Load your gear the night before, pull out of the driveway by first light, and you'll be backed up to Carl Gray Park's boat ramp before the August heat turns serious. That plan works, and the Ram ProMaster 2500 is what makes it painless. We're not talking about a luxury hauler here. We're talking about a used work van that fits the way Panama City's contractors, mobile service operators, and waterfront-bound weekend workers actually live.
Carl Gray Park sits on North Bay along Collegiate Drive, just north of Gulf Coast State College. The park is a genuine community anchor, with a renovated waterfront, a boat launch ramp, covered pavilions, picnic tables, a small beach, and fitness stations. If you're hauling anything to that ramp, or running service stops along the Collegiate Drive corridor before swinging by after work, the ProMaster 2500's specs start to tell a story.
What's the Plan at a Glance?
| Stop | What to Do | Best Time | Parking Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Gray Park boat ramp | Launch or retrieve a small boat, kayak, or jet ski via North Bay | Early morning (beat the August heat) | Large paved lot; high-roof van fits easily |
| Pavilion area | Tools-down lunch, team meetup, gear staging | Midday | Pull alongside; double rear doors open toward tables |
| North Bay waterfront | Inshore fishing from shore or pier | Late afternoon | Shade trees buffer the worst sun |
| Collegiate Drive corridor | Service stops, supply runs near Gulf Coast State College | Any | Standard surface streets; tight turns manageable with FWD |
What Carl Gray Park Actually Offers a Working Driver
Carl Gray Park earns its place on a work schedule because it's one of the few spots in Panama City where you can back a full-size van right to the water's edge and stage equipment, though you'll still want to time your visit around the August heat rather than assume shade covers the whole lot. It's more than a pretty waterfront. The City of Panama City completed a major overhaul here, adding pavilions with picnic tables and charcoal grills, restrooms, self-weight fitness machines, two playgrounds, fresh paving, and an improved boat ramp system with fixed docks and a floating dock designed for jet skis.
The floating dock detail matters for the van question. A ProMaster 2500 with a pre-owned inventory pull toward a High Roof configuration gives you up to 420 cubic feet of cargo space in the back. That number is not an abstraction. In plain terms, your gear stays out of the weather, your tools don't bake on the seat, and you're not making two trips.
The Route: Collegiate Drive to North Bay and Back
Collegiate Drive works as a real workday artery, with Gulf Coast State College anchoring the east end and the park waterfront anchoring the west, and everything in between is surface-street territory where the ProMaster's front-wheel-drive layout earns its keep, even if the ride never pretends to be a passenger van's. Most work vans are rear-wheel drive, which can feel tail-light and squirrely on a narrow service road when the cargo bay is empty. The ProMaster 2500 runs FWD, meaning the engine weight sits directly over the drive wheels. Loaded or not, it stays planted on the road.
Ram ProMaster City drivers who've stepped up to the 2500 tell us the same thing. The longer wheelbase and higher payload rating (up to around 4,260 lbs on the 2500, per Ram's configuration specs) mean they stopped worrying about overloading. For contractors who were pushing the limits of a smaller van every single day, that's a real change. The 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, rated by Ram at 276 horsepower, pairs with a 9-speed automatic that keeps the engine in its power band on loaded highway pulls up US-98.
The honest downside is fuel. The ProMaster is not a fuel-economy story. Ram doesn't submit it for EPA testing because it's classified as a commercial vehicle. Real-world owners across forums and tracking apps report roughly 14 to 20 MPG depending on load and configuration. Running heavy in stop-and-go on 23rd Street? Expect the lower end of that range. Lighter loads on the highway open it up. If fuel is your primary concern, a smaller cargo van fits better. If payload and space are the priority, the math on the 2500 is hard to argue with.
Why the ProMaster 2500 Fits Bay County's Working Life
The ProMaster 2500 fits Bay County's working life because the cab is built to run hard through a punishing summer, though it asks you to accept a work van's ride rather than a comfort cruiser's. Panama City's August is brutal. The heat isn't just uncomfortable; it's 90-plus degrees with humidity that makes stepping out of an un-air-conditioned van feel like opening a dishwasher. The ProMaster 2500's cab reads as a genuine workspace, with front bucket seats, overhead storage, a 7-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on equipped units, and a climate system built to run hard all day. You're not babying it. You run it through the whole shift, and it keeps its cool.
Ram ProMaster 3500 versions offer even more cargo length, but for most Bay County contractors doing HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or mobile detailing runs through the Collegiate Drive and 23rd Street corridors, the 2500 hits the practical sweet spot. It fits in a standard-depth parking space when you need it to, and it opens a set of tall rear cargo doors when you don't.
We've seen good used ProMaster 2500s come through our lot at various wheelbase and roof combinations. The years to be cautious about are 2014 through 2017, which had the heaviest complaint concentration per NHTSA records, covering everything from early powertrain and brake issues to electrical faults. From 2018 onward the platform matured considerably. A 2022-2023 model year has an NHTSA power steering investigation on record covering certain units, so check the VIN on those years specifically. The 2020 through 2021 range, with the transmission park pawl software recall resolved, tends to represent solid used value for buyers who've done their homework. Our honest read, based on the public record, lands there.
The 2026 model carries the same 3.6L V6 and 9-speed forward from the previous year, and that's actually good news for used buyers. The powertrain is well-understood, parts are available, and independent shops across Bay County know these engines. Buying a well-maintained mid-generation unit is not a consolation prize. More often, it's the smarter call.
Carl Gray Park will still be there at 7 a.m. The boat ramp, the pavilion, the restored waterfront. The ProMaster 2500 will have your whole rig loaded and ready. We'll help you get into the right used unit and leave the lot with a clear title and a VIN report in hand. It's the smart move.