2021 Pleasure Way Lexor FL Review Part 4, ProMaster, Issues and Summary
In deciding on what van, I went back and forth regarding diesel v. gas. Given that the cost of servicing a diesel is much higher than a gas engine, the gas mileage isn't that much better on a diesel and the fact that in the US and Canada, you are never very far from an FCA or Ford dealer, we eliminated the Sprinter and went for the ProMaster.
Note: For whatever reason, The vans we looked at didn't have the option of the Transit or the van seats didn't pivot, which was a requirement.
A big benefit of the PM is that you can sleep across or in line with the van as it is wide enough. While I don't believe that front wheel drive is a benefit on a camper, the lower towing capacity is a consideration for those with boats or toy trailers. I weighed the camper with a full tanks of gas and water, with me and our pug on board, the bus tipped the scales at 8300#, about 1000# under gross allowable vehicle weight.
Living with the ProMaster
The seating position is like a bus, or and Italian car from the 50's or 60's. The seats are reasonably comfortable, though I wish the bottom seat cushion were longer for more under leg support. The fit and finish seems fine and the material quality is well like a utility van. No faux leather covered dash boards here.
My only complaint about the chassis, is that the audio system is only slightly better than propping a transistor radio on the dash. The PW comes with Ram's basic Uconnect system that provides radio, phone and navigation (Tom Tom) functions, as well as a back up camera, parking distance alert and blind spot detection.
When I get the camper out of storage, I'm upgrading the speakers and possibly adding a sub-woofer and a booster amp. I'd simply replace the head unit entirely with one that supports Android Auto and Apple Car Play, and has a screen that wasn't found on a circa 1990 laptop, but I'm concerned that I could begin having issues with those safety systems. Too bad PW didn't provide the option for one of the Uconnect upgrades.
Issues and Problems
On the PM, the blind spot detection would quit when driving in heavy traffic. A trip to the RAM dealer resulted in no faults and this should be considered a feature rather than a bug. I was told that if the sensor detects an object that doesn't move on, such as a car next to you in traffic, the system decides that the sensor has failed and turns the system off. Now, I just leave it off, the mirrors are very good.
The PW, Four Small Issues
The Fantastic Fan has a function that closes and shuts the fan off if the system detects rain and it has an override function. On a trip we had a day of torrential rains for a several hours, after that the fan wouldn't function and required the override procedure to operate. This continued for over a week despite dry weather.
I suspected that water had entered the sensor housing and reported the same to the dealer. The tech 'lubed the switch,' I doubt that fixed it but we'll see in the spring.
The Fantastic Fan began squealing at season's end and they lubed that as well.
Intermittently, the Xantrex inverter will shut off when there is no AC draw. This wouldn't be an issue, except it results in a Honey-Do. Unsurprisingly, the tech couldn't recreate the problem.
Lastly, a cable came loose from its location between the fresh and waste water tanks. It was tucked up and reattached.
Everything covered under warranty.
Summary
Would I buy a PW again? Yes, except to get the TS rather than the FL. My 'issues' were the result of compromises rather than flaws. The folks in Saskatoon build a nice vehicle and they should be justly proud of their work.
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