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Old 05-21-2018, 01:21 AM   #1
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Interesting experience with a rental...truck

I've spent this past week helping family move back to MI from FL.

We rented a 16ft truck and when I drove it off the lot from the rental place I thought "wow this truck feels really familiar"!

So I did what anyone would do: I looked up the VIN online LOL.

The truck:
2014 E-350 with the V-10...

Our Axis:
2014 E-350 with the V-10... !

Of course our Axis doesn't have the 133,000 miles that the rental had (it ran without a hiccup for the 1300 miles we needed it to). It also got close to 10mpg.

As expected, when empty there was very little wallowing to the suspension. Once loaded it drove more like our RV...

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Old 05-21-2018, 02:00 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JamieGeek View Post
I've spent this past week helping family move back to MI from FL.

We rented a 16ft truck and when I drove it off the lot from the rental place I thought "wow this truck feels really familiar"!

So I did what anyone would do: I looked up the VIN online LOL.

The truck:
2014 E-350 with the V-10...

Our Axis:
2014 E-350 with the V-10... !

Of course our Axis doesn't have the 133,000 miles that the rental had (it ran without a hiccup for the 1300 miles we needed it to). It also got close to 10mpg.

As expected, when empty there was very little wallowing to the suspension. Once loaded it drove more like our RV...
Wow, small world Jamie! We just helped a friend move her vehicles from outside Nashville to Reno, NV. I had the luck to drive a 26' box UHaul with a Ford F650 AND a 12 foot UHaul trailer. Thank God I wired up my portable Sirius receiver. 2150 miles and 7.7 MPG. Some of the grades outside Park City, UT I was doing about 30-35 with my foot all the way to the floor... Made me appreciate the 24.1 Axis when trying to get into regular gas. By the way, their was a BIG sticker on the gas tank NOT to use E85 gas and stick with E87. I looked again at the E450 owners' manual at Ford and it is a bit confusing on the issue but still recommends sticking with E87 fuel. What an experience. Oh yeah, Nebraska highways extremely suck. Reminds me of the 91 freeway in Riverside, CA with the bumps...
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Old 05-22-2018, 12:38 AM   #3
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Back to MI from FL? That's called Boomerang!
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Old 05-22-2018, 01:00 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by axis earl View Post
Wow, small world Jamie! We just helped a friend move her vehicles from outside Nashville to Reno, NV. I had the luck to drive a 26' box UHaul with a Ford F650 AND a 12 foot UHaul trailer. Thank God I wired up my portable Sirius receiver. 2150 miles and 7.7 MPG. Some of the grades outside Park City, UT I was doing about 30-35 with my foot all the way to the floor... Made me appreciate the 24.1 Axis when trying to get into regular gas. By the way, their was a BIG sticker on the gas tank NOT to use E85 gas and stick with E87. I looked again at the E450 owners' manual at Ford and it is a bit confusing on the issue but still recommends sticking with E87 fuel. What an experience. Oh yeah, Nebraska highways extremely suck. Reminds me of the 91 freeway in Riverside, CA with the bumps...
Was that I-80 in NE?
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Old 05-22-2018, 01:16 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by axis earl View Post
By the way, their was a BIG sticker on the gas tank NOT to use E85 gas and stick with E87. I looked again at the E450 owners' manual at Ford and it is a bit confusing on the issue but still recommends sticking with E87 fuel. What an experience. Oh yeah, Nebraska highways extremely suck. Reminds me of the 91 freeway in Riverside, CA with the bumps...
The 87 is for octane level ie: regular unleaded with no alcohol added..the E-85 is 85% alcohol..not good stuff for a heavy duty/severe service internal combustion engine me thinks....
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Old 05-22-2018, 01:52 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JamieGeek View Post

.....cut....

So I did what anyone would do: I looked up the VIN online LOL.

The truck:
2014 E-350 with the V-10...

Our Axis:
2014 E-350 with the V-10... !

.....cut....
Jamie, I’m curious if VIN indicated whether it had 176” wheelbase, or something different?

Also, did it have a 40-gallon fuel tank, or 55 like your Axis?
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Old 05-22-2018, 03:37 AM   #7
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Was that I-80 in NE?
Yes, it was. Pretty bad. What's the story?
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Old 05-22-2018, 03:39 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by saddlesore View Post
The 87 is for octane level ie: regular unleaded with no alcohol added..the E-85 is 85% alcohol..not good stuff for a heavy duty/severe service internal combustion engine me thinks....
87 still has ethanol, around 10%, at least here in CA.
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Old 05-22-2018, 04:05 AM   #9
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Yes, it was. Pretty bad. What's the story?

