Chassis Question

[Shane549]

Hello all, due to a change in my personal life I have parted with my

truck and fiver. Not wanting to give up RVing yet I have been

researching the 24ft class of C,s. As on who prefers state, nat'l or

coe type campgrounds over private/resort type, I feel I would be fine

at that length of unit (just me and my dog). I like the Sunseeker

2300 as it seems to be a good bang for the buck. Not being brand

partial (last truck was a Ford SD) it seems as if the Chevy 4500

would be a better bet than the E350 as it is not plagued with the

possibility of handling problems. I would like a nice used unit

but most that I see are the E350. So my question is: Are the latest

generation (new grill) E350 chassis still lighter (frame) and have

a narrower track than the E450 or did Ford make them the same and

just change springs and gear ratios? Thanks

[Shane549]

Thanks JD one of the reasons I asked the question is I recall reading
that somewhere also. Searched and searched but couldn't find it. Desert
Captain, your comments relax my thoughts on the E350. Seems as if most
problems are with the prior generation E350,s as Ron Ditmar refers to
in his well done posts.

[Monaco_Montclai]

I like one we have. 29ft, Montclair, by Monaco.three slides. we had a 26ft one but quickly out grew that.yep I think the 29ft is best. and its not to big to go to wally-world. any more ?. just ask-now its all happy-camping

[kendall69]

I just got a E350 on my Phoenix Cruiser and I think it handles like a RV sports car if there is such a thing. I've had (2) Truck campers, both on GMC 3500, one a SRW, the other a DRW.

I've had (1) Class A, and (2) Class C on Ford E350 and E450 chassis and this Ford 2013 E350 chassis and V-10 is the sweetest combination I have ever driven on a 24' class C.

I just drove it across the USA putting 5K miles on it, and most runs were over 700 miles a day, some nearly 1000 miles in a day.

[j-d]

There's a Ford webpage with vehicle changes year-to-year. I don't know how to find it, so I can only go by recall. Recall says the Rear Track on E350 was widened some time in the last few model years. There's less difference between 350 and 450 than there used to be, but differences are still there. The chassis itself was, and I believe still is, heavier and stronger (more and tougher) steel in the 450.

[Desert_Captain]

I'm not sure about the differences you questioned between the 350/450's construction but I think the 350's are just a tad narrower but... don't sell the E-350 short. In a 24' C the E-350 is definitely the way to go. Our 2012 Nexus (see sig), which has the 2011 E-350 chassis, rides and drives very well. Our 350 has a 4:10 rear end vs the 450 which is much lower (4:53 I think). This gives better mileage and since the suspension is softer you get a much nicer ride with out sacrificing handling. In 35 mph winds it is still one handed steering, tracks straight as an arrow and 18 wheelers hold no terror regardless of their speed.

Look at OCCC when shopping as a lot of C's are woefully short in this critical rating. Our E-350 has 3,368# of OCCC and I have yet to encounter any 450 that can top that. The 450's are heavier and that eats into your payload. Our GVWR is 11,500#(the newer models are 12,500), and fully loaded for travel we weigh right at 10,050 leaving an additional 1450# of available payload.

Also make sure to get the larger, often optional, 55 gallon fuel tank as this will give you much greater range than the standard 40 gallon. It is nice to be able to travel 400 miles and still have nearly a quarter of a tank remaining. You will want the 6.8L V-10 which is one very reliable beast and matched with the 5 speed Torque Shift transmission is a formidable combination. You can expect about 9.5 for average mpg on just about any road.

:C