I’ve always rather liked these truck-chassis based Class C rigs, as compared to the van-based ones (like my Chinook). Why? Precisely for the reason the owner of this one is glad he has one now: much easier access to the engine compartment. Accessing the front of my Dodge is like working through a mail slot. These truck-based campers were of course prevalent before the van-based chassis mostly took over after about 1971 or so, although there were still some made later. And now I’m seeing some new ones again, using the Dodge medium-duty chassis with the Cummins engine. Good call.
Don’t forget legroom too. Most Econoline RV’s have me sitting with my legs bent upward and trapped against dash and console even with the seat all the way back. If I’m driving a 20″ long vehicle, I don’t see the point in saving a foot of hood to make the driving experience so terrible. I also like all the new RV’s with Ram and Ford Super Duty chassis cabs as opposed to the vans.
Legroom: good point. The Dodge cab is pretty miserable, the leg room on the passenger side is a joke, as the engine is offset.
The last time I drove a U-haul, built on a Ford van, I decided that sacrificing 2 or 3 feet of living space in my dream RV would be worth it for a true footwell.
If you’re driving a 20″ vehicle, I want pics…
I am convinced that this is the reason that the older vehicles get, the heavier the concentration becomes of old pickups and big rwd sedans. With a new car, ease of service just isn’t really a consideration. When they get some age on them, however, there is always something to fix. I would much rather work on an old rwd truck than about anything else. The Econolines are probably easier to work on than the other vans, but they are no match for a pickup when it comes to being able to access stuff.
…and if there is any doubt at all about these views, go and look under the hood of any 2005 or later Ford pickup. Yep, there’s a motor there somewhere, back under the windshield….
The other consideration, is walk-through ability versus having to get out of the cab, walk to the side or rear, and climb in. Of course, in this day and age, someone could fabricate a cab-cut that would allow walking into the cab…but since the cab body is not integral with the chassis, firming it up with the RV body would be some work.
The other side of that is, U-Haul created a fiberglass cab extension for some of their cutaway cargo-box vans. And I’d imagine many RV makers do or could stretch the front seats back into the “living area” four or five inches.
I speak from no Ford experience, but what you say makes sense.
If this was a Chevrolet, I’d much rather have the van-based version — mostly due to distributor placement. I find the G-van much easier to work on than the light trucks. Everything on the G is easy to replace except the engine assembly itself.
Except the spark plugs on the passenger side with a small block, since they are in line with the top of the frame and so close due to the offset. But yeah doing anything to the distributor is much easier in the G than the C/K.
A number of companies are now doing chassis mounts on MD trucks. They cut out the back of the cab so you have walk through access.
Another thing to consider is safety. The passengers of van-based RV’s (or of the really big all-in-one units) are subject to flying cabinetry in an accident, not to mention splinters from the structure.
If you hit anything hard enough in a van to cause those sorts of problems, you’re probably already on your way to your final reward.
That’s a good point…
Spent a few nights sleeping in an old Ford that looked like that. Owned a 1959 school bus that had been converted (just sold 2 mos. ago) and a 79 cube van. Both were chevies with the 350 small block. The cube van was the hardest working vehicle I ever owned. I know cars are better now but I am severely handicapped with nostalgia when I think of them.
I would never go back to the school bus. Needed a mechanic for an owner. Not the engine or transmission. Things like the brakes made it hard to find a mechanic. The cube van is another deal. Could have been an RV just as easily and was worth having. Sold it to a guy to deliver furniture. Could be running still for all I know.