Ford E450 vs E350 under a Class C
This also appears under a different post as well re: stretching Chassis. I'm looking for some more opinions / tech intelligence. We looked at a 31' Class C but rule it out in part because of some of w...
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Here's a link to the 2019 E350 & E450 cutaway specifications, as used for the starting chassis on Class C builds.
The format of the spec makes it a bit time consuming to easily make E350/E450 direct comparisons, but it's all there if you take the time. I open up two tabs on my laptop's browser and log into the spec twice and set up the two views so as to show an E350 section and an E450 section beside each other on the screen at the same time (...or you can print out the spec to study it):
https://madocumentupload.marketingassociates.com/api/Document/GetFile?v1=4426928&v2=080718015633&v3=60&v4=99effc36e83f936cc57676f3a6e13786f9ef842ef3da2d870bbec943&v5=False
Even today if considering a new small Class C where weight and/or towing wasn't necessarily a high priority, I'd still feel better specifying that it be built on an E450 chassis instead of an E350 chassis. There are enough differences such that the E450 might make for improved suspension and drive component wear and tear durability between service points - especially if you are the type of owner that likes to keep vehicles for a long time.
For instance, our small 2005 E450-based Class C:
- Hasn't ever sagged in the rear.
- Hasn't ever sagged in the front.
- Always provides outstanding confidence when braking due to it's higher rear lining area.
- Handles the same, regardless of whether any/all tanks are full or empty.
- Sits higher off the ground all around, providing good clearance on rough road surfaces.
- Never scrapes when entering/leaving parking lots.
- Never developes any running gear vibrations due to it's larger drive shaft diameter and material thickness.
- Hopefully never develops a bent or twisted frame from rough roads due to it's higher frame section modulus.
Of course, when comparing a heavily loaded E350 based Class C to a heavily loaded E450 based Class C - many or all E450 advantages may disappear because chassis overkill may not exist in both situations.
The format of the spec makes it a bit time consuming to easily make E350/E450 direct comparisons, but it's all there if you take the time. I open up two tabs on my laptop's browser and log into the spec twice and set up the two views so as to show an E350 section and an E450 section beside each other on the screen at the same time (...or you can print out the spec to study it):
https://madocumentupload.marketingassociates.com/api/Document/GetFile?v1=4426928&v2=080718015633&v3=60&v4=99effc36e83f936cc57676f3a6e13786f9ef842ef3da2d870bbec943&v5=False
Even today if considering a new small Class C where weight and/or towing wasn't necessarily a high priority, I'd still feel better specifying that it be built on an E450 chassis instead of an E350 chassis. There are enough differences such that the E450 might make for improved suspension and drive component wear and tear durability between service points - especially if you are the type of owner that likes to keep vehicles for a long time.
For instance, our small 2005 E450-based Class C:
- Hasn't ever sagged in the rear.
- Hasn't ever sagged in the front.
- Always provides outstanding confidence when braking due to it's higher rear lining area.
- Handles the same, regardless of whether any/all tanks are full or empty.
- Sits higher off the ground all around, providing good clearance on rough road surfaces.
- Never scrapes when entering/leaving parking lots.
- Never developes any running gear vibrations due to it's larger drive shaft diameter and material thickness.
- Hopefully never develops a bent or twisted frame from rough roads due to it's higher frame section modulus.
Of course, when comparing a heavily loaded E350 based Class C to a heavily loaded E450 based Class C - many or all E450 advantages may disappear because chassis overkill may not exist in both situations.
