"off-roading" - frame twisting in a C
What is the maximum diagonal height difference that the suspension will accommodate without twisting the frame? Found a great boon-docking site, but the "jeep trail" road was off-camber and rose ab...
Forum Discussion
Just as some FWIW comments:
Your Lazy Daze Class C is on an E450 chassis. One aspect of this chassis versus the E350 chassis is that the steel in E450 frames is thicker than that in the E350 frames (per Ford's specs). This will of course provide a more rigid platform for the box to sit on, thus not transferring as much torsion into the box structure as a lesser strength frame would. Supposedly this is one of the design differences that Ford built into the E450 over the E350 so as to handle the heavier loads. Of course for offroad travel - regardless of all other offroad design considerations - it's always best to use the heaviest duty frame possible under the lightest weight coach possible.
A couple of downsides to your setup in canted surface road situations is the sheer weight of your rig versus, say, a 23-24 foot Lazy Daze on the E450 frame ... plus your rig's internal wood framing within the walls.
A strength of your rig might be it's aluminum skin - if Lazy Daze does indeed use aircraft aluminum outer walls to go along with it's aluminum roof. Riveted aluminum outer walls would provide tremendous shear strength against twisting forces transmitted from the E450's frame due to canted road surfaces.
When we offroad in our 24 foot E450 Class C we go VERY SLOW (7-10 MPH) on washboard roads (we have aluminum framed walls) - so coach damage is a non-issue - we just need a lot of patience! We also travel on canted offroad surfaces VERY SLOW ... picking our track very carefully so as to absolutely minimize the front being twisted one direction (i.e. counter clockwise) simultaneous with the rear being twisted the other direction (i.e. clockwise). We absolutely CAN NOT "barrel along" offroads in our Class C like the bare/non-TC pickup trucks can do ... but we're retired so we have plenty of time.
However ... it sure is great to enjoy all the comforts of a small Class C out in the middle of nowhere where one would normally find only tent campers or truck campers!
Your Lazy Daze Class C is on an E450 chassis. One aspect of this chassis versus the E350 chassis is that the steel in E450 frames is thicker than that in the E350 frames (per Ford's specs). This will of course provide a more rigid platform for the box to sit on, thus not transferring as much torsion into the box structure as a lesser strength frame would. Supposedly this is one of the design differences that Ford built into the E450 over the E350 so as to handle the heavier loads. Of course for offroad travel - regardless of all other offroad design considerations - it's always best to use the heaviest duty frame possible under the lightest weight coach possible.
A couple of downsides to your setup in canted surface road situations is the sheer weight of your rig versus, say, a 23-24 foot Lazy Daze on the E450 frame ... plus your rig's internal wood framing within the walls.
A strength of your rig might be it's aluminum skin - if Lazy Daze does indeed use aircraft aluminum outer walls to go along with it's aluminum roof. Riveted aluminum outer walls would provide tremendous shear strength against twisting forces transmitted from the E450's frame due to canted road surfaces.
When we offroad in our 24 foot E450 Class C we go VERY SLOW (7-10 MPH) on washboard roads (we have aluminum framed walls) - so coach damage is a non-issue - we just need a lot of patience! We also travel on canted offroad surfaces VERY SLOW ... picking our track very carefully so as to absolutely minimize the front being twisted one direction (i.e. counter clockwise) simultaneous with the rear being twisted the other direction (i.e. clockwise). We absolutely CAN NOT "barrel along" offroads in our Class C like the bare/non-TC pickup trucks can do ... but we're retired so we have plenty of time.
However ... it sure is great to enjoy all the comforts of a small Class C out in the middle of nowhere where one would normally find only tent campers or truck campers!
