Chateau F550
Can someone explain to me what makes the F550 better than the E450 other than the obvious. Yes it's a much larger engine but its 13000 lbs heavier? I don't get it.
Forum Discussion
- The one built on the F550 is bigger and has a huge wall slider, and the chassis is a bit heaver, but I hope its not 14k+ pounds compared to the ones built on the E-450
- 14,500 lbs vs 19,500 lbs. if you look at GVWR for the 31W (33' Ford E-450) vs 35SK (34' Ford F-550 Super Duty). The 60 cu ft vs 164 cu ft exterior storage alone is worth the extra weight! I hope to be able to see one of the Super Cs at the Richmond RV show next weekend.
- The F-550 chassis is built heavier, at least 5000 pounds more capacity, possibly more with chassis options, but that far enough and it becomes F-650.
For the RV, it means they can build a bigger RV. It is better for those for whom bigger is better, with respect to the house.
I hope the RV on the F-550 is not 13,000 pounds heavier, that more than uses up the extra capacity, would be stretching the limits of a Class 7 chassis rating.
Engine size is not as relevant as other chassis parts. It is pretty common to de-rate engines to lower numbers, as the truck gets heavier, before stepping up to the next engine size. Particularly if they are starting out with advertised ratings for pickup applications, which are big numbers for limited duty cycles. - The F550 diesel is derated for duty cycle but don't let that scare you. The gas engine has the same rating as in the pickups. One thing that makes me scratch my head about the F-series based Cs is how do they remove the cab for major engine repairs? That's got to be tricky with the cabover bed.
