Where did the basements go?

[TomF]

I test drove a new Roadtrek Dodge Promaster in 2018. I liked it, but I was left wondering what happened to the basements? I store a lot of stuff in My 1997 Roadtrek Popular in the storage compartments under the floor level. I call them the basements. Without any basements in the new Roadtrek, I don't know where I would store all that stuff.
What do owners of the newer Treks do for storage?

[rowiebowie]

The Chevy Express builds were the last with those type of exterior compartments. Still made until 2019 or whenever the "old" Roadtrek went out of business in Feb.-Mar. of that year. That leaves a lot of newer used models to choose from whenever you're in the market.

I believe the reason you don't see them in Promaster/Transit/Sprinter builds is due to their frames being lower and not having space for them. In any event, I heard Sprinter will not allow alterations that would be needed to accommodate them.

[TomF]

Originally Posted by rowiebowie

The Chevy Express builds were the last with those type of exterior compartments. Still made until 2019 or whenever the "old" Roadtrek went out of business in Feb.-Mar. of that year. That leaves a lot of newer used models to choose from whenever you're in the market.

I believe the reason you don't see them in Promaster/Transit/Sprinter builds is due to their frames being lower and not having space for them. In any event, I heard Sprinter will not allow alterations that would be needed to accommodate them.

Thanks. I did the test drive when we were planning our trip around the mainland US. I thought it might be better to buy new and not have to worry about reliability. I ended up having all the systems on the old Dodge refreshed. Not cheap, but worth it.
It seems to me that the newer RV's are more suitable to weekend trips anyway, rather than the extended trips we usually take. What with the all electric appliances, even with solar panels, any camping in remote areas would be very limited.

[rowiebowie]

I do like the extra storage, and like you, would have to work some magic to carry the things we currently do in our external storage compartments if we lost them.

Currently, we carry the following in our outside storage:

Leveling Blocks
Booster Cables
25ft. Water Hose & Filter
30ft. 30A Extension Cord
Various Power Adapters (50A to 30A, 15A to 30A)
Toilet Chemicals
Fix-a-Flat (hope to never need it)
Jack & Lug Wrench (also hope to never need it)

[Jon in AZ]

Believe it or not, all those items plus my tool bag and the spare tire (I removed the continental carrier to tow a trailer) fit neatly under the rear folding sofa in my RT190P. Best is I don’t have to kneel on the ground to get at them.

The long storage pod is nice for camp chairs and a folding patio mat, which sometimes have to be put away dirty or wet.

[NAZCamperVan]

Our 2010 LTV Free Spirit, (on 2008 Sprinter 2500) has a basement bin below the floor, accessed from the interior under the rear sofa. Very handy for hoses, extension cords, tools, etc.) Other Sprinters of that era carry a spare tire in that space. Our spare rides on a Continental rack off the rear hitch.

[rowiebowie]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Believe it or not, all those items plus my tool bag and the spare tire (I removed the continental carrier to tow a trailer) fit neatly under the rear folding sofa in my RT190P. Best is I don’t have to kneel on the ground to get at them.

The long storage pod is nice for camp chairs and a folding patio mat, which sometimes have to be put away dirty or wet.

Oh I believe it. I have a 44" x 30" storage under my rear lounge and use it for tools, bottled water, 30A cord and other things that need to stay clean, dry, and room temperature. But, like you, store things that may rarely be needed or may be wet in the outside storage.

It is good to have both options.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by NAZCamperVan

Our 2010 LTV Free Spirit, (on 2008 Sprinter 2500) has a basement bin below the floor, accessed from the interior under the rear sofa. Very handy for hoses, extension cords, tools, etc.) Other Sprinters of that era carry a spare tire in that space. Our spare rides on a Continental rack off the rear hitch.

Yep. Our GWV Legend has three of those--two intended for batteries and a larger one in the center for "stuff". I used about half of the center one for two more batteries (had to reinforce it for weight). Still lots of room, though.

IMG_7509.jpg

That design is the best--outdoor space accessible from the inside. I don't know why it isn't more popular.

[TomF]

Originally Posted by rowiebowie

I do like the extra storage, and like you, would have to work some magic to carry the things we currently do in our external storage compartments if we lost them.

Currently, we carry the following in our outside storage:

Leveling Blocks
Booster Cables
25ft. Water Hose & Filter
30ft. 30A Extension Cord
Various Power Adapters (50A to 30A, 15A to 30A)
Toilet Chemicals
Fix-a-Flat (hope to never need it)
Jack & Lug Wrench (also hope to never need it)

I store all of that, along with tools, spare parts and camping chairs, etc. between the space under the aft lounge and the outside storage. When I test drove the Dodge ProMaster, the tire jack and wrench were stored in a bag on the floor in front of the rear sofa. I couldn't figure out where I would put any of the gear I normally carry. The sales rep couldn't offer any helpful hints, either!

[Stevemo]

Back in the day you had to choose between a generator and a trunk. My 2004 Popular 190 has a big propane bottle and a generator where they trunk would be so it's a no-go. You could use frame brackets to carry a battery on the driver side if you wanted and possibly remove the passenger side battery holder and swap it for a bracket so you could carry a proper 6 Volt battery on that side too.
The long storage bin on the exterior of the driver side is probably better than the trunk in most cases but it is exposed to sewage and road grime. Later models had a barrier between the sewage hose and the remainder of the bin.

[Thevon]

I bought a stowaway max cargo carrier. You can take a lot of extras and have no clutter on the inside of the van.

[booster]

We have an 07 Roadtrek 190P which has a big driver side storage. We have the macerator hose behind the divider, two sets of leveling block (20), a gas Magma gas grill, a Fold-N-Go camp stove, collapsible highway cone, two collapsible 2.5 gallon buckets, shore cord, 20' fresh water hose, propane splitter hose, TV cable for connecting at fancy campgrounds, multiple power connection adapters all in that single bin without any issue.


When we decided on a power upgrade, it seemed logical to use the two battery storage compartments on the passenger side for something more useful, so they are now also storage for tools, spare parts, rags, etc or any other stuff we don't want inside. Very nice not to have any stinky stuff like the grill inside, for sure.


We added a big inverter, charger and engine charging, and already had 300 watts solar, so put 440ah of AGM battery where the generator was, and left the propane tank in place.



All of this, plus a full time bed that has 5 by 5 feet totally clear under it, gives us lots of useful space. Even on months long trips we leave home with room to spare and easy access to what we need.

[tbroad]

1990 Roadtrek 190 (Dodge chassis)
No vehicle equipment for us in the extra storage. That's where we carry our camp chairs, tent, backpacks, hiking boots, all sort of stuff we use once we're settled into a campsite, but don't need along the road.
All those hoses, power cords, leveling blocks, etc are under the seat by the side door for easy access.