Off Road Class C Motorhome and Extended Tray
This is a local builder and their Off Road Class C Motorhome with a rear deck. Common on Caravans rare on Motorhomes, especially Off Road ones.
Forum Discussion
Robert,
In no way am/was I overall comparing an E450 van to those weird looking, purpose-built, ultra high dollar expedition vehicles in raw ground obstacle clearance capability and traction capability.
What I was trying to bring attention to in my post(s) above was that they, geometry-wise, look a bit too narrow for their heights. Hence my suggestion that one compare - for the sake of clarity - a vehicle like the Humvee's profile from the front or back ... to the profile from the front or back of those weird looking, purpose-built, ultra high dollar expedition vehicles. After looking at those two vastly different profiles - ask yourself which design you'd rather have in a vehicle that you are tipped sideways in on the side of a sand dune, or equivalent side-slope?
As you know, it's tire height that makes for raw ground clearance - not coach height. So tall tires will always trump "lifting of the coach components" in importance for gaining of ground clearance to minimize vehicle damage or traction hangups. Those vehicles in expedition photos not only have tall tires (as they should) - but their coach components are also often lifted way up towards the sky. The Humvee has tall tires for outstanding protection of vehicle drive components and deep-rut traction - but a very low coach component profile for superb over-the-top lateral stability.
By the way and for what it's worth, HumVees also have a relatively unknown design trump that hardly any, or no, expedition vehicles have - universal joints right at each wheel with the wheel's drive axle immediately sloping steeply upwards right from the wheel to meet high differentials - no horizontal drive axle coming out from the wheels to get banged up. This is NOT merely "independent suspension", as the differentials are up high up and not at all inline with the wheels when the vehicle is at rest.
For what it's worth, my E450 Class C doesn't quite look like the classic Class C in your photo above (your photo may be an E350?): My 24 foot coach probably sits higher because it's using less of the E450's gross weight carrying capacity so that the springs are compressed less. I'm also using over-size (tallness-wise) tires than stock, to gain raw ground clearance on all components. The rear overhang (the "approach angle" in offroad vehicle parlance) of our Class C is not that as shown in your (typical) Class C photo. Our coach's side paneling immediately starts to angle upwards starting right from the rear wheels on back ... the paneling DOES NOT continue on straight back aways and then begin sloping up, as in your Class C photo. This is a subtle difference to help prevent some coach paneling and rear outside storage cabinet damage from rocks, ruts or when coming down off the end of slopes. Also just to set the record straight, the stock E450 chassis design makes it's "ground clearance" easily equal to that of millions of stock pickup trucks and SUVs (w/no lifts and w/stock tires) ... which folks run all over the place with offroad. We do this with our Class C too ... just slower so we don't bang everything around inside the cabinets or jar our dinette loose from the flooring. We are every bit as "rugged" and "high above the ground" as the vast majority of pickups and SUVs (...that is, "U.S." pickups and SUVs, don't know about Australian ones...). However my main point is, our E450 rig has a wide stance so as to help us feel secure on side-slopes and in high side-winds.
In no way am/was I overall comparing an E450 van to those weird looking, purpose-built, ultra high dollar expedition vehicles in raw ground obstacle clearance capability and traction capability.
What I was trying to bring attention to in my post(s) above was that they, geometry-wise, look a bit too narrow for their heights. Hence my suggestion that one compare - for the sake of clarity - a vehicle like the Humvee's profile from the front or back ... to the profile from the front or back of those weird looking, purpose-built, ultra high dollar expedition vehicles. After looking at those two vastly different profiles - ask yourself which design you'd rather have in a vehicle that you are tipped sideways in on the side of a sand dune, or equivalent side-slope?
As you know, it's tire height that makes for raw ground clearance - not coach height. So tall tires will always trump "lifting of the coach components" in importance for gaining of ground clearance to minimize vehicle damage or traction hangups. Those vehicles in expedition photos not only have tall tires (as they should) - but their coach components are also often lifted way up towards the sky. The Humvee has tall tires for outstanding protection of vehicle drive components and deep-rut traction - but a very low coach component profile for superb over-the-top lateral stability.
By the way and for what it's worth, HumVees also have a relatively unknown design trump that hardly any, or no, expedition vehicles have - universal joints right at each wheel with the wheel's drive axle immediately sloping steeply upwards right from the wheel to meet high differentials - no horizontal drive axle coming out from the wheels to get banged up. This is NOT merely "independent suspension", as the differentials are up high up and not at all inline with the wheels when the vehicle is at rest.
For what it's worth, my E450 Class C doesn't quite look like the classic Class C in your photo above (your photo may be an E350?): My 24 foot coach probably sits higher because it's using less of the E450's gross weight carrying capacity so that the springs are compressed less. I'm also using over-size (tallness-wise) tires than stock, to gain raw ground clearance on all components. The rear overhang (the "approach angle" in offroad vehicle parlance) of our Class C is not that as shown in your (typical) Class C photo. Our coach's side paneling immediately starts to angle upwards starting right from the rear wheels on back ... the paneling DOES NOT continue on straight back aways and then begin sloping up, as in your Class C photo. This is a subtle difference to help prevent some coach paneling and rear outside storage cabinet damage from rocks, ruts or when coming down off the end of slopes. Also just to set the record straight, the stock E450 chassis design makes it's "ground clearance" easily equal to that of millions of stock pickup trucks and SUVs (w/no lifts and w/stock tires) ... which folks run all over the place with offroad. We do this with our Class C too ... just slower so we don't bang everything around inside the cabinets or jar our dinette loose from the flooring. We are every bit as "rugged" and "high above the ground" as the vast majority of pickups and SUVs (...that is, "U.S." pickups and SUVs, don't know about Australian ones...). However my main point is, our E450 rig has a wide stance so as to help us feel secure on side-slopes and in high side-winds.
