After several years of adventures, road trips, camping trips, and more than a few nights spent gazing at the stars as we sat by a crackling campfire, we’ve decided it’s time to find Blanche, our 2019 Ram Promaster, a new home.

The decision wasn’t easy. We’ve had a lot of fun with her, but the reality is that we’re simply not using her as much as we once did.

This was our second van conversion. We learned a lot about what worked and what didn’t on our first conversion - a 2015 Ford Transit 1500. Both had their pros and cons, but we found we liked the Promaster better than the Transit.

Price: $42,500

We came to this price based on our online search of other comparable van conversions, the quality of the upfit and the options we installed. When we first contemplated a van conversion, we looked at a lot of completed vans and were usually appalled at how amateurish and shoddy most of them were. We thought we could do a much better job, and we feel we have accomplished that goal. We started out with just the basics, then traveled and camped in Blanche as we figured out what we really wanted versus what we thought we wanted. The end result is a camper that fits our needs perfectly.

Here’s what she has to offer:

Blanche’s Specs:

2019 Promaster 1500  136” WB  High Roof

Engine: 3.6 Liter V6

127,500 miles (more or less - we’re still driving her around town)

VIN: 3C6TRVBG3KE565418

Clean Title

The manufacturer’s window sticker can be found at the end of this page’

General:

This is a well maintained van. All routine maintenace has been done, including full synthetic oil changes every 5000-7000 miles. We have all maintenance records.

In addition:

  • Transmission was replaced 05/2024 at 89,000 miles.

  • New brakes all around

  • Rack and Pinion, shocks, and struts all replaced within the last 18 months.

  • We have compiled a notebook describing most of the van’s upgrades and their operation; electrical wiring, solar, house batteries and charging system, battery monitor, diesel heater, shore power, cell signal amplifier, etc.

Camper Conversion Details

Upfit Description

  • Roof fan: Maxxfan multi-speed reversing

  • Insulation: Combination of fiberglass and 3M Insulate applied to entire roof area, sides, doors and area over cab.

  • Floors: Layer of sound deadening rigid foam insulation, covered with waterproof laminate.

  • Drawers: Seven drawers located under the bunk. All have latches and roller bearing slides.

  • Cabinets: When we upfitted our first van, we built wood cabinets on the walls above the bunk. This time we used soft sided ‘Mule Bags’, which we found to be much superior. They hold more, are much lighter weight, and have dozens of mesh pockets and nylon straps on the bottom and sides for holding everything from reading glasses to flashlights. We love them!

  • Garage area: Under the bunk and accessible from the rear is a large garage area. It is roomy enough to stow two bikes and eight large bins. We had separate bins for kitchen stuff, cleaning supplies, firewood and starters, tools, food, and two bins we used to stash souvenirs we collected along our various road trips.

  • Fridge/Freezer: Whynter FM-65G 65 quart refrigerator/freezer. It can be used as either a fridge or freezer and can be set anywhere from 50℉ to -8℉. If the van is connected to shore power, the fridge runs on 110VAC; otherwise, it runs on 12VDC.

  • Toilet: Small cassette type toilet that fits in a compartment below the bunk. It includes a fresh water tank and pump for flushing.

  • Sink: The sink is mounted in the butcher block counter and has an electric pump to pump water from the fresh water tank.

  • Cutting board: The top to the sink double as a cutting board.

  • Tankage: Mounted under and behind the sink are two five gallon, removable tanks - one for fresh water and one for the grey water from the sink.

  • Bunk: the bunk is full size and has a nearly new Leesa memory foam mattress.

  • Headboard: We like to sit up and read in bed, and one of the things we noticed about many van conversions is that they rarely have a headboard. Ours has a nice headboard - perfect for propping a pillow against and reading at bedtime or during a rainy afternoon.

  • Reading lights: A reading is mounted above and behind the bunk on each side.

  • Lighting: Six recessed LED lights with a dimmer are mounted in the ceiling. A separate LED light is mounted over the sink.

