[nebulight]

Hello all. I'm looking at Promasters after seeing the Travato 59G. I like the idea of the permanent dinette, but I'm not a fan of the 159 extended body. I live in a condo complex with a parking lot and want a 136 inch to fit in a smaller parking space.

I'm thinking about trying to do a dinette similar to how @RDinNHandAZ did his, with a small couch in the rear, a small kitchen with sink and cooktop and basic 7 gallon fresh/grey tanks. Keep it very minimal.

I do have questions regarding diesel vs gas and 1500 vs 2500. My basic understanding is that diesel will get better mileage, but the engine can be a bit more temperamental. I also know that Espar makes a diesel heater, but upon further research I see that they also make a gas heater. Has anyone installed one? I have some experience with the espar diesel when I traveled in Iceland in a camper with an espar. It was super quiet and I don't know if the gas version is as well. And with the 1500 vs 2500, I'm not exactly sure the differences there.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[MsNomer]

The gas Espar is frightfully expensive. See my gas Webasto install. Very similar to Espar.

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

The diesel will get much better fuel mileage and though the early diesels were not well sorted and some were troublesome thay have been quite trouble free since early 2015. I would not hesitate to buy a 2015 or later diesel, I have one.

 

[nebulight]

The gas Espar is frightfully expensive. See my gas Webasto install. Very similar to Espar.

How loud is it compared to a diesel espar?

 

[MsNomer]

That's gonna be hard because no one except a professional is going to have significant experience with both, and there are going to be sound differences because of installation instead of the unit itself. I have heard RD's diesel Espar, but only with the doors open and the unit running full bore, IIRC. His unit is more exposed than mine, also. I can say that his fuel pump was clearly audible under those conditions while we cannot hear ours under any conditions, but I don't know how he installed his. I think I can say with reasonable confidence that our unit is no louder than his. I certainly wouldn't advise choosing a van based on this criterion. Either is wonderful.

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

Someday we will have a side by side heater sound test, it won’t be perfect but should give an idea. I cannot think of a reason why they shouldn’t be similar. Both are sure to be much quieter than a traditional RV propane furnace!