Front mounted diesels in class a and c

stvdman wrote:
I look at the new diesel 3/4 and 1 Ton trucks and think "WHY NOT IN A CLASS-A RV?"

I think I would SERIOUSLY consider a Ford F-53 chassis RV with a new 6.7 diesel truck motor for the $10,000 more the engine may cost.

For 2016 Dodge is reporting thier Cummins engines in the trucks will come with 800ft/lbs of TQ! Why cant that be brought into the RV segments.

I was even looking at the 2016 Thor "Super C's" with the FORD 6.7 and they are rated at 660ft/lbs of TQ, where they same engine for 2016 in the F250/F350 are rated at 860 ft/lbs!!

I would think those motors put into either the F53 or the F350 SUPER C models would be a GREAT fit!

AS far as costs... its about a $8000 option in a Truck and peopl opt for them A LOT. I would think offering it in a RV for $10000-$12000 more (need diesel Genseta and probably some suspension upgrades also) would be a worthwhile option. If you consider it a percentage of the overall cost its much more cost effective in a $150,000-$175,000 RV vice a $50,000 truck.

The difference between the F350 F450 Super Duty and the F550 "Super C" platform is that motorhomes tend to spend most of their time at WOT (Wide Open Throttle). You can generate a lot of power in short durations without damaging the engine / transmission however since F550 Super C motorhomes tend to be at or near their GVWR all the time a motor transmission combination would be at their limits from a heat and wear perspective. I have a friend that purchases F350 / F450 trucks for a business and pulls a large 5th wheel equipment trailer. He is constantly replacing trucks because they don't last. Most pickup truck manufacturers count on the fact that you won't use the truck at max GCWR / GVWR up and down hills all the time. The same is true with the engines in Class A motorhomes they de-rate them on purpose depending on the heat load that can be safely dissipated and to give the engines a long life. Most Class A motorhomes and some Super C motorhomes are on the "Heavy Medium Duty" classification with air brakes, air suspension, heavy duty rated engine (however with less HP & Torque), heavy duty cooling, heavy duty rated frame etc. To put this into perspective Ford rates their F550 Super Duty with a 35,000# GCWR with a 19,500 GVWR however Freightliner rates their lightest XC-S chassis at 26,000# / 30,000 but with 10,500 front axle and 17,500 rear axle and if you do the math you arrive at 28,000 not 26,000 because they don't use lighter duty components (Yes I know that some manufactures such as Thor de-rate the XC-S chassis to 26,000 / 30,000 to save cost on the engine / transmission combination so they can hit a price point). However the rule still applies MDT (Medium Duty Truck) systems are engineered for durability.