No story, but I am heading that way at the end of June, going from home (St. Louis area) to Salt Lake City. I had been wondering how I-80 was across NE, WY, and UT. I was on it last week in IN and it was pretty bad there.
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Old 05-22-2018, 11:25 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chance View Post
Jamie, I’m curious if VIN indicated whether it had 176” wheelbase, or something different?

Also, did it have a 40-gallon fuel tank, or 55 like your Axis?
40-gallon fuel tank (which surprised me)--could barely get 300 miles before the light would come on.

138" wheelbase (only a 16 footer)--at least that is what the VIN decoder says.
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Old 05-22-2018, 11:46 AM   #11
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Old 05-22-2018, 12:42 PM   #12
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...Kind of like dancing with the Girl that you took to your Senior Prom....



...At your 25th reunion!
Wouldn't know: haven't gone to any of my reunions....
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Old 05-22-2018, 01:05 PM   #13
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Trust me: you won't BELIEVE how old those other folks got!!
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Old 05-22-2018, 02:02 PM   #14
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40-gallon fuel tank (which surprised me)--could barely get 300 miles before the light would come on.

138" wheelbase (only a 16 footer)--at least that is what the VIN decoder says.

The reason I asked such a specific and strange question is that I’ve been curious as to why motorhome manufacturers don’t use the available 176” wheelbase chassis to a greater extent.

A few weeks ago I saw two separate +/- 16’ moving trucks in the neighborhood like the one below, and it appeared from a distance that neither chassis had stretched wheelbase like typical Class Cs. The picture looks about right with ~ 10’ ahead of axle and ~ 6’ behind.

There are so many Class Cs in the 24 ~ 26 foot range that could be built on the unaltered 176” chassis that there must be a good reason as to why they don’t use it more. Why go to expense and trouble? The only spec that I’ve read that seemed odd was that 55-gallon fuel tank was only available on 158” wheelbase motorhome cutaway chassis.

If for some reason the 176” WB chassis is limited to 40-gallon fuel tank, I could see that being a problem in RVs getting 8 MPG, or sometimes less. You’d have to fill up every +/- 250 miles, and that assumes not running generator too much.
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Old 05-22-2018, 02:12 PM   #15
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Not sure if it applies here but Ford offers (or used to) a "Lo-Pro" chassis in some models. It's a lowered frame for motorhomes, ambulances, etc., whereby frequent step-up type access is desired. Sometimes in includes the "C" arch over the rear axle opposed to the straight frame of the regular configuration. Maybe this is part of the equation?
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Old 05-22-2018, 02:26 PM   #16
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Quote:
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The reason I asked such a specific and strange question is that I’ve been curious as to why motorhome manufacturers don’t use the available 176” wheelbase chassis to a greater extent.
Perhaps it has a little bit to do with all of that extra rear overhang, that would result from using it?
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Old 05-22-2018, 02:33 PM   #17
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All E-Series have lower, and also curved, frame rails over rear axle.

By comparison, all F-53 chassis have straight chassis rails. The two are very different and shouldn’t be confused. The F-53 is much heavier duty and truck-like. The E-Series is based on Econoline van design, which explains the curved rails over rear axle.


I believe the fuel tank size may be limited on 176” WB because the overall chassis length, according to specs, is identical to that of 158” WB. As such, the rear overhang on 176” WB must be 18” shorter. That “may” explain why a larger 55-gallon tank isn’t available with 176” WB, but I’m not certain of that either.
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Old 05-22-2018, 02:47 PM   #18
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Is it time to crawl up under some trucks and RVs?
We need fuel tank sizes, and the amount of space that is available...
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Old 05-22-2018, 02:58 PM   #19
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Here is the guy we rented:
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Old 05-22-2018, 06:59 PM   #20
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Here is the guy we rented:
Attachment 10381

Thanks.

Yeah, that’s not a 138” WB as seen in final form. If it started at 138” then it got stretched also like your Axis.

The 176” WB chassis has a cab-to-axle dimension of 118”, or just under 10’. If it were on 138” WB, more than half of box would be behind axle.

Again, not sure why anyone would cut and stretch a chassis if they could buy it the right length to start with.
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