RV purchase for towing

[north_mom]

We've had both a class B van camper and a truck camper and are now looking to move into something slightly bigger and more comfortable for camping. The challenge is that we need a minimum of 7500 lbs towing capacity, both the van camper and truck camper were diesels, 7.3L and 6.8L, respectively. We'd prefer to stay as small as possible, so perhaps a small Class C? We'd prefer diesel but a gas engine would be fine as long as everything else is beefy enough to handle the towing load. Would the E450 chassis be our best choice over the E350 chassis? Any suggestions for brands to look into for heavy duty use? We do use the camper alot, so this isn't going to sit in the yard and go out only once or twice a year, and for at least 80-90% of our trips we are also towing. TIA!

[Mich_F]

Grumpy374 wrote:
I was going by my 2012 FR Lexi info, and the info listed for the 2012 class c line up, which was, in 2012, 5000 lbs towing capacity. I would surmise that the rating was due to the class 3 hitches that were installed. Mine came with a generic hitch with a sticker limiting it to 5000 lbs.
Grumpy

I understand that, but your 5,000# tow rating is due to FR lowering the GCWR, not to anything Ford changed or didn't change. My 2014 Itasca, on a 2013 E450, also has a 5,000# hitch, and a sticker to not exceed 350# tongue weight.

[Grumpy374]

I was going by my 2012 FR Lexi info, and the info listed for the 2012 class c line up, which was, in 2012, 5000 lbs towing capacity. I would surmise that the rating was due to the class 3 hitches that were installed. Mine came with a generic hitch with a sticker limiting it to 5000 lbs.
Grumpy

[Mich_F]

Grumpy374 wrote:
I stand corrected. Apparently the new (2015-3016) Forrest River Class C's are rated to tow 7500 lbs. My 2012 Lexi was rated to tow 5000 lbs and hitch supplied with it, a class 3, was only rated for 5000 lbs.
Ford must have upped the gcvw rating, tho I don't see any changes between 2012 and 2016.
Still, the idea of towing something like a full size Suburban or Expidition that weighs more than half the weight of the rv would worry me.
Grumpy

Ford hasn't changed the GVWR and GCWR on the E450s since the 2008 model year I believe. It's just fairly recently that some MH manufacturers have rated them to tow up to the Ford specs.

[Explorer1016]

I'm not sure what maintenance headaches are being referred to in an earlier post. I'm on my 4th Diesel in succession and the Ford diesel is the only one I have had any concerns about. 3 GM DMAX engines and no issues, failures or maintenance issues.

[Grumpy374]

I stand corrected. Apparently the new (2015-3016) Forrest River Class C's are rated to tow 7500 lbs. My 2012 Lexi was rated to tow 5000 lbs and hitch supplied with it, a class 3, was only rated for 5000 lbs.
Ford must have upped the gcvw rating, tho I don't see any changes between 2012 and 2016.
Still, the idea of towing something like a full size Suburban or Expidition that weighs more than half the weight of the rv would worry me.
Grumpy

[carringb]

I've been pulling regularly at 22,000 pounds combined or heavier for about 200,000 miles with my V10. It has over 400,000 miles now. That weight will not over-stress the power train.

[carringb]

All of the new Forest River Class Cs on the Ford Chassis have a 7500# receiver, and THOR is installing an 8,000# receiver on the Fords. 5K still seems to be the limit on the Chevy chassis (which makes sense since they don't have enough GCWR for heavier).

[Grumpy374]

I think your going to find that most class c on E-350 and E-450 are rated to tow a max of 5000 lbs. Most of the class 3 hitches are rated at 5000 lbs. Next jump would be a class 4 or a class 5 hitch.
I recently replaced the cheapo class 3 hitch on my class c. Replaced it with a class 5, just for the superior strength.
But, I tow a 3100 lb Subaru. My class c is a 2012 Forrest River Lexington with a V-10. It's adaquate for up to 5000 lbs. No way would I consider towing 7500 lbs. Putting way to much on the engine/tranny. To safely tow what you want (notice the key word--safely) your going to be looking at a super c, most of which are rated to tow upwards of 10,000 lbs. But, their not small, beginning at around 34 ft, and on diesel chassis.
Grumpy

[carringb]

A V10 E450 Class C from Thor or Forest River will come with a 7500# hitch stock, and all of that is usable as long as your tongue weight doesn't overload the rear axle. Tongue weight is probably the biggest challenge for motorhomes.

A diesel class C will cost substantially more, and come with many more maintenance headaches, all for an extra 2,500 pounds of towing capacity.

If you can hold out until fall, the E-series will be getting a 6-speed TorqueShift transmission, which should help with pulling power in the mountains.