Thor's New Ram ProMaster 3500 Camper Vans: #Vanlife Vibes for Under $120,000
The Thor Motor Coach Dazzle and Twist Class B camper vans bring the pizazz.
Thor Motor Coach unveiled five new motorhomes at its annual Dealer Open House event that took place at the end of September, introducing three Class A motorhomes (Indigo, Resonate, and Luminate) along with two Class B camper vans (Dazzle and Twist), which are nearly identical twin 2023 Ram ProMaster 3500 camper vans with different names. We're waiting for Razzle, the triplet that's yet to come. These names alone have us going, "take our money, now!"
COVID restrictions and disruptions pushed the adventurous into vans outfitted for off-grid overlanding with a side dose of connected work and homeschool normalcy. While many have returned to pre-COVID lifestyles and are not literally living out of their vans anymore, camper van manufacturers are still enjoying the #vanlife craze by pumping out economical and practical base camps for nature lovers and adrenaline junkies at a rate that's hard to fathom. Even crazier, demand still seems quite high, especially as the entry point drops for these once-unobtainable camper vans.
Thor Motor Coach, the result of a merger between Damon Motor Coach and Four Winds International in 2010, is owned by Thor Industries, under whose umbrella also falls Airstream (and its new Ram ProMaster, the Rangeline). Thor Motor Coach has a bunch of Class A and Class C motorhomes, and most recently, Class B camper vans built on Ford, Mercedes, and Ram platforms. You might recall its sister Mercedes Sprinter 4x4 camper vans called the Sanctuary and Tranquility; Thor makes Ford Transit AWD van versions of the Sanctuary and Tranquility. All four of these fall north of $170,000, which actually tops Thor's Compass AWD and Gemini AWD Class B+ Transit vans. Thor makes the 22-foot Sequence and Tellaro (both $134,260) on the Ram ProMaster 3500 chassis and the shorter 18-foot Scope and Rize (both $112,980) on the Ram ProMaster 1500 chassis. These pairs (Scope and Rize, for example) are sister products, differentiated by name and different interior and exterior color options, in some cases.
Add to these pairs of Thor Class B camper vans the 22-foot (actually 21-feet, 1-inch) Dazzle and Twist ProMaster 3500, both coming in at a downright respectable entry point of $118,860. They're like trimmed-down versions of the Sequence/Tellaro. By downscaling the luxury, Thor was able to get adventurers the features they needed at a price that's more affordable. Thor sees the Dazzle and Twist as base camps where occupants (otherwise busy out 'n about during the day) sleep, eat, get clean, and store stuff. Hence, the camper vans are part of the adventure, but they're not the adventure. For example, they're plumbed for cable TV, but you'll have to add the actual TV.
Thor starts its Dazzle and Twist camper van builds with 159-inch wheelbase 2023 Ram ProMaster 3500 window vans powered by the gasoline 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6. Unlike the 4x4 Mercedes Sprinter and AWD Ford Transit, all Ram ProMaster vans are front-wheel drive. The vans come empty inside, allowing Thor full control of the interior layout (there are several floorplans) and all systems. Sure, there's nothing stopping you from building your own camper van out of a gutted ProMaster, but it's doubtful it would be cheaper and perhaps plagued with incurable electrical gremlins. Hence, take our $120,000. We'll download Thor's Rapid Camp+ Multiplex Wiring Control System app and adjust the air conditioning and lighting from our phones.
The Dazzle and Twist strike us as "sleeper" camper vans. Literally, yes, people sleep inside of them. But figuratively, aside from tasteful Dazzle and Twist side stickers, they basically look like normal Ram ProMaster vans. They're stealthy, not gaudy or overpacked with exterior attachments. Heck, they don't even have awnings. Thor says that some people they talked to just didn't want them (or want to pay for them).
We won't cover all the details, but the new Dazzle and Twist Thor ProMaster camper vans have all the electrical and plumbing of a regular RV. Notables are the fancy Truma Combi Eco Hydronic furnace and water heating system and the Showermiser that recirculates cold water instead of sending it down the drain. There is a standard 190w solar system. However, whereas some trendy camper van and expedition rig manufacturers are ditching generators in favor of lots of solar power and lithium batteries, the Dazzle and Twist retain on-board Onan 2800 gas generators that sip straight from the ProMaster's gas tank, and they don't have fancy house batteries.
