2018-19 Nexus Viper Class C

Rubicon06 wrote:

pauldub wrote:
According to Ford, a 2014 cut-away chassis E-450 weighs 225 pounds more that E-350 with the same wheelbase, engine, and DRW. Where does the mythical "several thousand pounds" come from? Assuming they each have the same house built on top of them, the only difference in fuel economy will be because of the small difference in axle ratio.

That's what my research says as well. Not thousands. The Captain should be demoted to to a lower rank. :)

The weight of a cutaway E450 chassis as delivered to the RV manufacture may weigh 225 pounds more than a cutaway E350, assumed most of that extra 225 pounds found in the thicker frame and spring steel. The 2000 pound difference discussed is referring to the load rating limit between the E450 and E350-HD cutaway chassis.

You can order a lighter-duty E350 cut-away chassis, maybe dropping the "Heavy Duty" label, but I don't believe you can order a lighter-duty E450 cutaway chassis. There are at least 3 flavors of the E350 cutaway, the lightest duty having single rear wheels. Somewhere in the mix is the smaller 35 gallon fuel tank. You can actually order a new E350 cut-away with the same 11,500 pound weight rating as a 2007 model year. I think the 55 gallon fuel tank is optional. The lower rating is achieved through lower rated springs. That translates into a softer ride for smaller & lighter RV models. But from what I can tell, RV outfitters generally don't work with that one.

I used to be more up on this stuff. Things do change over the years so I might be off a bit, but I hope you get the idea. If you really want to know, you'll have to get a current E-series spec/data sheet which breaks it all down nicely. The old data sheets I have, covered all E-Series from the E150 E250 E350 vans, E350 & E450 stripped chassis, and E350/E450 cutaway chassis. It was interesting to compare the differences between the 2007 heavy duty E350 and E450 cut-away chassis. Things like the shock absorbers and front stabilizer bar were the same used on an E250 van. That explained why our 2007 motor home had some suspension & control deficiencies.