The ProMaster City Camper Van: Designing Conversions Before It Arrives
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How the GTRV Design Process Flows
When a shop has been building on a platform for years, the first conversation with a new buyer is backed by a lot of accumulated knowledge. There are proven layouts to look at. Photos of past builds. Lessons from things that didn't work. A catalog of modifications other customers have asked for and how they turned out. The buyer can flip through real examples and say "more like that one, but with this change." The shop knows where the wiring runs, how the floor is shaped around the wheel wells, which cabinet configurations hold up over time. All of that experience is what makes the design conversation productive.
With a brand new platform, most of that doesn't exist yet. No past builds of our own to reference. No "we tried that and here's what happened." That's the situation with the 2027 Ram ProMaster City. Nobody in the U.S. has built a camper on one, because nobody in the U.S. has one yet. There are European conversions on the same platform architecture that give us real reference points (more on that below), but the hands-on, build-after-build knowledge that comes from years on a platform? That's still ahead of us.
So the question becomes: how do you build that foundation of knowledge before the van arrives?
Building the Knowledge Base Now
You start with what you can know. The ProMaster City shares its architecture with a family of European commercial vans that have been on the road for years (Citroen Dispatch, Peugeot Expert, Fiat Scudo, Toyota ProAce). Those vans have published dimensions, known cargo area specs, and, in some cases, existing camper conversions built on them by European shops. That's a real head start.
Kyle, our cabinetry and CAD specialist, is already working from the published specs for the ProMaster City and cross-referencing them against the European platform siblings. What that looks like in practice: roughing out interior layouts in CAD, testing where a galley kitchen fits relative to the sliding door, working through bed placement options within a 111-inch load floor, and identifying the constraints early, before we're standing in front of the actual van.
The goal is that by the time a ProMaster City is in the shop, we're not starting the learning curve. We've already worked through the big layout questions. We know where the constraints are. When someone sits down to talk about their build, there's real design work behind that planning: not years of builds on this specific platform (that takes time), but tested layouts, real dimensions, and tradeoffs that have already been mapped out.
Some of this will need to be refined once we can verify measurements on the actual vehicle. That's expected with any new platform. But the difference between walking into that moment with months of CAD work behind you and walking in cold is significant.
What We're Designing (and Where You Come In)
There are two layers to any GTRV conversion, and they work differently.
We got the core design covered. Whether it's a Westy (our full conversion package) or a Weekender (a lighter-touch build), the fundamental layout, the cabinet system, the galley, the bed configuration, the electrical architecture: that's what Kyle is working on in CAD right now. This is platform-level design work. It happens whether or not any individual customer is in the queue yet. By the time the ProMaster City arrives, we'll know the details of the layout, the core features, and how it all fits together. The conversion designs will be ready to build from.
The customization is yours. This is where the build becomes personal. Once you've chosen a conversion type, there's a wide range of options that let you shape it around how you actually travel. On our current platforms, those choices include things like laminate and fabric selections for the cabinets and upholstery, battery configuration (standard AGM or lithium upgrade, single or dual), electrical additions like solar panels, inverters, and vent fans, comfort features like a propane furnace, tankless water heater, or outdoor shower, storage and accessory decisions like roof tracks, awnings, or a removable table, and interior details like drawers vs. doors on the cabinet system.
The ProMaster City options list is still being developed as Kyle works through the platform, but the approach will be the same. You pick the conversion type. Then you personalize it.
And then there's what we think of as the secret menu. Because we build our cabinets in-house, we can do things that aren't on any standard options list. A customer who needs a specific storage solution for photography gear, or wants the galley configured differently than the standard layout, or has an idea they haven't seen anyone else offer: that's the kind of request we can actually say yes to. Many builders can't, because they're working from pre-made cabinet packages. We're building from raw plywood in our own shop.
That capability is what we've built our Metris, Transit, and Sprinter conversions around, and it carries over directly to this platform.
Getting Into the Process Early
If you're interested in a ProMaster City conversion, the timing works in your favor.
The design process starts now, not later. The way we approach every build, regardless of platform, begins with understanding how you plan to use the van. Weekend trips with a partner? Extended road trips with a dog? Daily driver during the week, camper on the weekends? Those answers shape which conversion type makes sense and which options matter most to you. None of that requires the van to be physically present.
Your build gets real planning time. When a shop is busy (and shops are always busy), new builds compete with current builds for the team's attention. Getting into the process before the van arrives means your options are thought through and your configuration is mapped out before the production schedule fills up.
You're not starting from zero in the queue. When the ProMaster City arrives at dealerships in early 2027, buyers who have already worked through the planning with us are picking up where they left off. The conversion type is chosen. The options are selected. The custom requests are documented. We're not meeting for the first time; we're moving into the build phase.
For the ProMaster City specifically, there are also some things worth thinking through that are unique to a smaller platform. The cargo area is generous for its class (167 cubic feet, 111-inch load floor), but it's still a midsize van. Choices that feel like minor preferences on a Transit or Sprinter become real tradeoffs on a smaller platform. Where the bed goes affects where the galley goes. Pop-top or fixed roof changes the interior height equation entirely. Getting into those details early, with Kyle's CAD work as a reference, is more productive than trying to sort them out under build-schedule pressure.
The Deposit and How It Works
We're offering a deposit-based process for ProMaster City conversions.
What the deposit does: It reserves your place in our build queue and starts the active planning. You choose a conversion type, we begin working through your options and any custom requests, and Kyle incorporates your configuration into the CAD work. By the time the van arrives, your build has shape, and your conversion becomes one of the first ones out the door.
What's still flexible: Getting in early doesn't mean locking in every detail on day one. Some choices (like laminate finishes, hardware, or specific accessory decisions) can wait. The important thing is that the big decisions are made and the custom work is scoped out.
How the details work: Deposit amount, terms, and what's included are things we walk through with you directly. Every build is different in scope, and the deposit reflects that. Joseph, our Customer Experience Manager, can talk you through the specifics once we understand what you're looking for.
What We Don't Know Yet
It's worth being direct about a few things.
We haven't built a camper on this platform yet. Nobody in the U.S. has. The European conversion work on the K0 platform gives us confidence in the fundamentals, and the published specs from Ram tell us what we're working with. But there will be details that only become clear once the van is physically in the shop. How the interior walls are finished. Where the wiring runs. How the floor is shaped around the wheel wells. Those things affect cabinet design, and we'll deal with them as they come up.
We also don't have final pricing from Ram. The target is under $40,000 for the base van, but exact numbers aren't published yet. Orders are expected to open in the second half of 2026.
None of this is unusual when a new platform arrives. It's the normal sequence. What's different here is that we're doing the design homework ahead of time rather than waiting.
Where This Goes Next
This is the second post in a three-part series on the ProMaster City. The first post covered what the van is, how it compares to the Metris, and what to think about when choosing a conversion shop. The next post will get into the practical details: what the build timeline looks like, and what to expect once the van is in the shop.
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Reach Out
If you're thinking seriously about a ProMaster City conversion, now is a good time to get into the process.
Has this post sparked some ideas? Maybe you're already imagining what your build would look like, which options matter to you, or what you'd put on the secret menu.
Bring those ideas to Joseph, our Customer Experience Manager. That's exactly where the best builds start.
Call us at 888-332-9602 or send us a message here
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If you're still in research mode, these are good next steps:
The Metris Is Gone. Meet the ProMaster City.
A First-Time Buyer's Guide to Camper Vans
Before the Build, There's a Conversation
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