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Old 02-25-2016, 06:48 PM   #53
Chance
Senior Member
 
Brand: Still Looking
State: Texas
Posts: 6,187
THOR #2121
Quote:
Originally Posted by JamieGeek View Post
I wonder if the geometry is all wrong for that: On the pickup chassis the driver sits behind the engine and low, on the van chassis the driver sits above the engine. How much engineering will Ford be willing to undertake to modify that.
Great question -- I don't know. Although to me it seems from pictures that none of these chassis (except for the F53) is proportionally all that different. Engines sit fairly close to center of front axle, so locating driver would seem a matter of pedal and steering wheel placement on a stripped chassis (see attached picture). The front cowling would have to be all new regardless (Ford will eventually have to replace E-Series stripped chassis anyway).

What I see as the greatest future opportunity is that RAM single-rear-wheel pickups are already up to 12,000-pound GVWR, with Ford presently at 11,500-pound GVWR -- new 2017 model may go even higher.

By comparison, the Hymer in picture above is rated at 3,500 to 4,200 KG (7,700 to 9,200 pounds) depending on size, which range from 21 to 25.5 feet; longest same as Axis 24.1. This RWD Hymer is under 88-inches wide and well under 10-feet tall. A lot like a super-sized Class B.

If Thor or Winnebago etc. had access to a 12,000-pound GVWR SRW modern chassis, would they build an Axis or Reyo with slightly more European attributes? A little more Class-B like? I hope so. It won't be my next motorhome, but maybe for the one after that.
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