8,000# hitch on new E-450 Chassis
It has recently come to my attention that all new Thor Motorhomes on the E-450 chassis built after 10/01/2014 come equipped standard with an 8,000 pound receiver hitch instead of the 5,000 pound hitch...
Forum Discussion
^^^ Agreed. Our 31-ft has no slides and both axles were close to capacity. I bought some breathing room on the front by replacing the 4600# OEM axle with a 5000# late model take-off. Our wheelbase was stretched from Ford's OEM 158" to Jayco's 218" (a full 60", Five Feet!) by and outfit called Sellars. Rear was also extended. It's 11-ft from axle to trailer hitch.
The long wheelbase puts plenty of weight on the front axle. That helps tracking on the road, but I wouldn't want to add much on the rear axle. Let alone 11-ft behind it. That would overload the rear and unload the front enough that I'd be concerned it'd affect handling.
I think part of the reason it's so heavy is the sub-floor is steel box tubing. Later models seem to be built on an aluminum sub-floor...
The long wheelbase puts plenty of weight on the front axle. That helps tracking on the road, but I wouldn't want to add much on the rear axle. Let alone 11-ft behind it. That would overload the rear and unload the front enough that I'd be concerned it'd affect handling.
I think part of the reason it's so heavy is the sub-floor is steel box tubing. Later models seem to be built on an aluminum sub-floor...
