Hi,
They used the 460" Ford engines and I think it was the C6 transmission - 3 speed auto trans. Typical would have been a 4.10:1 rear axle ratio and around 15,000 GVWR.
The problems are that they used long springs in the front and where subject to side to side shimmy. So basically the front axle can wiggle side to side under the RV, giving stability problems. Ford later took over production of class A chassis, made substantial improvements, came out with a 16,000 GVWR chassis, then upgraded to 17,000 by 1990. John Deere where in the 80's.
Not to many of the John Deere chassis are left on the road. I would not want to buy one, but if you find one, make sure that it has a front 'trac bar'. IT attaches to one side of the frame, and to the other side of the front axle. This prevents side to side movement, and helps with the front axle shimmy.
You would get much better mileage from a overdrive transmission and 460 engines installed in the Ford F-53 chassis from 1990 - 97. I have a 97, and in 98 they came out with 19.5" rims and 18,000 GVWR, as well as some higher ratings, the smaller 6.8L V10 engine, still a 4 speed for a few more years.
The early 6.8L had 'problems' with the spark plugs. Handymen who replaced the spark plugs without a torque wrench would overtighten them, bottom out the threads, and remove the threads, thus the spark plugs would 'pop' out of the aluminum heads within a few miles. You want to avoid the 2008 - 2003 V10's for that reason, or take the RV to a Ford dealer for spark plug replacement at 100,000 miles. They have a very reliable coil pack on each plug system, and do not require plugs very often!
Gillig was another chassis manufacture that built some class A chassis back in the 80's. In 1978, Dodge built about 75% of the gas engine class A and C chassis, and GM the rest. But Dodge got out of the class A chassis altogether, and stopped production of it's 440 cubic inch engines in 1979 as part of it's restructuring. So that left GM all alone in the class A market, and John Deere and Gillig stepped in to produce some chassis with the 460" Ford and C6 auto trans, that was so popular in Ford trucks of that timeframe. Gillig only produced bus chassis up to that point, and some other platforms in limited numbers (less than 50,000 per year total production). (I only say 50,000 because that is a good week of production for Ford cars. Most manufactures do not produce nearly that many class 5 and larger trucks in one year).
I would also guess that John Deere total production for all years would be less than 100,000 chassis. But that is only a guess on my part.
You might be able to find out the production year information about John Deere from a company like Banks Engineering. They sold replacement exhaust systems for Ford and GM class A RV's and probably had a system for the John Deere in those years as well.
I recall seeing motorhome reviews in Motorhome Magazine back in the 80's with Gillig and John Deere chassis in them. Sunset was one brand name that was popular back then, but I am not sure who built on the John Deere chassis.
Good luck with your search for the John Deere!
Fred.
