If one were looking to get a 24 ft Class C is there any advantage to get the E450 chassis over the more common E350? Is the HP increased in the 450? Ride quality stiffer? Front end components more robust? Larger tires? Any other considerations?

"This is all good information. Sounds like if you are getting a short(24Ft) MH with a full wall slide then you might need the E450 chassis for the extra weight of the slide."An excellent observation. If you want a smallish {24' mas y menos}, Class C and plan to load, run or tow heavy then, by all means, go to the E-450 chassis. If however, you don't have slides, levelers, collect rocks or plans to tow a serious Toad you will be far better served by the E-350 chassis.After 6 pages of interesting discussion some things simply do not change...:B

If you are looking for better ride quality,no problems with the front end and larger and more quiet cockpit area in a 24 Ft Class C the clear choice would be one built on a Chevy Chassis :B

IMO, the biggest advantage is the higher GVWR. Most of the driveline/suspension components that allow the 450 to have the weight advantage over the 350 are significantly more robust. There are literally "hundreds" of design changes between the two vehicles. (too many to list) It's not just a set of helper springs!Chum lee

Agree with Chum. Go with the 450. We have it and it is stout.On the Chevy chassis comment, I can't say. I've driven both Ford/Chevy trucks for years and both have positive and negative to them. But both are good, IMHO. It may be the V10 in the 450 Ford is "noisier" but overall we just don't have the issue.

2014 was the last year for the E-series van. Starting in 2015 and continuing, because of the naturally lower production numbers of the remaining E-Series fleet production, Ford has made more things common between the E350 and E450 than in years past. I recall one of significance is the rear axle gear ratio now being the same. The E350 used to get 10% better fuel economy in years past until recently. Now it's the same as the E450. There are a some heavy duty upgrades in the E450 that is more than smaller motor homes need, but even so......If I had a choice, I would get the E450, even for a 21 foot motor home. The ride would be exceptionally rough so I would address that problem by swapping to E350 chassis 10,000 or 11,500 front coil springs, and remove a leaf or two in back to better match your actual trip loads. Invest a little more to get things matched up properly and you will have the best of both worlds of heavy duty and a comfortable ride.

E350 vs E450 chassis pros and cons for a short 24 ft class C

pnichols
Explorer II
Apr 28, 2019
ron.dittmer wrote:
Desert Captain wrote:
The 55-gallon tank was an option on the E-350 and most folks wisely optioned for that vs the 40-gallon standard tank. I love the extra range and fueling {vs price} options it gives us.
The 55 gallon tank is also useful when boondocking for extended periods because the generator uses the same fuel from that tank. Even with our 55 gallon fuel tank, we fuel up near our destination to have more fuel on-hand to run our generator. In a few places, it would be "testy" with a 40 gallon tank.

Good point Ron ... we do the same.

Even with our big built-in tank, we carry along another 2 gallons in our gas can for our portable generator that could be off-loaded into the big tank in an emergency.

However, we did head out into the middle of Nevada once with marginal fuel in the big tank. We luckily found one lone station way out there and - gulp - filled up the big tank at their $5 per gallon price!

BTW, I wonder how many Ford E350/E450 55 gallon tank RV owners know that whenever they think that they are filling up their big tank that they're probably NOT getting 55 gallons into it? Our 55 gallon tank will take another 5+ gallons whenever I "fill it up" - if and only if I use the trickle method near the end of the filling process.
ron_dittmer
Explorer II
Apr 28, 2019
Desert Captain wrote:
The 55-gallon tank was an option on the E-350 and most folks wisely optioned for that vs the 40-gallon standard tank. I love the extra range and fueling {vs price} options it gives us.
The 55 gallon tank is also useful when boondocking for extended periods because the generator uses the same fuel from that tank. Even with our 55 gallon fuel tank, we fuel up near our destination to have more fuel on-hand to run our generator. In a few places, it would be "testy" with a 40 gallon tank.
IAMICHABOD
Explorer II
Apr 28, 2019
The OP was asking about a 24 ft and they all come with that choice in the link I provided.

A very large and heavy Leprechaun like yours only comes on a Ford Chassis.
Geeze
Explorer
Apr 28, 2019
IAMICHABOD wrote:
If you are looking for better ride quality,no problems with the front end and larger and more quiet cockpit area in a 24 Ft Class C the clear choice would be one built on a Chevy Chassis :B

I don't think manufacturers give the option to choose which chassis you get? I know we didn't have that option when we ordered our 2019 Leprechaun.
Desert_Captain
Explorer III
Apr 27, 2019
The 55-gallon tank was an option on the E-350 and most folks wisely optioned for that vs the 40-gallon standard tank. I love the extra range and fueling {vs price} options it gives us.

:C
Dusty_R
Explorer
Apr 27, 2019
Our 24V Itasca on a 2001 E-350 had a 55 gallon gasoline tank.
whemme
Explorer II
Apr 27, 2019
Did someone mention that the E450 chassis uses a 55 gallon fuel tank and the E350 chassis only has a 38 gallon tank.
bobndot
Explorer II
Apr 25, 2019
Gjac, BTW, when I bought my new rig last year, I was scraping the rear hydraulic jacks on driveway aprons. I had to have the mounting plates cut shorter in order to raise them to gain some clearance. All is fine now.
Desert_Captain
Explorer III
Apr 25, 2019
I never had any need for air bags until I got my cargo trailer for the motorcycle. The extra tongue weight of the single axle trailer would drop the rear end about 2”. I added the Air Lift 5K air bags and it resolved that issue.

With just 50# the hitch height returns to 16” with the tongue dead level. To my surprise when not towing I put 20# in and the great ride I always enjoyed got even better... go figure? Don’t have a built in compressor but both air lines run to a single Schrader valve and my portable compressor tops them up nicely.

:C
bobndot
Explorer II
Apr 25, 2019
I assume that air bags hold their air perfectly so that if I use them for leveling at campsites ... their lifting height would stay fixed at what I set it at when staying at any given campsite day after day.

The bags will hold the air pressure unless a line connection is not set correctly. Test them with a soapy solution and a spray bottle as you would test a tire. Mine would lose a little pressure over time when parked in my driveway for weeks or months at a time, I found that to be normal.

How you described the two air lines and switches is the way I did mine in the past. When using them that way to level the rig at a campsite, it might be all you need to do. Depending on the terrain of each site but most of time the bags did the trick.