Class C with Chev engine--Good or ?

[Eastwacamper]

We are looking for a fairly new used C about 26'. Saw one today, Gulfstrem BT Cruiser with a chev. Saw others with Ford 450, I think.

Others of interest are Winn Access and Jayco Greyhawk.

So would the Chev engine be of good service, enough power and don't break down? Any easier or harder to drive?

Husband yearns for a diesel but so few of those and oh, so much more costly.

Any ideas on which would be a better home on wheels for occasional trips, some across the country, would be helpful. Thanks.

[Eastwacamper]

OK. So we decided against the Chev BT Cruiser. But now we are seriously considering the 2013 Winnebago Access Premier. 7000 miles. Ford V10. More than we started out to pay but wonder what you all think of this unit. I don't have the figures on the weight of the unit or what it will tow. I hope we have time before someone else expresses an interest.

[Eastwacamper]

jd, I'll print out your message and take it with me. There is a weigh station on the WA side and the ID side near us. WA has the newest site and maybe newer equipment to weigh. Looks like with us and some stuff in the unit, we would be overweight. Sigh. But we can check when we do a test drive tomorrow. We never tow a car. Thanks all for your comments.

What would be a model upscale from this one? Wish this had double kitchen sink. It has a skylight over the bed over the cab, wish it didn't have that. I like the two slides. Other features I do like.

Previous owner took one trip so mileage may not be like what we would get. He bought it used too. Good to question his estimate, or records.

[j-d]

EastWA, that 14050 is the chassis' GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating), the MOST a LOADED Vehicle on that E450 Chassis is supposed to weigh. Ours, loaded for travel, with occupants, is in the upper 13,000's.
That 28A is, at least to me, the ideal upper limit for the Chevy chassis, and the weight Tenbear reports confirms it. I like those. An entry level unit but very well thought out with loads of outside storage space.
GCWR (Gross COMBINED Vehicle Weight) is the max of what the coach can weigh plus a towed vehicle or trailer. In the case you noted, about 3500 pounds. That allows for a vehicle about like a Honda CR-V. Towing a vehicle is another whole issue...
Include a trip to a truck stop and weigh the RV you're considering on their CAT Scales. Have a Load/Pressure Chart like this one from Michelin handy. Any manufacturer's chart works for any manufacturer's tires as long as you match chart to tire. You'll probably be looking at 225R75/16E. At the truck stop, adjust tires to what the chart says. Notice the Michelin chart is for one "Corner" of a coach so you'll halve the CAT scale weights since they're per axle. Also remember the ratings for Single (front) and Dual (rear) tires are different. With tires set correctly you have a better chance to evaluate the coach on your test drive and you'll know how much weight in equipment, supplies, and people you can carry on a trip.

[tenbear]

I have the Chevy with the 6.0L engine, weighs about 12,300#. Towing my Subaru I get 9.0 mpg. I don't believe the owner that claims 12.5 mpg. Most people with the V10 say they get about 8 - 9 mpg.

I bought mine new in 2004 and have been very happy with it.

[ol__yeller]

I am a V10 Ford truck guy but I have to say that you can't go wrong with either Ford or Chevy. I drove school bus for several years and we had a lot of Chevy little school busses. They had plenty of power and were subjected to harsh operating conditions, many different drivers, long periods of inactivity, extended idling, and mostly operated under 40 MPH. My district had several with close to 150K before getting rid of them. They were fanatical about maintenance and they almost never broke down.

[Eastwacamper]

I checked the unit online and it says gross combined wt 17,600. Wt rating 14,050. That must mean with nothing in it. I also wrote down V10 and previous owner says 12.5 mpg. I'll go look again today.

[Handbasket]

Drive both the Chevy and the Ford on 4-lane roads with fast passing semi traffic. Also take a turn sitting in the passenger's seat in both. My guess is that, if the deals are equal, you'll pick the Chevy.

Jim, "'Latte' is a French word, meaning ' Y'all paid too much for that coffee'."

