Plateau a go go

by Charles Renny

"If you want the best, you have to start with the best ingredients. Chefs have known this for years and now the crew at Pleasure-Way has done the automotive equivalent.

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ROAD TEST

If you want the best, you have to start with the best ingredients. Chefs have known this for years and now the crew at Pleasure-Way has done the automotive equivalent.

Their Plateau Class B Motorhome conversion starts with what we call the Dodge Sprinter. The Sprinter is made for Dodge by Mercedes-Benz and you don’t get a much better starting place than that. One item to take to the bank is that the Plateau does not ride or drive like a typical van. European based vans, such as the Sprinter, put a different emphasis on ride. North American manufacturers seem to prefer the pillowy soft or floating-in-space type ride. Europeans, and the Mercedes based Plateau is no exception, prefer a much more controlled ride. You don’t need to drive far to notice the difference. The Plateau still absorbs all minor road shocks and will bounce over the larger ones. After that, instead of going for another couple of bounces, the Plateau levels you out right away.

Such control of the suspension turns up in unsuspected places.  If you go out on windy days, as I did, you will notice that the motorhome doesn’t react like many others in its class. I went by semis, roadside bush and other wind breaks on my test. I found that the Plateau did move about, but not nearly as much as the conversions based on North American vans. In addition, the Plateau was easier to control when it did react. Getting on and off the highway or around a cloverleaf interchange in the Plateau was quite comfortable. The first couple of times, I was at or slightly below the posted limits for the corners and had absolutely no trouble. When I tried again at slightly higher speeds, the Plateau did start to lean and feel uncomfortable.

At this point most people would slow down and get back into their comfort range, but if you do keep pushing, don’t get too concerned yet. I found that the Plateau has an excellent safety margin. I pushed the van to the point where the tires were howling and there was enough body lean to make me feel like I was going to fall out of the seat and I still made it around. I don’t think I would do it again willingly, but it does show that the Plateau’s limits are much higher than the average drivers.

Power for all these shenanigans comes from a 3.0 litre Mercedes-Benz diesel engine. This compact power plant puts out 154 horsepower. Many people get concerned with the horsepower numbers when what they should be looking at the torque figures. Torque is what provides the engine’s power and 280 lb.ft. of torque is enough to get the Plateau up to road speed in good time. Better yet, you can travel at freeway speeds pretty much effortlessly. Getting up to these speeds is assisted by a heavy-duty five-speed electronically controlled transmission. This transmission does have part throttle kick-down and load activated gear selection in that if you are going up a steep grade, the transmission will select a gear that will get you up that grade with a minimum of loss in speed. Going down the other side, you can manually select a lower gear to help control descent speed, if you choose to.

Another important aspect of any European vehicle is that the brakes need to be top notch and Mercedes has engineered the Plateau to use large vented discs on the front and solid discs on the rear and made four wheel anti-lock brakes standard. Add to that the latest software to control the possibility of a roll over and you get a series of driver aids that really do help to keep you on the road and pointed in the right direction. Going down the road with the stereo on is easier in the Plateau than in some other Class “B” motorhomes simply due to the hand built nature of the Plateau’s interior. When everything is custombuilt and custom fit, the opportunity for some part to come loose and vibrate, buzz or rattle is minimal. Add to that feature, insulation that does two jobs (temperature retention and exterior noise elimination) and the vehicle is reasonably quiet inside, on the road and at the campsite. One feature that is gaining in importance is fuel economy and this particular one will get about 30% better fuel economy than the average gas engine, just because it is a diesel. In this case, Plateau owners are on record as obtaining 20 mpg on a regular basis and in some cases even higher.

Contrary to popular myth, diesel engines are not smelly and the fuel has greatly improved so that unless you are a slob at heart, there is no reason for you to wind up smelly every time you fuel up. If you are that concerned, buy a pair of gloves and a big resealable freezer bag. Use the gloves, keep them in the bag and the smell will never get to you. If you are looking for a Class B Motorhome, go straight to your Pleasure-Way dealer and take the Plateau for a drive, you owe it to yourself to try the best.