Looking to purchase a used Class C

At this point we are not looking to toad. We will have a scooter and bikes.

OutdoorPhotographer wrote:
Forest River shows 7,500 lb hitch on it's Ford E-450's. That's what I had toured at a recent RV show so familiar with it. Haven't looked at others. They don't list TW restriction but isn't that mostly a non-factor with a 4 wheel down toad compared to TT?

Yeah, tongue weight certainly isn't an issue with a toad, whether 4 wheel down, or on a tow dolly. Now if you're towing a boat, or a trailer, then it could be an issue.

Forest River shows 7,500 lb hitch on it's Ford E-450's. That's what I had toured at a recent RV show so familiar with it. Haven't looked at others. They don't list TW restriction but isn't that mostly a non-factor with a 4 wheel down toad compared to TT?

ron.dittmer wrote:
And I would research if a 7500 pound hitch is available to match the rating. Every hitch I've seen these days has a 5000 pound rating.

I would imagine if a Manufacturer has rated the Claas C to tow 7,500#, they would put a 7,500# hitch on the vehicle. ;)
There are plenty of builders that have not increased the E450 GCWR to 22,000#
My 2014 31K has a 5,000# hitch and a sticker limiting the tongue weight to 350#.














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OutdoorPhotographer wrote:

Mich F wrote:

OutdoorPhotographer wrote:
If you plan on doing a toad, the 2014 and later E-450 bumped up to 7,500 lbs tow rating. May not matter but my preferred toad will likely be right at 5,000 so I have a little slack.

Just to clarify that statement a little. Ford has been giving the E450 a 7,500# tow rating since the 2011 model year. They increased the GCWR from 20,000# to 22,000#. The GVWR was already at 14,500# (since 2008 I believe) resulting in the fairly new 7,500# rating. It's only been much more recently, that some Class C manufacturers are rating their products to tow what Ford rates them at.

Thanks! Good clarification for me and others. 2014 is where I was seeing it show up in specs.

And I would research if a 7500 pound hitch is available to match the rating. Every hitch I've seen these days has a 5000 pound rating.

Mich F wrote:

OutdoorPhotographer wrote:


3. If you plan on doing a toad, the 2014 and later E-450 bumped up to 7,500 lbs tow rating. May not matter but my preferred toad will likely be right at 5,000 so I have a little slack.

4

Just to clarify that statement a little. Ford has been giving the E450 a 7,500# tow rating since the 2011 model year. They increased the GCWR from 20,000# to 22,000#. The GVWR was already at 14,500# (since 2008 I believe) resulting in the fairly new 7,500# rating. It's only been much more recently, that some Class C manufacturers are rating their products to tow what Ford rates them at.

Thanks! Good clarification for me and others. 2014 is where I was seeing it show up in specs.

I agree also. If you're going to stay at private RV Parks, then size isn't really an issue. But many of the public campgrounds (especially the older more primitive ones) do have limits (often due to the access roads not the pad size).

OutdoorPhotographer wrote:
Think about where you want to camp. We like State and National Parks so I prefer to stay under 30' for smaller spots. Obvious tradeoff with space.

I agree with this.

We camp exclusively on national park lands, from parks, monuments, forests, and BLMs. I personally feel that we are real close to the length limit at under 24 feet. I'll see a few longer but they often struggle to get around and fit in some camps sites. And of coarse the largest sites are the first taken.

OutdoorPhotographer wrote:


3. If you plan on doing a toad, the 2014 and later E-450 bumped up to 7,500 lbs tow rating. May not matter but my preferred toad will likely be right at 5,000 so I have a little slack.

4

Just to clarify that statement a little. Ford has been giving the E450 a 7,500# tow rating since the 2011 model year. They increased the GCWR from 20,000# to 22,000#. The GVWR was already at 14,500# (since 2008 I believe) resulting in the fairly new 7,500# rating. It's only been much more recently, that some Class C manufacturers are rating their products to tow what Ford rates them at.

I'm a shopper like you so I'm speaking from advice I've read on here as I decipher what we need.

1. Think about where you want to camp. We like State and National Parks so I prefer to stay under 30' for smaller spots. Obvious tradeoff with space.

2. Echo the GVWR. We went to an RV show and the floorplan that we really liked only had 1,500 lbs or so left for passengers and luggage. Pretty tight.

3. If you plan on doing a toad, the 2014 and later E-450 bumped up to 7,500 lbs tow rating. May not matter but my preferred toad will likely be right at 5,000 so I have a little slack. This also means I need to wait for price to drop on 2014's and will rent a couple years for big trips.