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V10 rv/bus chassis ? Anyone know anything?

2big bronco

2big bronco

Og irate
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
188
Messages
4,132
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Prunedale ca
Just came across this for sale, looks decent for the money and id rather have a minimalist "open" rv then a partical board pos.

Does anyone know anything about these? Assuming its a truck motor/trans? thows the frame look at the tail section, strong enough to tow 8k from? Is making it 4wd compleatly out of the question?

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto...300580937.html

Screenshot_20210404-183416_Samsung Internet.jpg
 
it will certainly tow 8k lbs without a problem.

it won't haul ass with it or anything like a larger rig or a smaller rig, but it will about the same as any other mildly loaded MDT.

anything can be converted to 4wd :) but i don't see much reason to. odds are good it will go whereever you want to take it as is.
 
for the cost and effort of converting one to an RV, i was significantly farther ahead buying an RV that needed minimal work and still does all the things.

busses are damn cool though and ride great. the cost seems insane to me, but i feel that way about everything. have you price shopped it against the alternatives you are considering and then compared that to what it will cost to get you where you want it?
 
Should be F53 chassis. Beam front axle. Straight rails easy.
 
Neat bus, wouldnt own it.

I like v10 for in town and on site work. Open highway, grossing 20k+, no thank you.
 
Provience said:
for the cost and effort of converting one to an RV, i was significantly farther ahead buying an RV that needed minimal work and still does all the things.

busses are damn cool though and ride great. the cost seems insane to me, but i feel that way about everything. have you price shopped it against the alternatives you are considering and then compared that to what it will cost to get you where you want it?
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No i havnt price shopped at all. Ive been very loosly looking for a unique rv that will safely pull a crawler. This just happened to catch an eye and i like the way it looks and it seemed to have low miles.

As far as conversion goes i want extremely simple. A couple cabinets, bunk beds, small cook top, sink, Will use my arb style cooler, and No black water but possibly a little portable all in one shitter thing for the wife. Also aux heat/ac and a cabinet outside for a generator
 
2big bronco said:
No i havnt price shopped at all. Ive been very loosly looking for a unique rv that will safely pull a crawler. This just happened to catch an eye and i like the way it looks and it seemed to have low miles.

As far as conversion goes i want extremely simple. A couple cabinets, bunk beds, small cook top, sink, Will use my arb style cooler, and No black water but possibly a little portable all in one shitter thing for the wife. Also aux heat/ac and a cabinet outside for a generator
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black water tank is the single best part of owning and RV and probably the easiest thing to add.

even if you don't use a 'pane fridge or anything, hooking up a 'pane cooktop and heater plus sink, fresh/gray/black water tanks should be the first things to get done. beds and stuff are easy to put wherever. water and hot food are farking arsesome though
 
Why haven't you bought it yet? :flipoff2:

It's a Ford F53 or F59 chassis. Basically just a class A or step van without the flimsy shit body. The only deal-breaker would be the V10. Based on your F250 shenanigans you don't seem like one of the stupid old fucks that expects a big block to do all it's work under 3000rpm so that should be a non-issue for you.
 
why the v10 hate? maybe had I put one to max GCVW I wouldn't be asking this question. :laughing: But I'm in the fuck it floor it group when it comes to towing hauling. 4r100 at half or 3/4 throttle in second gear it leaves the TC unlocked, mat it and it locks. :rolleyes:

after 100k of abusing a 24v 5.9 a 7.3 idi I'm over diesels. gas and go!
 
brother has a class a winnebago that looks the same size/chassis.

other than v10 rusty manifold shit it's solid. It tows a single vehicle ok.
 
According the the other thread in chit chat about diesels, apparently any diesel including RV's earlier than 2010 will require a 2010+ repower in 2023 or else you won't be able to register it.

keeping that in mind, a V10 seems significantly more attractive
 
Provience said:
black water tank is the single best part of owning and RV and probably the easiest thing to add.

even if you don't use a 'pane fridge or anything, hooking up a 'pane cooktop and heater plus sink, fresh/gray/black water tanks should be the first things to get done. beds and stuff are easy to put wherever. water and hot food are farking arsesome though
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Shitter and shower are basically 95% of why you get an rv. I would never own a camper or rv without at least some form of those 2.

