Newbie - Class C Motor/Brand questions...
We're considering getting a Class C that will be shared among our family members (Myself, DW, 16 Y.O. son & 13 Y.O. daughter), my parents and my brothers family (Married w/ two kids - 10 & 7). Look...
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At the risk of being too blunt, it sounds to me like you're worrying too much about the details of the chassis and not enough about the rest of the motorhome.
I would consider 150,000 miles to be high mileage for a motorhome. Most privately owned ones will be much less than that. Usually it's not much of a concern, really, as they just don't tend to rack up large mileages usually...excepting when in rental service. Most rental places take adequate care of the chassis and are less likely to have age-related problems as they aren't kept in service for decades.
Much more important than chassis differences are floorplan differences and (for used units) the maintenance to the house parts. Pay attention to them, and keep an eye on the weight limits, and most any of the available chassis will work out fine.
Briefly, though, to try to answer your queries: the Sprinter chassis has lower power than the Ford or Chevy van chassis, but owners report it works out just fine in practice. Ease of work on the Ford (and I think Chevy) is a little of a mixed bag. Many things are quite straightforward, as it's a fairly simple and low-tech chassis in many ways and is big enough to allow access without being a contortionist. On the other hand, the engine is basically in the middle of the dashboard, so work to the engine proper is neither fun nor easy. Since most maintenance consists of pretty simple stuff (as for most modern vehicles) like oil changes and brake work and light bulbs, that isn't as big a concern as it might seem.
I'm not sure how easy it is to work on a Sprinter, but I don't think it's horrendously difficult. There are probably fewer aftermarket parts available for it than the others.
I would avoid any diesel chassis motorhome if it has a propane-fueled generator rather than a diesel powered one, particularly for use in Texas where running the roof AC while traveling on the road is likely to be nearly a necessity.
I would consider 150,000 miles to be high mileage for a motorhome. Most privately owned ones will be much less than that. Usually it's not much of a concern, really, as they just don't tend to rack up large mileages usually...excepting when in rental service. Most rental places take adequate care of the chassis and are less likely to have age-related problems as they aren't kept in service for decades.
Much more important than chassis differences are floorplan differences and (for used units) the maintenance to the house parts. Pay attention to them, and keep an eye on the weight limits, and most any of the available chassis will work out fine.
Briefly, though, to try to answer your queries: the Sprinter chassis has lower power than the Ford or Chevy van chassis, but owners report it works out just fine in practice. Ease of work on the Ford (and I think Chevy) is a little of a mixed bag. Many things are quite straightforward, as it's a fairly simple and low-tech chassis in many ways and is big enough to allow access without being a contortionist. On the other hand, the engine is basically in the middle of the dashboard, so work to the engine proper is neither fun nor easy. Since most maintenance consists of pretty simple stuff (as for most modern vehicles) like oil changes and brake work and light bulbs, that isn't as big a concern as it might seem.
I'm not sure how easy it is to work on a Sprinter, but I don't think it's horrendously difficult. There are probably fewer aftermarket parts available for it than the others.
I would avoid any diesel chassis motorhome if it has a propane-fueled generator rather than a diesel powered one, particularly for use in Texas where running the roof AC while traveling on the road is likely to be nearly a necessity.
