Forum Discussion

Panamera's avatar
Panamera
Explorer
Jun 24, 2015

Adventure suspension class C

Hi everyone new to the forum. New to RV life. Looking to get a lot of advice. Instead of posting one huge post about everything I have questions ill divide my posts up about a week at a time as to not overload :)

The short synopsis. Traveling IT consultant at the end of my ropes. Tired of the rat race and need adventure. Looking at class C rvs because of size( less than 25 feet) and the relative cost of buying a used say e350, dodge 22, chevy van RV. I feel I can find a deal for around 2-4k. Of course this deal will need lots of work for what Im planning; PANAMERICAN HIGHWAY (starting at mexico, dont care to travel canada, alaska).

My first concerns are the type of roads and terrain I will encounter. there will be many times that I take a side road or a dirt road just because, or I may be trying to get to a remote beach town that is 50 kilometers of dirt road away. Either way the suspension and tires must be upgraded to take extra strain.

I am an automotive enthusiast and part time dirt track driver so I know a fair bit about off road suspensions and motoring. What I dont know is what you can bolt underneath an RV to improve comfort, suspension travel, and increase reliability in places that reliability could be critical to survival. I dont need a busted control arm in the middle of nowhere. So are there upgraded parts that I can find? Or can I do crazy stuff like take a front end out of a chevy 3500 truck and put on an older chevy RV? What about the rear of the vehicle? what does the typical setup looklike? leafsprings? what can i do back there to improve load capicty as well? Any suspension advice is appreciated.

Purchase date of the RV is August 15th so I suggestions/arguments on what the best older small RV to (for lack of a better term) 'mod' out and take to beast mode are appreciated as well.
Class C
  • Panamera's avatar
    Panamera
    Explorer
    Jun 25, 2015
    agreed, but do you think no amount of helper springs or sway bars would help? Would rigging one to the front bumper and one to the rear be a better move? The bike are critical to success for a lot of reasons; as a secondary form of transportation in case of emergencies or high population areas but also to explore terrain that would otherwise be inaccessible
  • pauldub's avatar
    pauldub
    Explorer
    Jun 25, 2015
    850 pounds of motorcycles on the rear is going to make the front end very light. This is not a good thing.
  • Panamera's avatar
    Panamera
    Explorer
    Jun 25, 2015
    I agree with all the statements here. I should clarify the reasons for the small RV instead of a panel van 4x4 conversion or a pickup truck.

    2 guys, who will not be sleeping together, and one big Labrador. I may have made it sound like a solo journey which is not the case. As for the budget I dont think im too far off, but I would love to be corrected on that. yesterday I found a set of bilsteins for E350 motorhome for $400 a set. Combine that with heavy duty rubber bump stops and load balancers and maybe a new set of rear leaf springs and im still well under 2k. this wont give me any extra clearance but it will provide a much more robust ride. Im also lookign mounting a dual dirtbike ramp rack on the back of the home. This poses alot of other issues. Mainly support in the rear of the RV. Wet weight of 2 bikes would be around 850 lbs. that doesn't seem impossible to me. they mount that much to a trailer hitch all the time. I have seen rear spring helpers that could be installed to mitigate the extra weight

    Interesting point made about the rear wheels and being able to gain clearance. Would you be able to do a "body lift" and insert metal beams to essentially raise the house part up? that could be an easy way to gain some extra room.
  • AndyW's avatar
    AndyW
    Explorer
    Jun 25, 2015
    Seems to me that a 4x4 pickup + truck camper would be a better solution for the intended use in this price range.
  • tatest's avatar
    tatest
    Explorer II
    Jun 25, 2015
    I suggest you look at what living space you can arrange inside a van. What would be a Class B motorhome if someone built a house inside. Vans can be up-fitted with lifted suspensions, larger tires (but not always to floatation sizes) and 4WD. E-series/Econoline is the more popular for this, it has had a frame under it since 1975. Suspension mods are easier if you are not trying to deal with unit body construction and subframes of limited extent. Taking E-series to 4WD means using F-250 front end parts (a lot of the rest of E-250/E-350 is already F-250 of same vintage).

    Problem with trying to do this with a Class C is that it can be difficult to gain much additional clearance. For many C models, much of the house and utilities hangs down below the chassis frame rails. The major exception would be excursion RVs, which were more often built on conventional cab 3/4 ton to 2 1/2 ton chassis, with the house built to clear pretty much what the chassis will clear.

    You won't be finding excursion vehicles with houses on your budget, even the older ones from Tiger and from Frank Industries/Xcursion will be too recent, too much in demand.

    One of the guys I work with in community theater is building his go anywhere RV on a 2.5 ton military 6x6 he picked up for about $800. His choice was a shop van body, as it is already insulated, has big windows, and forced air ventilation. That one might also run on just about any liquid that will burn.

    Another low cost starting point for build-your-own on the house would be a box van or box truck. Truck is more likely to have larger wheels and tires, and thus greater ride height. Old U-Hauls are popular because of the lower floors, but that might work against you.
  • Panamera's avatar
    Panamera
    Explorer
    Jun 24, 2015
    Im not too worried about the motor in any of the Rvs. Usually they are american made old school carborated motors. Ensure the mainseal is good before buying it; replace the carb, plugs, fuel filter an dpump, and all electronic sensors. and in my mind you really cant have a more reliable motor for mexico after that. Parts for older american motors are found aplenty down there as well. Would probably replace the trans just to be sure. That why my biggest concern is the suspension.
  • Panamera's avatar
    Panamera
    Explorer
    Jun 24, 2015
    Total budget after the rv is purchased approximately 10k inside and out, however that can flex a good bit, especially as the go date arrives closer. I have found these folks who do 4WD conversions on E350 vans. http://www.ujointoffroad.com/4wdparts.html

    I dont think 4wd is necessary. I dont intend to offroad an rv, just drive terrible roads. It could be that due to the terrain it may be a requirement.
  • ksg5000's avatar
    ksg5000
    Explorer
    Jun 24, 2015
    What's your total budget? Buying a 2K RV and taking it long distance is a challenge in itself - taking it to Mexico and doing harsh roads ups the ante.

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