That v10 will probably be fine untill you hit a big grade and get way up in elevation. Everyone that loves gas for towing seems to not have to go over 7k'+ passes. No replacement for a turbo when you get up there.
 
Had a 4x4 swapped Winnebago with the v10. They like to spin lots of RPMs and suck gas, but otherwise it was fine. I wouldn't want to tow much tho....
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Shitter and shower are basically 95% of why you get an rv. I would never own a camper or rv without at least some form of those 2.

That v10 will probably be fine untill you hit a big grade and get way up in elevation. Everyone that loves gas for towing seems to not have to go over 7k'+ passes. No replacement for a turbo when you get up there.
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Funny, those are the two last things i care about. Just want something comfortable to ride in with a nice bed and somewhere inside to cook breakfast. Really the 24' box trailer for a couple years suited us best out of all the different combos weve had.... something like this just seems like a box trailer with a motor
 
Thatg9659 said:
why the v10 hate? maybe had I put one to max GCVW I wouldn't be asking this question. :laughing: But I'm in the fuck it floor it group when it comes to towing hauling. 4r100 at half or 3/4 throttle in second gear it leaves the TC unlocked, mat it and it locks. :rolleyes:

after 100k of abusing a 24v 5.9 a 7.3 idi I'm over diesels. gas and go!
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Any gasser is going to be slow in a box that big towing. V10/8.1 whatever.
 
We have flat towed a CJ from Sacramento to Ouray Colorado a couple of times with a 33' V10 powered motorhome of similar vintage. We also had a box van with the same engine. Good for around town and flat drives but when you get it in the mountains prepare to hear the engine scream at 60,000rpm or just pull to the right and creep up the hill, it's one or the other.

Not sure what the actual redline is for these engines but when the engine sounds like it is going to bust through the doghouse of the motorhome and climb into your lap that is the right amount of throttle. It helps with short steep climbs to get it moving at 70-80 MPH before you start climbing. I think we calculated the MPG from Sac to Reno at 5 but that is a decent climb.
 
2big bronco said:
Funny, those are the two last things i care about. Just want something comfortable to ride in with a nice bed and somewhere inside to cook breakfast. Really the 24' box trailer for a couple years suited us best out of all the different combos weve had.... something like this just seems like a box trailer with a motor
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How much have you traveled with the whole fam? Having a potty for kids and women's is pretty handy when in the middle of nowhere. Same thing with the shower when the 2 year old throws up curdled milk all over himself :laughing:
 
MigGunslinger said:
We have flat towed a CJ from Sacramento to Ouray Colorado a couple of times with a 33' V10 powered motorhome of similar vintage. We also had a box van with the same engine. Good for around town and flat drives but when you get it in the mountains prepare to hear the engine scream at 60,000rpm or just pull to the right and creep up the hill, it's one or the other.

Not sure what the actual redline is for these engines but when the engine sounds like it is going to bust through the doghouse of the motorhome and climb into your lap that is the right amount of throttle. It helps with short steep climbs to get it moving at 70-80 MPH before you start climbing. I think we calculated the MPG from Sac to Reno at 5 but that is a decent climb.
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A v10 should never get below 3000 rpm. The 5.4L is kind of a dog, adding 2 more pistons really didnt morph it into some power house towing machine. Its merely adequate at this point, 4.30s an absolute minimum.
 
