Freightliner Custom Chassis Introduces NEW S2 RV Chassis

Freightliner Custom Chassis display at the 48th Annual RV Trade Show. As shown the center piece of this exhibit was the S2 in white. The FCCC Powerliner Chassis III is shown parked parallel.

On the first day that I was at the show I wanted to make sure that I stopped by the Freightliner exhibit because I had an appointment to meet with 3 of the top executives at Freightliner Custom Chassis. Once the introductions were complete, we sat down and had a discussion about what was new at Freightliner and we also spoke about 2010 emissions. Attending the meeting were Bob Harbin, President, Jonathan Randall, Marketing Director and Tony Sippel, Product Manager RV & Commercial Bus. I met these gentlemen earlier this year in Gaffney, SC when I attended Camp Freightliner. I would have liked to have seen Mike Cody again but he does not go to the trade shows.


The Powerliner Chassis III shown with a side cool pack.


The Cummins ISM engine sits lower in the chassis which presents less vertical obtrusion into the coach.

In response to my question; I understand that what continues to be new and increasingly welcome by the OEMs are the XC and the Powerliner Chassis III. OEMs have increasingly chosen Freightliner Chassis products going into the 2011 model year to expand on current floorplans and to introduce new ones. Freightliner has increased its market share over its nearest competitor significantly and several floorplans have been built using the Powerliner Chassis III tag axle chassis. New floorplans at Newmar, Fleetwood and Winnebago Industries optimize the use of the XC and Powerliner chassis. In lengths from 40 to 42 feet these motorhomes are providing customers with better options at reasonable prices.


The rear wall delete option will allow entry and egress into the cabin of the coach. There's plenty of room in between the seats to access the driver and passenger seats.

The newest RV product that Freightliner Custom Chassis introduced at the Trade Show was their S2 Cutaway Motorhome Chassis. Derived and co-authored with Freightliner Trucks, Freightliner Custom Chassis provided the specifications and the design parameters for this new chassis to meet the needs of the RV Industry. The S2 provides a complete cab forward solution and offers rear wall delete option so providing manufacturers a completely integrated cab and chassis solution for their Class C or Super B motorhomes. Having the cab and chassis completed before delivery to an OEM saves both time and money especially when a manufacturer has to engineer all the cab, instrumentation and operational controls onto a bare rail.


View of the instrument cluster, the tilt-telescopic steering wheel and related controls.


The leather seats will provide long distance comfortable travel. Note the large assist handle.

The S2 is powered by the Cummins ISB 6.7L-240. The engine produces 240HP @ 2300 RPM and 560 lb/ft @ 1600 RPM. The 240 is mated with an Allison 6-Speed 1000MH transmission. 3 optional ISB engines are available; 260, 300 & 340HP each with 660 Lb/Ft of torque. The optional engines are mated to the Allison 2100MH. The GVWR of the S2 starts at 19,000 pounds and may be optioned up to 33,000 pounds. The S2 can be configured with either long tapered leaf springs or an optional air suspension called the AirLiner with tuned Sachs shock absorbers. The stopping power of the S2 is provided by either Bosch hydraulic pin slide disk brakes with WABCO ABS (4 channel) or optional Bendix or Meritor air brakes depending on wheel size. A 60 gallon fuel tank comes standard and a 100 gallon tank can be ordered.


Looking aft across the rail one can see the in-line drum brake in front of the differential housing. Long leaf springs improve ride comfort. Bosch pin slide hydraulic brakes are fitted. The fuel tank is mounted in the rear of the rail and has a 60 gallon standard capacity.

The cab of the S2 features and ergonomically designed dash which includes complete instrumentation and is LED backlit for a striking appearance. A T-handle transmission shifter is mounted on the dashboard. The TRW steering wheel is both tilt and telescopic and offers input to the 55° steering gear. Body builder switch locations are provided on the center of the dash for easy access. The air conditioning system is fully integrated and entirely supported by FCCC rather than being split in responsibility between the body builder and chassis builder. Access to the engine is accomplished by a lift assisted mechanism and in closing the hood a damper mechanism prevents it from being suddenly shut.


View of the Cummins ISB engine in the S2. Note the reservoir for the power steering and Hydromax. The charge cooler hose is in the foreground (straight), the upper radiator hose is seen (curved). The blue callout brings attention to the 55° wheel cut.


The right side of the engine shows the location of the coolant recovery tank, air filter, charge cooler ductwork, alternator and fan shroud.

What drives this product to market is that when GM cut its Medium Duty Truck line this left a lot of demand and a huge void to be filled. The GM MDT such as the Kodiak was used for super sized RV platforms and has a loyal core of constituents and a number or manufacturers that were left in the dust by the dropping of the line by GM. FCCC determined that a need existed and that they would fill the void that was left by GM and so the S2 came to be. Being a Custom Chassis company and having the resource of Freightliner Trucks and Daimler USA, the engineering and bringing to market the S2 as an exclusive RV product was accomplished rather quickly. Features like the larger windshield and the over the hood driver visibility of the S2 reduce blind spots compared to the MDT competition and improve driver safety.


This is the location of the Urea tank. Urea is a combination of 67.5% ionized water and 32.5% urea. A 10 gallon tank can provide enough fluid to travel from LA to NYC. There are thousands of dealers that carry DEF.



This is the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF). In this device large particles in the exhaust stream are trapped. This device also contains the Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC).


The exhaust stream exits the particulate filter and begins to flow through a Decomposition Reactor. A dosing valve (angled) atomizes and injects the DEF fluid into the exhaust stream.


The last device in the SCR chain is the Selective Catalyst Reduction. It is in this device that the urea sprayed exhaust steam interacts with the catalyst and is converted to Nitrogen and water. WABCO ABS computer is mounted to the the left.

The Cummins engine on the S2 uses a SCR/Urea solution to achieve 2010 emissions. DEF has been used in Europe since 2006 and over 600,000 vehicles are already on the road. With over 30,000,000 miles of testing in the US, Freightliner Trucks and Daimler have proven that SCR is a reliable and cost effective solution. The exhaust that comes from the tailpipe on SCR equipped vehicles is cleaner than what is typically metered in breathable air in metropolitan cities. People take note of this and ask, if the exhaust is so clean why can I breathe it? The simple answer is of course that the exhaust stream does not contain any oxygen.
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Mr. Robert Harbin, President of Freightliner Custom Chassis, Gaffney, South Carolina leads the "Driven By You" team.
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For more information about the FCCC S2 and SCR Technology please see the attachments.
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Attached Files

	FCCC_SCR.pdf (1.78 MB, 386 views)
	FCCC S2 Cutaway.pdf (3.44 MB, 410 views)