20201 Class C on Ford E-450-Heavy Hood

Do a search for ‘hydraulic hood assist pistons’ .

I, too, have been looking for a strut kit made for the Ford E van hoods. Have yet to find any despite a lot of searching. Anyone? Seems like a simple thing for a company to make.

2007 was the last year of the fiberglass hood on the E-series. We have a 2007 E350 rig with the fiberglass hood and I never considered it heavy.

I wonder how the old fiberglass hood compares to the 2008-current steel hood with regards to weight.

Ron, my mechanic swapped a steel hood for a glass hood on an early mustang and it was almost 1/2 the weight. The OEM hood was about 50 lbs. vs high 20’s for the glass.

The E series cabs have such small hoods most people don’t feel the need for gas struts .
You have two options.
1. Forget the web, make phone calls to rv repair shops who have suppliers that we do not have access to.
2. Take measurements yourself and buy the appropriate size.
I will supply a link how to measure for struts.

ron.dittmer wrote:
2007 was the last year of the fiberglass hood on the E-series. We have a 2007 E350 rig with the fiberglass hood and I never considered it heavy.

I wonder how the old fiberglass hood compares to the 2008-current steel hood with regards to weight.

I didn't realize that they used to come with fiberglass hoods, my '07 Forester on the '06 E450 chassis came with the metal hood, as bobndot mentioned, the hood is so small, I
never considered it all that heavy.

ron.dittmer wrote:
2007 was the last year of the fiberglass hood on the E-series. We have a 2007 E350 rig with the fiberglass hood and I never considered it heavy.

I wonder how the old fiberglass hood compares to the 2008-current steel hood with regards to weight.

The reason Ford went to fiberglass hoods years ago was the high number of complaints about stone chips and rust through.

theoldwizard1 wrote:

ron.dittmer wrote:
2007 was the last year of the fiberglass hood on the E-series. We have a 2007 E350 rig with the fiberglass hood and I never considered it heavy.

I wonder how the old fiberglass hood compares to the 2008-current steel hood with regards to weight.

The reason Ford went to fiberglass hoods years ago was the high number of complaints about stone chips and rust through.

I understood the same. The previous generation Ford van had serious rust issues with the leading edge of the hood. Going fiberglass was the ultimate solution.

bukhrn wrote:
I didn't realize that they used to come with fiberglass hoods, my '07 Forester on the '06 E450 chassis came with the metal hood......

Are you certain your 2006 E450 has a steel hood? Or are you "assuming" so? If it is truly made of steel, it must be an aftermarket replacement because I understand every original hood on the E150, E250, E350, and E450 made from 1992 to 2007 is made of fiberglass. Someone please correctly if I am wrong.

Please excuse me (the original poster) but I'm gonna steal my post back...WHY are you all talking about 2007 e-350's with plastic hoods??? My post asked for help with a very heavy 2021 Ford E-450 with STEEL hood.