Quote:
Originally Posted by JamieGeek
I'm guessing they are using Transit instead of E-Series is because at one point Ford did say "E-Series is going away use Transit instead" and then later on said "oh crap Transit can't handle the weight...er um E-Series will stay around for a bit....sorry my bad"
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Agree.
When Ford started building US Transit vans and cutaways back in 2014, they limited the Econoline to cutaway and stripped chassis, and announced E-Series would be phased out by end of decade.
I would love to know what they knew (that may have changed) or thought would happen to commercial and motorhome chassis demand that exceeded the Transit’s maximum 10,360 pound GVWR. Had they actually stopped E-Series production as planned, it would have left a huge void in available chassis ratings.
One significant issue I see with E-Series competing with Transit and Sprinter at the low end of GVWR is that the DRW (dual rear wheel) chassis is too wide for the typical Transit- and Sprinter-size motorhome. Most of these smaller motorhomes are narrow at around 90 inches in width, and the DRW E-Series works best for motorhomes at least 94 inches wide like the Axis/Vegas or Coachmen Concord; otherwise rear wheels stick out so much beyond body that they need large fender flares.
The best solution for using E-Series to build smaller and narrower motorhomes is SRW (single rear wheels) chassis which is considerably narrower, but then GVWR is limited to 10,050 pounds. To compete with Sprinter and newest Transit, Ford would need to upgrade SRW E-Series to at least 11,000 pounds. From what I can tell, an upgrade would mostly require new wheels and tires, but why would Ford want to compete with their own Transit in same 11,000-pound cutaway class? Particularly if E-Series is on borrowed time.
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