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Old 04-28-2019, 08:04 PM   #1
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Default Promaster driveshaft layout

Got asked about torque steer today in relation to Promaster vans with heavy loads and the need for lots of power to accelerate that weight compared to minivans at half that weight.


Does anyone know if the Promaster has an intermediate drive shaft on one side to get the driveshafts the same length, or if the shafts are made equal length some other way?
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Old 04-29-2019, 01:41 PM   #2
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I have not noticed any difference on drive shaft length on my Trend MH. Also have not noticed any torque steer on the MH in the 3 years of ownership. MH weights close to 9K pounds and great power for a V6 engine.

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Old 05-06-2019, 03:29 AM   #3
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Torque steer? Goodness, Is that even a thing anymore? I admit I haven't tried a pedal to the floor start but I have leaned on it aggressively a couple of times just to see how tgphe V6 based powertrain reacted. Pretty impressive I think.
Over hill and dale or however that old saying goes, the ProMaster in empty-stock form or fitted out as a heavy Class B like my Travato is a fairly strong power house considering the powerplant. Whatever the lengths of the two half shafts on the fwd transaxle are, no worries.

My wife and I both drive our Travato. I think a trifle earlier automatic downshift point would be nice on 6% grades but really, it does fine, especially with about 8,000 pounds. We might punch tow haul if we anticipate we want to stay higher on the power curve in advance of what the tranny decides.

If it helps to know this - What fascinates me is how well it handles in cross winds on one pair of rear wheels. I think the front wheel drive powertrain up front plays some part in that. The other factor could be without a front to rear prop shaft to raise the floor height like a Transit or Sprinter, the PM enjoys about 6 inch lower overall height and a lower center of gravity. Assuming of course that the interiors are outfitted in similar fashion on all three platforms.
We find our typical overall trip mileage to be 14.7. Yes it can acheive 18-ish but that's a trip of virtually all flat driving and minimal stop-starts. Put it all together, we are extremely pleased with our ProMaster based Travato 59K. Zero issues with the PM. Three rather insignificant warranty issues of the WB coach; a connector that was not snapped together tightly inside a wall from the roof solar panel from the factory. Re-connected and added a wire tie across this pair just for good measure. Swapped out the refrigerator module for one that performed more appropriately. And the little LED on the flip up 120 volt power receptacle stopped working. The MFG sent me a new receptacle to swap out. Easy as pie.

All of our trips have been great. Sharp contrast with friends of ours with a 5th wheel from another manufacturer. Theirs has spent a lot of weeks at dealer for fixes. It's back in dealer-jail again, right now. Third trip for same problem. No torque steer issues with a 5th wheel towing truck of course but their down time is a real shame. We feel for our friends of course. Got to say this here though - We truly are happy campers.
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Old 05-06-2019, 11:55 AM   #4
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We are presently in the mountains of TN, NW GA, NC. Steep roads with hairpin curves. With a big grin on his face, MrNomer remarked yesterday that the PM is really a Corvette in PM clothing. Handling and power are assets, not deficiencies.
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