NEW GAS CHASSIS? DRIVEFORCE From FCCC

[forest]

Originally Posted by stepside454

So lower frame rails mean less basement storage , less flat floor area & more opportunity to drag the tail on the ground if there's overhang

Not neccesarily. Ever look how much clearance there is between the axle and the frame rail? Lower height springs would change nothing in the body, except for maybe a couple of wheel wells.

[stepside454]

Clearance is for suspension travel .
Also on a long wheelbase vehicle ground clearance is important for driveway approaches etc

[BillJinOR]

Actually I think it short wheelbase gasser ( limit driveline? ) relative to a DP and large rear overhang on gassers that limit drive approaches. Don’t you? Never had a gas coach so I’m just guessing.

[forest]

Originally Posted by stepside454

Clearance is for suspension travel .
Also on a long wheelbase vehicle ground clearance is important for driveway approaches etc

But they never use all the clearance for the travel available. It would be pretty easy to drop 2". Take a look at the old Winnebago elandans/slanted. Nice a low profile.

[nothermark]

Originally Posted by Scarab0088

Times 1000% too.

The Detriot Chassis -》Ford relationship has always struck me as odd too

Great post

I took a look at the link. They more or less tell you the deal. It kept the line from going to Mexico or brought it back from there. Not clear which. As a separate vendor they probably avoided the UAW plus the Ford pension and management overhead. They specialize in *low volume* production. Not enough for Ford to crank up a big assembly line for. I doubt they can engineer a totally new suspension or a drivetrain but Ford can if it needs to. OTOH they can change the frame rail lengths to order as well as some other minor changes in low volumes so the various RV chassis buyers can get some of what they want, keep it American made, and keep shipping distances down to a lot closer than Mexico to Indiana. Looks like a good deal for the owners and Ford.

In retrospect I might be wrong about the suspension. I have seen modeling of sport car suspensions by race teams so the software may be out there at reasonable prices for them to do trucks and other vehicles.

[wildmanbaker]

Nice bickering back and forth, but I believe that the 366 ci engine is too small to haul around even 14,000 pounds, let alone 19,000. Remember there is no substitute for cubic inches....., be gas or diesel.

[Gary RVRoamer]

but I believe that the 366 ci engine is too small to haul around even 14,000 pounds, let alone 19,000. Remember there is no substitute for cubic inches....., be gas or diesel.

So all those rigs with a 5.9L Cummins or Cat 3126's are no good then?

The main drawback with a smaller cube gas engine is the need to rev it up a bit to get the horsepower needed for the job. The GM 6.0L makes 367 hp, but you have to crank 5400 rpms to get it. A bigger block engine like the GM 8.1L produces similar horses at around 4200. And The Cummins 5.9L diesel can do it at about 2900.

[wildmanbaker]

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

So all those rigs with a 5.9L Cummins or Cat 3126's are no good then?

The main drawback with a smaller cube gas engine is the need to rev it up a bit to get the horsepower needed for the job. The GM 6.0L makes 367 hp, but you have to crank 5400 rpms to get it. A bigger block engine like the GM 8.1L produces similar horses at around 4200. And The Cummins 5.9L diesel can do it at about 2900.

Come on Gary, comparing diesel, with a turbo, to gas is not fair. The torque and Hp curves are completely different. Is the Cummins 5.9 equal to the M12? The C7 equal to the C9? To get back to the original comment, the 6.0 does not have enough torque either. You know torque is what gets you moving, hp is the total amount of work can be done. I know, I know, you can make a washing machine motor pull a freight train, but at what speed?

[Scarab0088]

This is the progression of engine technology...

Please notice the Detroit Diesel has already signed with Freightliner for this engine in there M2 line commercial trucks.
https://demanddetroit.com/engines/dd5