Filed under: Minivan/Van, Specialty, Ram
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While Ford has been the dominant supplier of chassis, engines and platforms for the recreational vehicle industry in modern times, its market share has been eroded by the increased availability of new commercial vehicles on the market. In the days of Daimler-Chrysler, the Sprinter was Chrysler’s alternative to the Ford E-Series as a basis for Class B and C motor homes. But then Daimler split and the Sprinter went back to being a Mercedes product in the US, though it still continued currying favor in the RV world by offering diesel power with a smaller footprint. With the marriage of Chrysler and Fiat, though, the Pentastar brand once again has a foreign-sourced commercial van alternative - the Ram ProMaster - and Winnebago is the first RV manufacture to make it into a motor home.
Actually, Winnebago has unveiled a pair of ProMaster-based RVs: the Trend and Travato. The Trend is a Class C motor home, which generally means it’s based on the chassis cab version of a van and features a bed over the cab and larger body for living space behind the B-pillars. Available in a tidy 24-foot length, the Trend can be had with two floor plans, both of which include large sleeping areas, a bathroom, kitchen and a dinette. The Trend also has some unique touches, including seats in the cab that swivel around to face the rear and three-point seat belts for the dinette.
http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/adam/f74ab5b82b239ea8efb2b62ad9916d66/travato-1-opt.jpgThe second ProMaster-based Winnie is the Travato, a Class B motor home, which is basically the full van model with as many amenities for living crammed into its quarters as will fit. The Travato measures in at just under 21 feet in length, but packs the full RV experience into the ProMaster’s tall body, including a double bed, full bath, kitchen and dinette. The rear bed can even flip up and out of the way, allowing stowage of larger things likes bikes through the van’s rear double doors.
The only disappointment we see in Winnebago’s two new models is that they won’t be offered with a diesel engine from Fiat, at least not yet. The inherent pulling power and fuel efficiency of diesel engines makes them ideal for RVs big and small, but for now Chrysler is leaving that edge in the marketplace to the Sprinter. Instead, the Trend and Travato will both be powered by Chrysler’s 280-hosrepower, 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine mated with a six-speed automatic transmission. Feel free to check out the complete press release below.Continue reading Winnebago Trend, Travato are first ProMaster-based RVs
Winnebago Trend, Travato are first ProMaster-based RVs originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 02 Oct 2013 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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