Ford Transit October 12, 2016, 01:38:31 pm I stumbled across a news story covering the annual Pomona RV show this week. What caught my eye was a profile of the new Winnebago Paseo class B based on the Ford Transit. I hadn't heard of it before, so I did a quick search of some other popular RV forums. There were some discussions from last month with no real information on actual product, so this is apparently brand new information:California RV Show – Part Two | KTLAThe Transit already has a few class C models available and now this new class B. It's apparent the market is moving quickly to offer a full line up of different makes & models based on this new chassis.Since LD is such a small manufacturer, it's imperative for them to standardize on a single, stable platform. The E chassis has served them well for over 20 years, but my guess is they're seeing the writing on the wall. It doesn't matter if the E chassis is supported for another 5 years - eventually it's going to be discontinued. In the meantime, while LD enjoys a cute "retro" look, it will look even more dated as more & more Transits show up on the road.Here's hoping that LD decides to bring out a 20-22' model - similar to what they produced for 20 years up to the 90s - based on the Transit chassis.
Re: Ford Transit Reply #1 – October 12, 2016, 02:56:33 pm A Transit might make sense for the majority of people who only use their RV four or less weeks a year.No way would I spend six months in a small can.Doubtful, it would have a bed for those of us 6'4" either.
Re: Ford Transit Reply #2 – October 12, 2016, 04:32:05 pm I've read posts recently that mentioned the narrow profile of Class B's makes for a very tight fit. Especially when the bed is extended.I wonder whether or not the coach body can be widened a bit on a Transit chassis to accommodate a larger living area. Even with my 27' RB it can be a "bump & twist" to get past one another with two people on board. Three may not be a crowd but it can cause more traffic jams. I can't even imagine how a Transit based RV can handle a crowd.Just sayin'Kent
Re: Ford Transit Reply #3 – October 12, 2016, 06:56:53 pm And a decent video tour https://youtu.be/Cj28Yf7hMoYWe looked hard at B vans. This would be interesting. For short dashes to see family or go to a job rather than flying. It seems to me that B vans are the perfect RV application for Pro Masters, Transits, Sprinters.
Re: Ford Transit Reply #4 – October 13, 2016, 12:03:15 am Narrow Sprinter and Transits type RVs have been around for a while now and, IMO, sales have not taken off, at least here on the West Coast. We see plenty of new E450s, Class As, DPs, TTs and 5th Wheels but very few narrow Class Cs.Most of our RV friends tow. Neither the Sprinter or Transit has the power of the V10, much less the potential power of a bigger diesel. Most of us would like more power, not less when chugging over steep passes.In my experience, the roads of the world, outside of North America, are narrow. Our wide body RVs wouldn't be useful.The good news is we live here and can exploit the wider roads with roomier RVs.It's my guess that Ford has no intention to abandon the E450 class market. People want bigger, not smaller RVs. It will also be interesting to see what Ford does with the F53 Class A chassis, it uses a similar V10 and the same 6-speed transmission. The V10s are obsolete, today there are much better engines available.Surprisingly, there is little information or even speculation about the future of the E450 or F53 on the web.Larry
Re: Ford Transit Reply #5 – October 13, 2016, 09:21:02 am "We see plenty of new E450s, Class As, DPs, TTs and 5th Wheels but very few narrow Class Cs."---Interesting. I also see many of the bigger units in the northern and central areas of CA, including plenty of "towables" of all sizes, but the "boxes" built on the Sprinter chassis seem to be pretty popular, too; just yesterday I saw three (south San Jose and Los Gatos) when out on errands. (One has plenty of time to observe what's on the road in the near vicinity when stopped in traffic or at the interminable traffic lights!) An observation: In addition to the passenger van and utility van, Ford Transits are available in a cab chassis (diesel) and a cutaway (gas). A few of the photos on the various Ford sites show dual wheels on each of these, but I didn't find that option listed in either of the spec lists (granted, these lists are very sketchy!). It seems that RV builders are currently using the 250 van versions with single rear wheels of the Transit, rather than the cutaway or chassis cab as a platform. The maximum GVWR of both the chassis cab and the cutaway (and the van with DWR) is 10360 pounds, listed under the misnomer of a "payload package".2017 Ford Transit Chassis - Build & Price2017 Ford Transit Van & Passenger Wagon | Specs | Ford.comI believe that the Transit cutaway or chassis cab (if one prefers diesel) have good potential as platforms for small RVs (whatever "class" one want to call them) IF a manufacturer can resist the temptation to pork out the box to the edge of the GVWR! But, from observation and experience, I also believe that this hope is in the realm of unicorns and rainbows. I think that a lot of people do want all the whizbangs, slides, automatic levelers, plus lots of tankage and storage space, and since they seem to expect the same features no matter what the size and GVWR of the platform the box is built on, manufacturers will "build to suit"; IOW, overload the chassis to satisfy customer demand and move their product. (NB - the Sprinter has a 11030 GVWR, 670 pounds *more* than the Transit's max), and the largest Dodge ProMaster's GVWR is 9350 pounds.)As ever, YMMV.Joan
Re: Ford Transit Reply #6 – October 13, 2016, 01:52:17 pm That was a nice video tour. While I like the idea of a class B, they really are just too small, at least for us. My wife hands down has long said "no way"; we have a neighbor with a RoadTrek, and after she gave us a tour, I tend to agree.One thing many don't seem to consider about class Bs are the large van doors. Not only the heavy side slider (which can be automated), but also the rear hatch doors. It really is quite unseemly to have to open up the doors just to get some fresh air. (Plus, you need weird, large pull-down screens for bug protection.)While retaining the van uni-body construction is an obvious plus, manufacturers really have to tear them up in order to place water/ propane tanks, battery housings, etc. After looking into class Bs in some detail, I eventually concluded there simply is no better alternative than custom building a house (while incorporating tanks, electrical, plumbing, etc), and then placing it on a suitable truck chassis. That is, a class C RV.And when we get to class C RVs, there's only one manufacturer that comes close to building the type of unit one would enjoy spending any time in. So here we are.My issue, which has been pretty consistent, is getting orphaned on an old platform. We're currently in the market to replace my wife's RX350, and let me tell you, in just the last 7 years, Lexus has really improved their base technology. They now have a 300hp V-6 matched with an 8 speed transmission, along with other additional features that have improved the ride, handling, etc.The truck market is clearly moving towards the Transit platform - I already see them everywhere for various tradespeople. I find it very difficult to imagine that Ford doesn't have an even more heavy duty version in the works than the currently available dually. We should note that it's not just GVWR that's driving this market - there are other issues at play such as handling, noise, durability, diagnostics, support, etc.For LD, it's one of those dreaded 20 year cycle platform challenges - as the Clash sang "should I stay or should I go"? 1 Likes
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