4 wheel drive class c

[tnrv_er]

Does any company manufacture a 4WD coach?

[garyhaupt]

turbobricklayer wrote:
ah ,i have a 350, not as much wiggle room for the xtra weight of the 4wd. I thought about two separate e brake controls to do the tricking the diff thing but I'll bet an air locker in the back would do wonders, also keep a set of chains , it would be like a tractor.

Chains..only reason I ended up buying mine was because I couldn't put chains on the rear. The house body/tire clearance was such that I wasn't going to be able to mount the chains. Ahh..you are thinking a a lift kit...no one makes a lift kit for an E model.

Utimately, I got the best vehicle I could have asked for. But all I thought I wanted..was chains.


Gary Haupt

[turbobricklayer]

ah ,i have a 350, not as much wiggle room for the xtra weight of the 4wd. I thought about two separate e brake controls to do the tricking the diff thing but I'll bet an air locker in the back would do wonders, also keep a set of chains , it would be like a tractor.

[SweetWaterSurpr]

My E450 has a Limited Slip rear. Listed on my build sheet. Dana super 60 front diff.

[pnichols]

j-d,

Astute observation .... right you are!

To trick a standard differential the way I described requires individual axle or wheel emergency braking in the rear. It will only work on the later E450 chassis model years in which Ford no longer used a driveshaft emergency brake (IMHO good riddance, too).

BTW, I think that what happens is one rear dual set spinning and the other rear dual set doing nothing - they don't each spin in opposite directions.

[j-d]

pnichols wrote:

FWIW ... in marginal traction situations you can get a standard differential to act in a limited slip manner by driving slowly with the emergency brake engaged. The brake drag forces the differential to drive both rear axles regardless of which tire has more or less traction than the other one. It works well - once you get the hang of balancing how much gas pedal versus how much emergency brake!

But not if the vehicle's an E450 with that lousy driveshaft parking brake... Snatch it on in slippery conditions and 'round ya go, one side spinning forwards, the other spinning backwards.

[pnichols]

Interesting that you mention a limited slip/locker for 2WD Class C rear differentials.

I've for years as much as possible made sure that I had limited slip differentials on all of our vehicles - even our 2WD daily driver 2002 sedan has an electrically engaged limited slip differential!

HOWEVER, our E450 Class C RV has only a standard differential ... I even crawled underneath and wrote down the data from the metal tag on the differential to cross-check and see if "maybe by pure luck" it was a limited slip one. I sure wish it had come from Ford with limited slip. 😞

FWIW ... in marginal traction situations you can get a standard differential to act in a limited slip manner by driving slowly with the emergency brake engaged. The brake drag forces the differential to drive both rear axles regardless of which tire has more or less traction than the other one. It works well - once you get the hang of balancing how much gas pedal versus how much emergency brake!

[j-d]

It must've been another thread, but somebody mentioned touched on the rear differential also, saying a limited slip/locker would do a lot toward keeping a Class C moving off road. Just wondering, could the front tires/wheels be changed to some kind of "flotation" arrangement.

[SweetWaterSurpr]

I've got a 450 chassis

[turbobricklayer]

im kinda committed to the rig i just got done making payments on. one trip to yellowstone and two smaller trips to the anderondiks{however u spell that} and the smokies then getting ready for glacier opened up a corner with a bulge and out fell a five gallon bucket of rotten luane, oh well , just have to fix it but thought about fwd and one of ujoints do it yourself kits would do right by me but am just concerned about putting all of that money and work into convrerting it and then finding out i cant get it inspected. Va, just out of curiosity is your rig a 450 chassis?

[VA-Apraisr]

Quigley won't now.....but......I got mine done in 2004! For some reason, plant manager took pity on me when I told him I had two kids in college and just didn't have the $75K for a new unit plus $10k to convert. He allowed me to get a 2 year old used unit and did the conversion. When I went to pick it up, he said don't tell your fishing friends because you're the ONLY one we're doing and no more used units. My luck day indeed 🙂 Now have 102,000 miles on her and loving every trip. Something special about having a 28' motorhome on the beach enjoying all the comforts therein no matter what the weather is doing outside.....priceless to me.

[SweetWaterSurpr]

Just an FYI: Quigley won't convert anything that isn't brand new.

[Crabbypatty]

There is a company called Quigly(sp) that does conversions. Buy a C and have them 4wd it. I have seen a couple of class c's drive down the beach. Looks very interesting to me as well..

[turbobricklayer]

i see ujoint is now offering coil kits

[turbobricklayer]

got that Gary, Thanks

[turbobricklayer]

so ,to convert or not to convert, I'm from Pa. and looked into getting a reconsr. title to keep a conversion legal , would need a letter from ford and so on , not feasable. i think i could still get it inspected but anyhow i just like the idea of having fwd' cant say how many times my dump truck got stuck when a front wheel turning would have pulled it right out. i also would rather travel out west and camp out in the blm lands where 2wd might be questionable. flat towing a jeep is an option until you find yourself in a situation where u need to back up in a city or tight gas station. Plus could convert the c much cheaper than aquiring a reliable jeep with all the towing jazz you would need. I would be interested in any one who installed ujoints parts and any problems with inspections. Btw that is a nice bumper and winch set up... just adds a little more confidence to getting off the pavement