Chassis Wars of the 2005 Revolution

[loydeyates]

I recently purchased a 2005 Revolution LE 40L. Before doing so, I read several entries regarding the Revolution on the Forum. Overall, I found the information useful and it ultimately tended to reinforce my admiration for the Revolution. Beyond that, one theme that seemed to surface was those differences between the Revolution and the Revolution LE. There were several good posts, and one in particular by Gary RVRoamer, who had referred to Fleetwood's marketing brochure and accurately identified many of those differences. I also found the discussions tended to spark debates between which chassis was "better" – the Freightliner or Spartan. Other members amusingly referred to the discussions as the "Chassis Wars" or the "Ford and Chevy Debates." Although the topic might be of interest to a limited few, perhaps only to other potential buyers, like myself and “moldtech,” who had asked on 07-03-2012, at 03:22 PM.

For my part, I only wanted to bring one degree of clarity to any potential 'future' events. In that case, it might be better phrase the debate between the 2004 and the 2005 Revolutions, and not between the two 2005 models. The reason being – neither of the 05's had a Freightliner chassis to defend! They both had Spartan chassis. Much like Gary RVRoamer had suggested, the LE's Spartan chassis (in contrast to the other model), had a "custom center," consisting of the Liberty chassis, and was therefore identified as the Liberty Edition, or LE.

In my mind, I kept them separate by thinking of their GAWR's. For example, the 2005 Revolution (Spartan) added 1,000 lbs. of capacity to the rear gross axle weight rating over the 2004 Revolution (Freightliner). In addition, the 2005 Revolution LE (Liberty) added 2,000 lbs. of carrying capacity to the front GAWR over both the '05 (Spartan), and '04 (Freightliner). In terms of towing, the mid-season 2005 LE (Liberty) also brought an extra 5,000 lbs. of towing capacity over any of the previous models.

In the end, it might come down to choosing which model can better meet your 'carrying capacity' needs, over which is the "better" chassis. In any event, don't let me discourage anyone. I always enjoy a good debate, and find the posts invaluable for information on this and other favored RV topics!

Loyde Yates

[Clayobx]

You have covered and researched a large majority of technical differences. IMO not much can be debated! However, what makes this forum interesting is the vast amount of opinions supported by a high percentage of facts related to the original OP's post. BTW:

[Gary RVRoamer]

The Fleetwood Liberty Chassis came into existence in 2004 and could be based on either Freightliner or Spartan components. For example, my 2004 American Tradition is built on the Liberty chassis but it is mechanically a Freightliner, not Spartan. After 2005 the Freightliner version of Liberty was dropped from the product menu and all Libertys from that time forward were Spartan-based.

2004 Revolutions were strictly on the Freightliner XC chassis and did not use the Liberty, but in 2005 Fleetwood introduced the LE model of Revolution which included a chassis upgrade to the Liberty. In theory there could be some 2005 Rev LEs that used a Freightliner/Liberty rather than a Spartan/Liberty, but I don't think any were actually made that way. American Coach buyers could specify their choice of Freightliner or Spartan for their Liberty chassis, but Revolution LE buyers did not have that choice.

[loydeyates]

Thank you Clayobx for the welcome, and thank you GaryRVRoamer for the additional information. The one thing I always seem to learn is, there is more to learn!