What wasn't a Ford chassis with 7.3L diesel ever used by the RV manufacturers?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
O

oldryder

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 8, 2017
Posts
543
Location
Avon MN
I've been shopping for a used RV for a while.  I had a 7.3L ford pick-up in the past.  The 7.3L diesel was recognized for it's power and bulletproof reliability and it was plenty of motor for even a large RV.

Just wondering if there was a particular reason why the RV OEM's never adopted a ford chassis with the 7.3L motor as a base for their RV's.  It would have made a very nice upgrade drive train for the larger RV's that typically have the gas motors.
 
Assuming Ford even agreed to engineer the FRED setup, I wonder if the higher price point would have pushed it too close to the available diesel pusher market to make it viable. The other advantages of a DP could be a significant factor for prospective buyers. It's probably worth noting that the few FRED's that did make it to market were not very successful.
 
You'll find a few 7.3L diesels in Class C motorhomes using the F350/F450 cutaway chassis.

For example:

http://showroom.auction123.com/vehicle_selling_solutions/inventory/11537/ID_1655044131.html

It probably wasn't used in a FRED (FRont Engine Diesel) Class A because Ford didn't offer it in the F53 motorhome chassis.  The main problem would be the noise level with the diesel up front with the driver.  The 7.3L did last forever, but it was a very noisy engine and the diesel pickups had to include more sound isolation than comparable gas engine trucks.  In a Class A, fiberglass and plywood provide much less sound suppression than the steel firewall and enclosed cabs used in a Class C.  The current 6.7L PowerStroke runs much more quietly, so maybe you'll start seeing it being used.

As to why it wasn't used in diesel pushers, probably because Ford never made a diesel pusher chassis.
 
And a definite disadvantage to the 7.3 was that you can't put an exhaust brake on it from what I have read. I believe it was because of having hydraulic lifters.
 
My (now deceased) dog could hear my 7.3 truck coming from a half mile away and go crazy. One day a FEDEX truck came by and the stupid dog ran after it and jumped in with the driver. Probably thought it was me.  :) :)
 
Up until mid 1994 the Ford 460 and Chevy 454 put out more hp/ torque than the 7.3. From there until 2000 or so, the 7.3 only put out 25 lbs more torque than the 460 or v10. Of course the 7.3 would have much better fuel mileage, but the expense, noise, and weight for about the same power would have been a non starter for me. Also, I believe you could install a exhaust brake after 1994 or after idi 7.3
 
I think Dutch and Lou have covered it pretty well.  Ford never offered the Class A F53 chassis with the diesel engine option, either the old 7.3L or its successors. It was already available in the E350/E450 van chassis so it was available in Class B & C motorhomes without extra engineering costs.  Not a lot of those around, which tells something about the [lack of] popularity of that option. Freightliner offered their Front End Diesel (FRED) chassis and Workhorse had the Duratech diesel in their excellent W-series chassis, but both were market place flops.  If you want a front engine diesel coach, the Tiffin Allegra Open Road diesel is your best bet. The Freightliner FRED chassis with Cummins diesel and Allison transmission is about as good as it gets for that class of chassis and there are more Tiffin Open Roads around than any other front diesel class A.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 1,014 (members: 28, guests: 986)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,974
Posts
1,388,474
Members
137,722
Latest member
RoyL57
Back
Top Bottom