[Teacher_s_Pet]

We have the 6.0 Chevy in our '04 R-Vision 213 B+, similar to a BT Cruiser. We haven't been disappointed with the overall performance of the RV. For us the Chevy had more "leg/foot" room on the passenger side of the cab. We averaged between 12.6 and 13 mpg per tank of fuel on a 11,200 mile trip to Alaska last summer.

[j-d]

Agree with you, Gene. We drove into Sequoia National Park a couple years ago. The Subaru climbed the access road with ease. We were sitting at an overlook when I heard a chugging engine come up the road. It was an old Lazy Daze, I'll guess around 25-ft, making no more than 25MPH up the grade. Next time we saw the coach it was broken down coming out of the park entrance station. I wouldn't want the lack of power that chassis demonstrated.
We have a 5.7 in our 21-ft boat and yes, bulletproof. But I wouldn't want it in a 29-ft boat. That engine should be good in a lighter coach, and Gene's 9,000# is a good example. Our first Class C had a 460 Ford and weighed about 11,500#. A little less might have been OK, but not much less.
Looking at a 2009, Chevy engine would be 6.0 and I think it'd word out well in the size coach she's looking at.

[Eastwacamper]

Thank you all so much. I'm having to do the dealing with the motorohome. Husband helps but that's how things are. Anyway, we get along fine, he does some things, I do some. The rig we are looking at is a 2009 BT Cruiser GX2. It has 14000 miles on it. I like a couple more rigs too, all Ford. The 2004 Sunseeker we intend to trade in is a Ford and it did us fine for the last three years but it's bigger than we want now that we don't have relatives traveling with us, no kids around and all that. So smaller is better. Also I'm guessing we will be using it less than before.

Also looking at 2012 Jayco Greyhawk 26DS V10, E-450, 5000 miles

2013 Winnebago Access Premier, 26', V10, 7000 miles on it

I appreciate comments on these units. I'll make a decision in the next week or two.

[Gene_in_NE]

j-d wrote:
...Now, if the Chevy is old enough to have a 5.7L V8... that engine is not in the same league as all the others I've mentioned. I wouldn't suggest that one for anything but a smallish B+.

Our RV is old enough and has a 5.7L (350) Chevy. The BT Cruiser could be old enough also. We looked at both the Trail-Lite and a Ford powered BT. We picked ours because it had more cab room and drove better. A lot depends on how much the unit weighs. Ours scales at 9,020 lbs. fully loaded with both of us on board. We have a well-documented 12.1 miles per gallon. I have recorded every tank fill on a spreadsheet that adds all the gallons burned in total miles travelled. So "j-d" has a point, if you have the same engine in a 14,500 lb unit, you might struggle up some hills. With our lighter unit, we have been able to accelerate up mountain road.

The 350 cu inch 5.7L Chevy engine has been around for years. I owned a 1970 Chevy pickup with essentially the same engine. Drove that one close to 200,000 miles without any problems. It didn't get as good gas mileage as the RV. That 4 barrel carb would pour the gas into the engine. Most owners call the engine bullet proof.

[RvBill3]

We are very happy with our 2012 Sunseeker 2300 (25 ft.) on a Chevy 4500 chassis. The 6.0L engine is very good and combined well with 6 speed transmission. The chassis handles very well--really doesn't feel much different than my Chevy Avalanche. I can't really compare to the Ford--only drove it briefly at a dealership. I can tell you I am completely happy with the Chevy 4500 package.

[bob_nestor]

I owned an RV built on the Ford E350 with the V10 and I now own an RV built on a Chevy 3500 with the 6.0L engine. Both RVs were the same size, weight and rough dimensions. The Chevy handles better and has all the power the Ford had but gives a better ride and much better MPG. In fact I get better mileage with the Chevy towing a Jeep Wranger thru the Rockies than I ever got with the Ford towing nothing. The Chevy does have a more comfortable cockpit area as well. The one thing I miss with the Ford is the much tighter turning radius.

[IAMICHABOD]

A Class C on a Chevy Chassis is a good choice, they are not plagued with handling problems that the Fords have and they have a larger and a more user friendly driver area.

Here is a link about The Class C on a Chevy Chassis that may be helpful.

Chevy Class C