  • Microwave

  • Diesel heater: This does a great job of keeping it warm inside. We took a mid-winter road trip from Las Vegas to New England and the heater kept us warm even in sub-zero temperatures. Since the van is gasoline powered, we mounted a separate diesel tank for the heater under the chassis. See more information here.

  • Cell booster: The van comes equipped with a cellular phone signal amplifier. When we’re camping in a remote area, and there is at least one bar of signal strength on our phone, the cell booster will add one or two bars. The antenna resides in the garage area until needed, then is attached to the rear of the van. The antenna connects to an amplifier which creates a virtual cell tower inside the van. You can find more details here.

  • Slide-out bike tray: We have two full e-bikes we take on most trips. To stow them while traveling, we built a slide-out tray. The front wheels of the bikes are removed, and the front forks are locked into the two quick release fork holders. Keeping them inside instead of on a bike rack makes them less susceptible to theft and keeps all the dust and dirt, especially on dirt or gravel roads, away from the gears, sprockets and cables.

  • Counters: Custom butcher block.

  • Weather Tech floor mats

  • Trekking pole holder: Clips for mounting two trekking poles.

  • Center Console: We added a large center console storage area and passenger side armrest between the two seats. It’s great for keeping gazetteers, maps, first aid kit, pens, pencils, and all the other essential stuff you might need access to on a long road trip.

  • Cup holders: We added two foldable cup holders to the front of the center console.

  • Upgraded backup camera: The rear camera display on the Promaster is quite inadequate. It is small, cannot be seen on a bright sunny day, and worst of all, about two years ago, it started inverting the image. It’s quite disconcerting to see a car passing behind you upside down and at the top of the anemic display. This is a recall item, and we have been waiting more than a year for the dealer to get the parts. We’re told that the parts will be in soon. Not to worry, though, we’ve added a much brighter, larger and higher resolution display and camera.

  • Privacy curtains: Silding curtains separate the living area from the front for privacy. In addition, a drop down curtain is provided for the side window. The rear windows have removeable interior covers that add to privacy as well as increase the insulation o the rear doors, They are held in place with suction cups and can be removed and folded for storage when not needed.

  • Battery warmer: Did you know that lithium-ion batteries don't do well in cold temperatures? They can't be charged below freezing and totally shut down if the battery temperature drops below zero degrees Fahrenheit. Most electric vehicles cope with this problem by heating the batteries to keep them above 40 degrees F. We added small heating elements and a layer of insulation to our house batteries to keep them useable when we venture somewhere where the temperatures are colder than here in Las Vegas (See the blog here). The heating elements are controlled by a small thermal switch that turns them on when the temperature drops below 40℉. In the summer, when it’s not needed, we remove the insulation and pull the fuse for the heater.

  • Carbon Monoxide Alarm: First Alert, battery operated

Electrical:

  • House Batteries: 2 - 100ah Renogy Lithium-Ion Batteries, Bluetooth enabled. The Bluetooth feature allows you to check the state of charge and battery temperature o your phone.

  • Inverter: Renogy 2000 watt sinewave w/ remote panel controller.

  • Charger: Renogy 50 amp DC-DC Charger - charges the batteries from either the solar or the engine alternator.

  • Battery Monitor: Renogy battery monitor and display is llocated in the galley. It allows you to see at a glance whether the batteries are charging or discharging and what the state of charge is.

  • Solar: 2 - 100 watt solar panels. This was more than enough to keep with our daily needs.

  • Solar Controller: - Renogy 40 amp MPPT solar charge controller. This is the high efficiency type of solar controller… much more efficient than the less expensive PWM type of charge controller.

  • USB Outlets: A total of 12 USB outlets are located at the bedside and the galley

  • 120 VAC outlets: 2 - one in the galley and one in the garage for charging e-bikes and tools. Both can be powered by either the inverter or shore power.

  • 120 VAC selector switch: Switches between shore power and the inverter.

  • Fuse Panel: All DC circuits are protected with fuses in an automotive grade fuse panel which is located on the back wall of the garage.

A discussion of the electrical schematics can be found in this blog.