ford e chassis end date

Thanks Bryan, makes sense.

Cab removal is never the only repair option the F-series, however for many repairs it can result in substantial total labor savings. If the cab in unable to be removed, either components are repaired in place, or the engine is slid out the front just like they do with the vans.

AndyW wrote:
Worst case, manufacturers would have to start using F350/450 truck chassis and RVs would be 2-3 feet longer for the same interior space. There would be a lot of nice side effects to this, namely stock 4 wheel drive and more engine options.

Something I've long wondered, and have never heard an answer for, is how is major engine work accomplished on motorhomes with this chassis? I've heard that cab removal is necessary to do major engine work (i.e. head removal) on 2008 and up F-series trucks. I would think that cab removal would be nearly impossible on a MH with the cab overhang. Any idea how this would work?

AndyW wrote:
Worst case, manufacturers would have to start using F350/450 truck chassis and RVs would be 2-3 feet longer for the same interior space. There would be a lot of nice side effects to this, namely stock 4 wheel drive and more engine options.

Host Industries, Inc. in Oregon used to offer that very thing. I saw one in person once and it was awesome - 4X4 too. I believe that Host only offers truck campers and expedition vehicles now.

tatest wrote:

RobertRyan wrote:

Tatest wrote:
For the market to go away the 16-30 passenger buses built on the cutaway need to be replaced by another center-aisle solution: enlarged vans like the Sprinter Minibus, or a true minibus like the Toyota Coaster. Both of these are built at about 11,000 pounds, a ton and a half lighter than the coaches we currently use in this size class

There are others that are much heavier, that are based on Light Japanese Trucks.(27,000lb GCVWR) The Toyota is a "Coaster" fairly lightweight. You can get ones based on Hino , Mitsubishi, Isuzu Buses , that have roughly 7-8 Litre engines. No shortage of European bases, IVECO,MAN, SCANIA etc

But replace our coaches in the 16-30 passenger class. We also build larger coaches on Class 5 to Class 8 cab-chassis and bare chassis, 16,000 to 45,000 pounds. Ford, Freightliner, Volvo, International for cab-chassis coaches, Volvo, Daimler, Prevost, MCI, Setra, VanHool in the motorcoach business. These larger coaches have little bearing on what is the market for 90,000 Class 4 cab-chassis a year.

Yes the Hino, Mitsubishi, Isuzu and now Chinese Higer are in the 16-30 passenger class. No these do not exist in the US. A lightweight like Toyota's Coaster is the Mitsubishi Rosa
A Toyota Hino Bus, you have all sizes and specifications

Yes , that would be good the f 550 underpins a f ew thor c + models but they might be a touch too high for the budget a t least some of us anyway

Worst case, manufacturers would have to start using F350/450 truck chassis and RVs would be 2-3 feet longer for the same interior space. There would be a lot of nice side effects to this, namely stock 4 wheel drive and more engine options.

RobertRyan wrote:

Tatest wrote:
For the market to go away the 16-30 passenger buses built on the cutaway need to be replaced by another center-aisle solution: enlarged vans like the Sprinter Minibus, or a true minibus like the Toyota Coaster. Both of these are built at about 11,000 pounds, a ton and a half lighter than the coaches we currently use in this size class

There are others that are much heavier, that are based on Light Japanese Trucks.(27,000lb GCVWR) The Toyota is a "Coaster" fairly lightweight. You can get ones based on Hino , Mitsubishi, Isuzu Buses , that have roughly 7-8 Litre engines. No shortage of European bases, IVECO,MAN, SCANIA etc

But those do not functionally replace our coaches in the 16-30 passenger class. We also build larger coaches on Class 5 to Class 8 cab-chassis and bare chassis, 16,000 to 45,000 pounds. Ford, Freightliner, Volvo, International for cab-chassis coaches, Volvo, Daimler, Prevost, MCI, Setra, VanHool in the motorcoach business. These larger coaches have little bearing on what is the market for 90,000 Class 4 cab-chassis a year.

Tatest wrote:
For the market to go away the 16-30 passenger buses built on the cutaway need to be replaced by another center-aisle solution: enlarged vans like the Sprinter Minibus, or a true minibus like the Toyota Coaster. Both of these are built at about 11,000 pounds, a ton and a half lighter than the coaches we currently use in this size class

There are others that are much heavier, that are based on Light Japanese Trucks.(27,000lb GCVWR) The Toyota is a "Coaster" fairly lightweight. You can get ones based on Hino , Mitsubishi, Isuzu Buses , that have roughly 7-8 Litre engines. No shortage of European bases, IVECO,MAN, SCANIA etc

GM is also continuing in this market, currently dominating the 11,000-14,000 pound class in cab-chassis and van cutaway because of the available diesel engine, and unlikely to leave that market any time soon. The cutaway market is about 90,000 units a year, most of them not RVs. Almost half of the market is Class 4, 14,000+ GVWR, and the unibody van solutions from Daimler, Fiat and Ford do not cover that segment.

I suspect the class C RV will evolve toward European types that fit within the limits of the more economical European style chassis now being adapted to our market. But even if all C RVs went small, most of the heavy cutaway market will still be there. While the emergency vehicle segment can reasonably go to conventional cab class 4 trucks for most locations, with the bonus of readily available 4x4, the airport/hotel/small passenger bus segment really likes the compactness of the van cab.

For the market to go away the 16-30 passenger buses built on the cutaway need to be replaced by another center-aisle solution: enlarged vans like the Sprinter Minibus, or a true minibus like the Toyota Coaster. Both of these are built at about 11,000 pounds, a ton and a half lighter than the coaches we currently use in this size class.

Looking over the past five years wholesale shipments, Class C RVs have been running 8,000 to 15,000 units a year, picking up to that latter figure just recently. So RVs are about 1/10 to 1/6 of the market for van cutaways in the U.S.