Pros & Cons of a Diesel Super C

[Snowman9000]

Those of you who have or had a diesel Super C, what are the pros and cons of that class compared to a gas or diesel Class A?

[ronfisherman]

Sites
Look like you are using a Equalizer type hitch. How does that work with a motorhome?

[Sites]

I owned an F550 chassis Super C for over 2 years now and have taken it on several trios ranging from 40 mile round trips to local campgrounds to 2800 mile round trips. Here is my short synopsis.

Pros:

- Load and towing capacity. This was the primary reason for purchasing the Thor Super C. We tow an enclosed trailer on desert trips that weighs a solid 11k lbs fully loaded. It tows like a champ up and down the grades. The f550 chassis has a GCWR of 35k lbs. regular C's don't come anywhere close to this. Neither do most of the gas class As.

- Stability. We rented several class a and class c motorhomes before deciding to purchase and none of them felt as stable driving as my super c. With the regular C and class A gassers, I always felt
like I was driving something that was right on the verge of its load capacity, regardless of if I actually was. The medium duty chassis just seem better suited for the job. Especially when towing something heavy.

Safety? This is kind of pushing it, but having the motor and chassis out in front, especially on the International chassis sure seems a lot safer in the event of an accident than a van chassis or a class A.

Cons:

Cost. Depending on whether your buying new or used, or what brand, Super C's have a much higher price tag usually. Initially, we were looking at a regular C and hoping that during the times we needed to tow heavy, we could just figure out how to make it work. Becuase frankly, the significantly higher entry fee into a Super C gave me sticker shock. But after much research, I realized if I purchased a regular C or A, I would regret it and probably find out that i couldn't tow what I needed.

Btw, here is when we tow heavy. Inside the trailer is a desert truck, quad, multiple motorcycles and gear. Tows amazing.

[Golden_HVAC]

I have read one rant from a International class 6 motorhome based class C, who said comfort was somewhat like a lumber wagon on rough roads. I guess the heavy duty suspension was not what they where expecting.

I guess towing capacity is pretty good, but ride quality can suffer if the RV is not loaded up near it's GVWR, and the springs are pretty solid if at say 3/4 of it's rated capacity. Air ride would really help.

Reading the post above, I guess it matters what chassis you are looking at. I was in a F-550 based class C, and it looked pretty nice inside. I was not in the back thinking about how it would ride and the vision out the front window. I guess I would need to take a closer look at that if I ever see another F-550 based RV at the sales lot.

When I looked at a 2008 new International based motorhome with full wall slide on the drivers side, I really liked it a lot. But it was only a few months later that I read the review of a International who's owners did not like the rough ride. Air suspension can fix that, but it would be a expensive way to do it.

When I was in Quartzsite back in 2000 or so, there was a company that would take a F-450 and change the rear spring pack to be air ride for about $3,500 or so. It involved cutting the spring pack in half, leaving the front section to about 5" in rear of the axle, with a new air spring located there to the frame.

Good luck with your motorhome decision!

Fred.

[carringb]

I have not owned one, but I have shopped them, and spent many (maybe thousands) of hours behind the wheel of most of the Class-5 offerings (Ford, Dodge, GMC, Freight-liner). Here's some of my observations:

Pros of a Class-5 Super-C

-Generally better engine noise reduction, except the Newmar Canyon Star I test drove was pretty good too. The GMC isn't great in that regard, but it hasn't been built in a long time anyways. I'm assuming you are shopping new. The Dodge 5500 is not as well sound insulated as their pickup counterparts but its good enough.

-Traditional overhead cab. The nicer Class As skip on the drop down bed (like the Newmar). The Class A's with a drop-down bed seem to be not very well put together (THOR).

-Service *should* be easier. At least the cab will be common with other trucks. However, you still run into the same limited dealer network as Class As do.

-More towing capacity. The Super Cs (except the GMC) can all handle 10,000 pounds vs 5,000 or 7,500 on the gas Class As.

Cons:

-The cab is too low. This one was pretty much a deal-breaker for me, at least for Ford F550 motorhomes. Dodge 5500s would be the same. Pickups have lower cabs than even the E-series vans. And, they have kick-up frames after the cab. This means the house it almost twice as tall inside as the cab, which means nobody in the back can see forward unless they lay on the floor. I'm pretty sure this would cause a lot of motion sickness with passengers, beside losing the ability to utilize the cab as living area since the seats are too low to swivel around (and, I don't think swivel seats are an option anyways).

If you are looking at larger Super Cs, such as a Freightliner M2 unit, then that point doesn't apply.

-Another con is the Bosch CP4 fuel pump used in the F550. I still don't trust it. Yes, it seems incidents are less frequent now, but the consequences of losing a fuel pump are too high IMO. Rams used the CP3 so that's not a concern there.

More of a neutral point: Don't expect a diesel Class C to be any faster. Yes, power deliver is smoother, and it makes less racket when its working hard. But the diesels still only make 300 horsepower in medium-duty trim. At least at lower elevations, the 3-valve V10 will be able to pull at higher speeds climbing hill most of the time, at least until about 4,000 feet when the altitude starts to become noticeable.

One more thought: The Ford and Ram 550/5500 have 19.5" wheels, vs the 22.5" wheels on the 22k and learger Class A's. larger tires generally ride smoother, and also will not be as close to capacity as the 19.5"s.