TRINDU said:
A v10 should never get below 3000 rpm. The 5.4L is kind of a dog, adding 2 more pistons really didnt morph it into some power house towing machine. Its merely adequate at this point, 4.30s an absolute minimum.
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Having a 2008 F350 CCLB with the v10, that is exactly the case. Better keep it above 3k for any type of hill. Slide in camper and a 4Runner on a trailer behind is rough especially up the passes in Colorado and nothern NM
 
TRINDU said:
A v10 should never get below 3000 rpm. The 5.4L is kind of a dog, adding 2 more pistons really didn't morph it into some power house towing machine. Its merely adequate at this point, 4.30s an absolute minimum.
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I drove the V10 panel van for years at work before getting the motorhome and never felt bad about flogging the dogshit out of it to get where I'm going. What is the worst that could happen? It pops a few plugs out of the head? Shit we have 10 of them. :lmao: For some reason it feels weird doing that to a motorhome, but that's how you have to drive it to get anywhere. Maybe it's the 10 cylinders but it sounds like it is ready to pop right when it is making power.
 
90supra said:
Having a 2008 F350 CCLB with the v10, that is exactly the case. Better keep it above 3k for any type of hill. Slide in camper and a 4Runner on a trailer behind is rough especially up the passes in Colorado and nothern NM
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MigGunslinger said:
I drove the V10 panel van for years at work before getting the motorhome and never felt bad about flogging the dogshit out of it to get where I'm going. What is the worst that could happen? It pops a few plugs out of the head? Shit we have 10 of them. :lmao: For some reason it feels weird doing that to a motorhome, but that's how you have to drive it to get anywhere. Maybe it's the 10 cylinders but it sounds like it is ready to pop right when it is making power.
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I think they're great in a industrial/commercial application. Or for the guy that tows 2-3 times a year. Something where a diesel is hard to justify. A 3v v10 is a solid platform, and any Ford diesel made that era isnt worth the trouble of scrapping.

A F53 loaded to the gills traversing the mountains of California? Hard pass.
 
Well i just called to go take a look after i got off work and he said he sold it first day with over 40 people wanting to be in line
 
2big bronco said:
Well i just called to go take a look after i got off work and he said he sold it first day with over 40 people wanting to be in line
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Of course, that's an ideal meskin hauler. It's most likely already south of the border.
 
TRINDU said:
A F53 loaded to the gills traversing the mountains of California? Hard pass.
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According to the Fedex Truck pulling triples uphill who shot past me like I was standing still: Easy Pass

It's ok, I caught him on the downhill. :smokin:
 
Would that thing even be much better built then the typical Class A RV on the same chassis? It looks kind of like the same flimsy RV body.




2big bronco said:
Yeah those are front wheel drive with an extra burly version of the super 60. Larger tubes and double cardian joints at the front axle. They did that to drop the floor in the back portion for more head height
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Interesting, I'd guess they just run a tcase to get front drive. Would be pretty easy to make that 4WD if so.
 
Ebs said:
Would that thing even be much better built then the typical Class A RV on the same chassis? It looks kind of like the same flimsy RV body.






Interesting, I'd guess they just run a tcase to get front drive. Would be pretty easy to make that 4WD if so.
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Yes, tcase and fwd only. The problem with making it 4wd would be the driveline and reat axle sharing the same space as your rv floor
 
2big bronco said:
Funny, those are the two last things i care about. Just want something comfortable to ride in with a nice bed and somewhere inside to cook breakfast. Really the 24' box trailer for a couple years suited us best out of all the different combos weve had.... something like this just seems like a box trailer with a motor
Click to expand...

in that case, buy a high top conversion van. much more comfortable to drive, can tow a car trailer or whatever without issue. or get a 12 passanger van, gut it an put what you want in there.

smaller, easier, cheaper, faster, better to drive and lower cost to own/operate.
 
Speaking of V10s, have any of you had trouble with one pinging at higher RPMs? Say over 3500 or so?

I bought a 2004 E450 Class C last year with around 75K on it. Power is decent and about what I expected, but it pings pretty bad and I can't figure out why. Just did new plugs (they were worn, but otherwise looked ok), cleaned the MAF, and checked for vacuum leaks. Tried some 91 octane. No change. It doesn't have EGR, so it isn't that plugged up. No codes set, according to Forscan.

I've seen pinging brought up a bit in the RV forums, but no magic fixes. One said to cycle battery power to "reset" the PCM, which makes his pinging go away for a while. Didn't work for me. A few say that theirs has always pinged and to just ignore it. I just can't do it.

Any ideas?
 
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