Will a 24' Class B+ on an E450 Chassis be too rough

I have E450 gearing in my E350 van. Best change I've made. I've also put in 4600# front springs and will probably jump to the newer 5k springs.

The rear springs on the E450 (or even the E350) can be harsh. Overload leafs would make it way worse. I added Sulastic shackles to my rear springs to reduce the harshness. I also have airbags, but I suspect they would not be necessary on a 24' coach (my rear axle weight when towing is a very E450-like 10,000 pounds).

tpi wrote:
FWIW I would not want any taller gearing in the differential. To me it feels just right as is.

Now that you mention it, towing our 4200 pound J-Liberty with our 2007 E350, it seems somewhat over-geared. So I can relate to your comment. Maybe it's better for fuel economy, but it doesn't feel quite right.

Not towing, the E350 gearing feels fine....actually perfect. We did average 10.6 mpg over the 5500 miles driven last trip without towing. With tow vehicle prior trip average over 4000 miles was 9.2 mpg.

I have a 24' Lazy Daze on E450 w/V10. The weight is in the mid 10,000 pound range.

To me the chassis does not feel over sized at all. I installed beefier anti sway bars and a track bar to firm up the handling. I still have the Ford shocks, but at times they feel a bit sloppy.

Ride in the front seats is pretty good-for me not an issue. As mentioned some impact harshness. This could be from stiff sidewalls and high tire pressure as much as anything.

FWIW I would not want any taller gearing in the differential. To me it feels just right as is.

pnichols and noe-place. I agree with you. I should install rear air bags but haven't made the time. If I had a significant sagging problem, I would prioritize it so.

I had rear air bags on my first motor home, a fancy setup in that I had an on-board compressor and controls by the driver to adjust as road conditions changed. But for our PC, I'd simplify as pnichols suggested. Just set the psi and leave it for the duration of the trip.

The air bags in our first motor home were primarily installed to improve stability since there was no rear stabilizer bar available for that Toyota chassis. So I too have experienced improved stability with air bags. There was a compromise between a soft ride and stability. Most often I'd have around 20 psi when handling was not an issue, but 60 psi or more when conditions required more stability.

On that Toyota chassis the rear bumper height varied 3" between the recommended minimum by the manufacture of 15 psi, to max height. Each chassis varies differently.

ADDING PICS OF AIR BAG CONTROLLER & COMPRESSOR

Control unit near the driver's left knee, the dial and 2 buttons.


On-board compressor at bottom of pic, mounted inside a dinette bench.

Agree with pnichols about the airbags. My C came with them factory installed along with the heavy duty sway bars and I've never felt the need to change any of the suspension system front or rear. Depending on how far I'm driving, I inflate the bags 40-60 lbs. Winnebago 29B, Ford E-450

Ron,

Why don't you just have some simple air bags installed in the rear of your PC with two filler valves (one for the left bag and one for the right bag) installed right in the bumper like I have on our pickup?

A little sagging in the rear from a heavy load in the truck ... I just take out the tire pump and put a little more pressure into the air bags. I run them with about 20 lbs. normally, but can go as high as around 100 lbs. if necessary. Very easy and straight-forward to do. Of course the ride gets better with just a little more air pressure in the bags so as to get more of the weight off the steel springs and onto some air cushion.

(I can't get my E450 Class C to sag in the rear - it actually sits a touch high in the rear regardless of my tank loads - so air bags will do me no good on reducing the somewhat harsh ride coming from the rear shocks/springs.)

I remember back in 1976 (I was 18 then) my dad bought a new Chevy van, our first van for a family vehicle. The car it replaced was a 1967 Plymouth Fury-I. The rear end of the car had severe sagging issues on vacations so my dad wanted assurance never to have such issues again, so he bought a Chevy van equivalent to a 2500 today.

That van shook and rattled through every mile until he replaced it 11 years later with a 1987 Ford Econoline van, equivalent to an E150 today. My mom and dad were extremely pleased with the smoother ride, and it never had sagging issues either.

In my parent's case, they learned a hard lesson in over-kill with vans. I suppose that is why I feel the way I do about a Phoenix Cruiser 2350 built on an E450 chassis. Motor homes are houses on wheels with an earthquake going on with every mile. There is a difference in a 7.0 and an 8.0 quake.

I do need to mention that our 2007 PC-2350 has a little rear end sag when on trips, but it isn't significant. I attribute it to the position of our fresh water tank placed directly over the rear bumper. We could travel with less water but like having a full tank for roadside showers and such. Newer model years relocates the tank to a better position. I think the newer chassis with the greater load rating would sag less or not at all. That would be a good question to ask PC owners with newer PC2350s.

I say drive whatever you buy. Before throwing $$ at the chassis. Just because some others have.
There handling problem may not be yours.
Some of us find no need for handling changes.

Bside60 wrote:

camperdave wrote:
I'm not sure how an E450 would help you anyway, sine you are flat towing (ie: no tongue weight). The biggest advantage is the extra GVWR, isn't it?

Here is some of what I've found regarding the E450 advantages over an E350: "an E450 gives you bigger brakes for more time between brake jobs, more transmission cooling for less heat load on the engine and longer transmission life, a 4.5 inch wider rear dually stance for better lateral stability offroad and in high side winds, pump boosted power steering instead of vacuum boosted power steering, thicker steel in the chassis frame for less frame torsional twisting transfer into the coach box, and lower differential gearing when pulling up long grades for less heat load on the V10 in hot weather".

I am still learning though and value any opinions.

Interesting, and a tough call. What does the PC sales guy say about your dilemma?

While I see a lot of good in the upgrades of the 450, I also would not want the rougher ride, or the reduced MPG from the lower geared rear end. Then again I don't live in the Rockies. I think the bottom line is that the chassis needs to be matched for the job. Just because you can get a bigger one doesn't mean it's better for the load you are hauling. But maybe it is! :)

pnichols wrote:
I'm hoping to partially or fully eliminate the rear end sharp jolts by using replacement shocks especially designed for this -> KONI FSD (Frequency Selective Dampers) shocks. An FSD shock part number is due to finally be available from KONI for the E450 anytime now. (This shock has been available for other chassis for quite some time.)

I am looking forward to hearing from people who install the Koni FSD shocks, when they become available.