage while I'm in Japan for a couple years:
https://forums.13x.com/index.php?threads/2012-mercedes-sprinter-high-roof-144-passenger.383359/

 

That's more like it! Stupid images.

Transit 350 Passenger, rear 3 rows removed. 2 TRS plates with room for spares and a large rolling toolbox.

I also sleep in the van, I string a hammock from corner to corner (I mounted loops for the hammock using the doubled area of the body structure).

FWIW they all handle like crap in a wind, even my medium roof model.

-T

 

I’ve got a 2019 Prostar as one of my business vehicles. Zero issues. Also if you use it as a business vehicle, look into this:

In 2023, vehicles classified as "heavy" can receive a tax deduction under Section 179 up to $28,900. Previously, up until the end of 2022, these vehicles enjoyed a 100% bonus depreciation. However, starting in 2023, this bonus depreciation rate will be reduced to 80%.