Hello Promaster Forum Community!
I have been promising a build thread for a while. Here it is!
The dream:
For the past five years, I've hardly made a dent in my debt. My cost of living is too high. A sacrifice is needed in order to aggressively pay down what I owe. How can I do that? Well, I've always wanted to do some kind of tiny home/travel trailer/dirtbag climber/train hobo thing. Let me do the math... yep, it checks out! If I sell my car, move out of my apartment and into the van, I can pay off all debt in 16 months instead of 7 years!!! After weighing the variables, I decided to suck it up and do it. Honestly, it's still freaking me out and I don't know the first thing about plumbing, insulation, etc., but I'm going all in. Phew!!
Making the purchase:
I found the van in Wisconsin. It's actually pretty hard to find a 3500 EXT window van. I flew up there on a one-way ticket and then drove back home to Texas.
Van: 2016 Promaster 3500 Extended High Roof Window Van
Price: $32,000 before tax and title (It's good for us to all share what we paid to spread the knowledge)
Mileage:500
Bells and whistles: tow package, rear 12V adapter, rear speaker wiring, uConnect 5.0 (ya, that's an upgrade?), cruise control, rear defroster
Known issues: The undercarriage had rust on everything. The dealer said that is normal, even on a new van. Sounds like bullsh*t. I'm calling RAM corporate about that. The inside also had dirt, scratches and small indentations in the cargo area. New van? Maybe the dealer used it for their own internal purposes, but a new van shouldn't have all these issues and 500 miles on it... TBC
This first set of pictures is my purchase and roadtrip back home.
Me and A VAN Called Quest just hanging out
Inside is bare and ready for the build
First stop was Lake Michigan for a little meditation
First night in the van!
Stopped in St. Louis for a photo op
I have been promising a build thread for a while. Here it is!
The dream:
For the past five years, I've hardly made a dent in my debt. My cost of living is too high. A sacrifice is needed in order to aggressively pay down what I owe. How can I do that? Well, I've always wanted to do some kind of tiny home/travel trailer/dirtbag climber/train hobo thing. Let me do the math... yep, it checks out! If I sell my car, move out of my apartment and into the van, I can pay off all debt in 16 months instead of 7 years!!! After weighing the variables, I decided to suck it up and do it. Honestly, it's still freaking me out and I don't know the first thing about plumbing, insulation, etc., but I'm going all in. Phew!!
Making the purchase:
I found the van in Wisconsin. It's actually pretty hard to find a 3500 EXT window van. I flew up there on a one-way ticket and then drove back home to Texas.
Van: 2016 Promaster 3500 Extended High Roof Window Van
Price: $32,000 before tax and title (It's good for us to all share what we paid to spread the knowledge)
Mileage:500
Bells and whistles: tow package, rear 12V adapter, rear speaker wiring, uConnect 5.0 (ya, that's an upgrade?), cruise control, rear defroster
Known issues: The undercarriage had rust on everything. The dealer said that is normal, even on a new van. Sounds like bullsh*t. I'm calling RAM corporate about that. The inside also had dirt, scratches and small indentations in the cargo area. New van? Maybe the dealer used it for their own internal purposes, but a new van shouldn't have all these issues and 500 miles on it... TBC
This first set of pictures is my purchase and roadtrip back home.
Me and A VAN Called Quest just hanging out
Inside is bare and ready for the build
First stop was Lake Michigan for a little meditation
First night in the van!
Stopped in St. Louis for a photo op