Sprinter vs Transit vs ProMaster: The Cargo-Van Numbers That Differ
A head-to-head on the interior cargo dimensions that actually decide a cargo van: max volume, high-roof height, extended cargo length, and load-floor width. Which van wins for tall gear, long gear, and wide pallets, with real specs.
If you are speccing a cargo van for a touring rig, a rental fleet, or a regional logistics run, the brochure comparison that matters is not horsepower or fuel economy. It is the interior box. A Mercedes Sprinter, a Ford Transit, and a Ram ProMaster all look like the same white rectangle in a parking lot, but the usable cargo dimensions diverge in ways that decide whether your tallest road case stands up, whether your longest truss span fits flat, and whether a pallet slides in without a fight. Here are the interior numbers that actually differ, and which van wins for each kind of gear.
Maximum cargo volume: Sprinter takes the top slot
At the biggest end of each lineup, the Sprinter pulls ahead. The 170-inch extended-wheelbase High Roof Sprinter maxes out at 533 cubic feet of cargo volume. The Ford Transit in its Long-EL, high-roof configuration comes in at 445 cubic feet (Ford's own figure for the same layout runs closer to 487 cubic feet depending on measurement method). The Ram ProMaster tops out lower, around 425.9 cubic feet in its High Roof long configuration.
Raw volume is a starting point, not a verdict. A van can win on total cubes and still lose on the one dimension your specific gear needs. That is where these three separate.
Tall gear: Ford Transit high roof wins on ceiling
If you are standing wardrobe cases, amp stacks, or pallet-and-a-half stacks on end, interior height is the number to chase, and the Transit wins it outright.
- Ford Transit high roof: [81.5 inches](https://www.nsford.com/ford-research/2024-ford-transit-cargo-van-dimensions/) of interior height
- Mercedes Sprinter high roof: [79 inches](https://www.mbofhenderson.com/vans/sprinter/mercedes-benz-sprinter-dimensions/) of standing height
- Ram ProMaster high roof: [76 inches](https://vandimensions.com/database/ram/promaster) of interior cargo height
That 81.5-inch Transit ceiling is nearly a foot taller than the ProMaster's high roof. For anything that ships vertical, the Transit gives you the most headroom before you have to lay it down and eat floor space.
Long gear: Sprinter 170 EL wins on length
For long, skinny loads (truss, staging deck, timber, conduit) the deciding number is cargo floor length, and the extended Sprinter runs away with it.
- Sprinter 170 EL: [189 inches](https://www.mbofhenderson.com/vans/sprinter/mercedes-benz-sprinter-dimensions/) of cargo length at the floor (about 15.75 feet)
- Ford Transit Long-EL: [172.2 inches](https://www.nsford.com/ford-research/2024-ford-transit-cargo-van-dimensions/) of usable cargo floor length
- Ram ProMaster High Roof EXT: [161.5 inches](https://www.jackpowell.com/manufacturer-information/ram-promaster-dimensions/) of max interior length
The Sprinter's roughly 17-inch advantage over the Transit and 28 inches over the ProMaster is the difference between loading a long span flat versus wedging it diagonally.
Wide loads and pallets: ProMaster wins the floor
Here the ProMaster earns its reputation. It is the only one of the three built wide enough to swallow a standard 40-inch pallet loaded either direction, thanks to a genuinely flat, low, wide floor.
- Interior width: [75.6 inches](https://vandimensions.com/database/ram/promaster) overall, versus a much narrower body on the Transit
- Width between the wheel arches: [55.8 inches](https://vandimensions.com/database/ram/promaster), wide enough to drop a 48-inch pallet flat between them
- Load floor height: [21 inches](https://www.fleetowner.com/equipment/pickups-vans/media-gallery/55271296/discover-the-versatility-of-the-2025-ram-promaster-the-ultimate-cargo-van-for-every-need), the lowest step-in in the segment
The Transit, for contrast, is 54.8 inches between its wheel wells, so the ProMaster's near-square 55.8-inch gap plus its low deck make hand-loading heavy or awkward cargo noticeably easier. If your day is pallets, dollies, and roll-in cases, the ProMaster is the flat, low, wide floor you want.
The quick verdict
Tall gear, take the Transit. Long gear, take the Sprinter 170. Wide pallets and low loading, take the ProMaster.
None of these is the "best" van in the abstract. The right one is whichever matches the dimension your load is actually constrained by. And that is the catch: most rigs are constrained by more than one axis at once, and cubic-foot totals hide that completely.
That is exactly the gap a real load plan closes. Before you commit to a chassis, model the actual cases, pallets, and cases-on-end in Truck Packer against each van's real interior box. You will see in 3D whether your tall stuff clears the Transit roof, whether your long stuff lies flat in the Sprinter, and whether your pallets sit square in the ProMaster, before the gear ever hits the dock.
