Forum Discussion
pnichols
Jun 21, 2021Explorer II
DrewE wrote:Gjac wrote:
Interesting point, how much wider is a 450 chassis compared to a 350? Is this still true with the newer chassis?
For 2021/2022 as appropriate, for dual rear wheels, per manufacturer's specifications....and I think all recent years are the same, but I don't absolutely know that for certain.
Ford E450: 77.7" rear track
Ford E350: 75.4" rear track
Ford Transit T350: 65.7" rear track
Sprinter 3500XD or 4500: 60.7" rear track
Based on my experience with a decidedly not short, not B+ class C, I think you'll have trouble with comfort and stuff not staying put long before the chassis is in any danger of being too tippy for safety. The main places where I have any trouble at all are things like exiting some gas stations or other parking lots where there's a significant transition between the street and the driveway and I go somewhat obliquely, causing a significant but sill controlled sway. Stuff rattles in cabinets in such circumstances. I've never had any trouble negotiating mountain road curves at appropriate speeds, for roads that are halfway sane to take a motorhome over. It is, of course, not a Jeep, and dose have a pretty horrible minimum turning radius (mine worse than the ones you're considering since it has a longer wheelbase with the same wheel cut angles).
Andrew, thanks for those dual rear wheel width specs above.
Those numbers make it obvious that the E450 duallies are wider than the rest, and it sure explains why some Sprinter motorhomes I've seen on the highways always look "too tall for their width" for use on open country Western U.S. highway cross-winds. That chassis appears to be more suited for use in delivery trucks that travel heavily on narrow town streets. Of course the Ford E-Series was probably intended for that kind of use in primarily the U.S., but wound up coming out wider than later designs intended for world-wide delivery van use.
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