Freightliner

I, too, was thinking (hoping) for something in the 2552 range of 25-27 ft.).... guess I'll stay (AND END!) with the Sprinter! And, Ron, sorry I called you Bob - been a long time!
Jack

Ford did have a 2 year production run of an E550 in 2002-2003, specifications posted HERE.  It stood tall like a current day Quigley 4x4 conversion that Phoenix offers.  The front axle was solid across like a dump truck, not an independent front suspension like we all have on our E350/E450.   The heaviest PCs would benefit but I wonder if lesser PCs would break up from a terribly rough ride.

According to the specs, the front axle could handle 6000 pounds.  The rear axle could handle a whopping 13,500 pounds, 2000 pounds more than my entire PC weighs when loaded up on a trip.  The tires were bigger at 19.5 instead of our 16.0.

Here is a picture of an E550 cutaway.  You can see the larger tires, it's taller stance, and the front axle bridged from wheel to wheel.  It seemed to be a dump truck with a van cabin to hide it's identity.

Wish I could Ron but I can not find anything either.  There are several manafacturers (according to Freightliner) that are starting to use the chassis at this time...check out Renegade Valentia model, this is the first coach I have seen based on this chassis.  Ron G.

The Freightliner chassis is the S2RV. You can find it at this link.

https://www.fcccrv.com/chassis/s2rv

The page is a little deceptive. It shows a picture of an air-ride IFS but if you read the specs it has a solid front and axle with leaf springs

Ron, we would love a rig like that.  I think but not positive you can get them down to a 34 foot

Freightliner offers the S2RV in Wheel Base Range: 179” – 279” so its conceivable that you could build a coach as short as a Phoenix Cruiser 3100 (30.5’).

 I derived this theoretical OAL length by looking at the wheelbase and OAL of a 36-foot super C, in this case the Dynamax DX3 (wheelbase 237” and OAL 425”), and subtracting the shortest wheelbase length available on S2RV (179"). This difference was minus 58”.  So the theoretical OAL of a coach based on of the shortest S2RV chassis  would be 30.5 feet provided you maintain the same front and rear overhang as on the DX3.

I used the specs of the DX3 (based on M2 chassis) because I could not find specs on the Renegade Valencia (based on S2RV chassis). Slight front overhang differences between M2 and S2RV may exist.

I am not sure how a 31 foot coach with 179" wheelbase would handle, but if you streched that wheelbase a bit, it’s obvious that a very well mannered coach could be produced from the S2RV in the 32-34 foot range

Sources
https://www.fcccrv.com/chassis/s2rv/frame-rail-construction/#s2rv-wheelbase
http://www.dynamaxcorp.com/product-details.aspx?LineID=299&Image=10335
http://www.rvbusiness.com/2017/03/fccc-touts-s2rv-chassis-at-work-truck-show/

Folks:

Please note that my initial post was not meant to mean that all E-450/350 applications could be replaced with the Freightliner SC-2 chassis, I was implying that many of these longer Class C's (3100, 2950 PC's) that are coming out of the factory with 3 and 4 slides (other manufacturers) are maxed out before one puts one gal of water in the tank.   Those are the situations where a heavy duty chassis is needed and the SC-2 with say 19.5" wheels would be a good application.  A 2350 on a SC-2 would not be a good use of the chassis I fully realize!  I am still hopeful that some day PC may consider a 33'-34' coach but with the sales of Class B's up nearly 27% last month I doubt PC will shake up their line to much....just my two cents.   Thanks, Ron G.

Folks:

Please note that my initial post was not meant to mean that all E-450/350 applications could be replaced with the Freightliner SC-2 chassis, I was implying that many of these longer Class C's (3100, 2950 PC's) that are coming out of the factory with 3 and 4 slides (other manufacturers) are maxed out before one puts one gal of water in the tank.   Those are the situations where a heavy duty chassis is needed and the SC-2 with say 19.5" wheels would be a good application.  A 2350 on a SC-2 would not be a good use of the chassis I fully realize!  I am still hopeful that some day PC may consider a 33'-34' coach but with the sales of Class B's up nearly 27% last month I doubt PC will shake up their line to much....just my two cents.   Thanks, Ron G.

If Phoenix USA builds and offers a 31-34 foot coach (without bunk over cab) on a S2RV platform, I'll buy it.

renotse

RAGOODSP.....I've often wondered about many motorhomes being almost maxed out with very little left for pers stuff as well as  water etc.  I wonder how much each additional slide adds by average in weight.


I'd be willing to bet that many people would be in trouble if they had to go thru a weigh station.

I pushed for that slide weight before we purchased. There is no definitive answer. They have changed slide vendors, there are different size slides and the furnishings make a difference in weight. All that said, I was given a really ballpark answer of about 1,000 pounds going from the 2552 to the 2910D or 3100. Again, different size coach, slides, different furnishings, and so on. After calculating water (we always carry some), gas, propane, food, clothing, tools, office equipment (since we were working half time from the rig in the beginning), people and so on... we bought the 2552. This won't be the right choice for everyone. We are full time when we are on the road and payload was far more important than space. With just the two of us, we're good. It gets crowded when we go up to three or four but we manage. The whole world is right outside our door.

We have never had our rig weighed.

Regarding the weight of a slide out.

I recall back in 2007, Phoenix told me the "Added Weight" of the 2007 2350 slide out was roughly 400 pounds, which only had the jack knife sofa inside it.  In 2010, the "Added Weight" increased to roughly 600 pounds when they included the fridge.  That was around the same time Phoenix switched sofas, going to the inflating bed sofa.  The numbers I'm sharing was a 2350 with and without the slide out.  I have no idea what a jack knife sofa weighs, but our dinette weighs very little considering it's construction, so there could be more influence than just house-slide material.

The slide out mechanism and furniture changed between then and now, but I would imagine the weight is not much different.

On my 3100 with the one and only slide offered I tipped the scales (fully loaded with H2O, fuel, two adults and one dog) within 900 lbs of max. GVW.   Not to bad to be honest but if  you were to  add another slide or two  and you can see where you would be.   I worry about other manufacturers that offer 3-4 slides and then massive storage compartments in coaches reaching lengths of 31'10", that would push the coach way over GVW for sure and create a dangerous situation IMO.   Thanks, RAG