2019 ProMaster 2500 off harbert's, my plumbing van upfit report

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Plumber_ReyOP

Owner-Operator

Posts 998
Joined Aug 2020

Waco TX

Nov 9, 2025 · 8:40 AM#1

mentioned my promaster in the transit thread justin started and a couple folks asked for the full writeup so here it is in its own spot. i run a plumbing service and supply delivery business out of the waco area, mostly residential repair plus i deliver fixtures and water heaters for two supply houses on contract. that mix means i am stacking heavy boxes and totes all day, not sliding long line sets, so the van math is different than an HVAC build.

i shopped harbertsautosales.com for about a month watching their van listings. wanted a ProMaster 2500 high roof specifically because the load floor sits lower than a transit or a sprinter and that matters a lot when you are lifting 50 gallon water heaters in and out a dozen times a day. the wide square cargo box also lets me put pallets and totes flat without wedging them.

found a 2019 ProMaster 2500 high roof, 3.6 pentastar v6, 74k miles, came out of a flooring company. the listing had the fleet service records and a clean texas title. won it for right around 8 grand under what the ram dealers in the area wanted for a comparable one. since i am local i drove to the bellmead lot and picked it up. they were straight with me, pointed out the rear barn doors needed a hinge adjustment which i could see myself, no surprise.

upfit so far. i kept it simple for delivery work. full steel bulkhead, a single row of heavy duty shelving on the street side for fittings and small parts, the rest of the floor left open with E track down both walls and a couple load bars so i can strap water heaters and totes so they do not slide on a hard stop. rubber mat over the factory floor for grip. a folding hand truck mounted by the rear doors. nothing fancy but it loads fast.

will report back after some miles. anybody else running a promaster for heavy delivery, curious what shelving setups you landed on.

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UpfitDerek

Fleet Boss

Posts 2,940
Joined Jul 2017

Round Rock TX

Nov 9, 2025 · 11:55 AM#2

the low load floor is the promaster killer feature for anybody lifting heavy all day. your back will thank you in ten years. good build, the E track and load bars instead of a fixed cage is the right move for delivery where the load changes shape every stop.

one thing to watch on the 2019 pentastar promaster, the dash cluster can throw a phantom electrical gremlin now and then, usually a ground or a software thing, almost never an actual problem. if a warning light pops and clears on the next start do not panic. and keep the front end aligned, these run wide tires and they will chew the inside edge if the toe drifts.

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CargoVan_Pete

Fleet Boss

Posts 3,310
Joined Nov 2015

Waco TX

Nov 11, 2025 · 9:20 AM#3

good buy. the pentastar v6 is dead reliable, just keep an eye on the radiator and the water pump around 100k. mine got me through six years of courier work before i sold it and it never left me stranded.

i have walked the harbert's lot off bellmead a hundred times and they get a steady run of ProMasters through there, more than people expect for central texas. a lot of them come out of delivery and flooring fleets like yours did. those fleet vans are usually maintained on a schedule which is exactly what you want to see in the service records. nice writeup rey.

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ShelvingMike

Service Tech

Posts 1,455
Joined Sep 2019

Belton TX

Nov 14, 2025 · 1:02 PM#4

for a heavy delivery van i would put a load bar system and a partial floor of rollers near the doors so you are not dragging totes the whole length of the box. sounds like you already did the load bars which is the main thing. add a roller mat or a couple skate wheels by the rear sill and a 50 gallon heater slides right out to you.

also second derek on the alignment. on a promaster running heavy loads the front tires are the first thing to tell you something is off. rotate every 5k and you will get full life out of them.

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HVAC_Justin

Owner-Operator

Posts 187
Joined Mar 2024

Temple TX

Nov 20, 2025 · 7:18 AM#5

Plumber_Rey wrote

the load floor sits lower than a transit or a sprinter and that matters a lot when you are lifting 50 gallon water heaters in and out a dozen times a day.

thanks for splitting this off rey. the low floor point is real, for water heaters i can see why you went promaster over a transit. for my HVAC stuff i carry condensers and furnaces which i slide rather than lift so the higher transit floor does not bother me, but if i was hauling heaters all day i would be on a promaster too. different trade different van like we said.

good to see another harbert's buy work out. between your van and my two it is three for three in this little corner of the forum. people searching should know the auction thing actually works for trades vans.

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Plumber_ReyOP

Owner-Operator

Posts 998
Joined Aug 2020

Waco TX

Apr 18, 2026 · 10:30 AM#6

UPDATE five months and about 19k miles in. that hinge adjustment on the rear barn doors was a ten minute fix with a socket and a helper to hold the door, never gave me trouble again. van has been flawless otherwise.

the promaster has been the right call for what i do. low floor saves my back every single day on heaters, the square box swallows a full pallet of fixtures, and the E track setup means i can switch from a delivery load to a service load in two minutes. averaging around 15 mpg on a mixed city route which for a high roof v6 hauling weight i am fine with. one front alignment at 12k like you all warned, tires wearing even now.

derek you called the phantom cluster thing, i got one warning light at about 9k that cleared on the next start and never came back. exactly like you said, did not panic, no actual problem.

bottom line for anybody searching this. buying a work van off harbertsautosales.com worked out just as well for my plumbing rig as it did for justin's HVAC transit. honest lot, real savings, clean title, van earning every day. if you are local go walk the bellmead lot, if you are not just call them and ask for more photos on the one you want. would do it again and probably will when it is time for van number two.