Freightliner Chassis

[BIGNASTY]

When a Diesel Motor home says it has been built on a Freightliner Chassis what all does that entail? all frame, suspension, drive line components braking systems or what?

IE: Newmar Ventana LE


ME

 

[BLNRAY]

complete chassis,bumper hanger to end of frame,suspension,steering all made by freightliner.i have seen the chassis being driven around on the motorhome assembly factories with a driver sitting on a wooden boxndriving a bare powered chassis into the assembly plant.

 

[mwilson]

Get me the chassis VIN and I will print you off a spec sheet for it. There are two serial numbers on a motor home, one for the chassis (17 digits long) and another for the coach.

 

[BIGNASTY]

So if any thing goes wrong with the chassis can it be taken to a Freightliner dealer to be fixed?

Also nobody said anything about the motor both of the units in question are cummins powered one is a 400 to 450 HP cummins ISL the other is a ISB 340 LT the chassis is XCR sorry Mike don't have the VIN just yet

 

[BIGNASTY]

http://www.newmarcorp.com/resources/brochures-archive


Diesel or luxury are the ones in question

 

[NIsaacs]

Go with the ISL, the ISB is too small for a Coach that size, especially if you tow something.

Nick

 

[SnoKing]

When friends have their motorhomes serviced at freightliner dealers the bill is a lot higher than I would be able to pay on an on going bases. Motorhome ownership cost a lot more that diesel pickup and 5th wheel! The upside is that you get really qualified people working on your rig.

Chris

 

[mwilson]

Big,

Browse this for a little more info....

http://freightlinerchassis.com/RV-Chassis/rv-chassis-article/menu-id-150.html


Mike.

 

[BIGNASTY]

When friends have their motorhomes serviced at freightliner dealers the bill is a lot higher than I would be able to pay on an on going bases. Motorhome ownership cost a lot more that diesel pickup and 5th wheel! The upside is that you get really qualified people working on your rig.

Chris

We had NEVER gave much thought to a motorhome until about a month ago. FIL has a Prevost (totally out of my league) but driving it was great the convenience having things at your (or the wife's) fingertips while driving was really nice. We towed a enclosed trailer with a little pickup in it for use around town when stopped. We also liked the idea of travel at night and passenger or er's could go to sleep in a BED as I made time going to another stop at night (im kind of a night owl when I drive) We have been thinking of a smaller (than the prevost) unit to go to the warmer climates for visits which is what we did this year. JUST KICKING AROUND IDEAS

So with that in mind I could go to all the TDR guys and get your address's and come visit like Cousin Eddy in National Lampoon park in your driveway!!

 

[BIGNASTY]

Big,

Browse this for a little more info....

http://freightlinerchassis.com/RV-Chassis/rv-chassis-article/menu-id-150.html


Mike.

Thanks Mike I took a look at the XCR Chassis it seems that the length of Motorhome we have been thinking about is kind of stuck with the ISB motor, Like Nick I don't think that the motor that is used in our trucks is going to be enough to be what im looking for in power especially towing a dingy truck or trailer. I noticed in the link you gave it showed the use of the ISB,ISL,ISC motors, am I to assume that either of these motors are put into the chassis FROM freightliner? it would just be if the motorhome company could work their product around the other motors I would think?

We have been looking around and most of the other motorhome manufactures have the Max Force motors, Detroit and the ones that we cant see us going into have the large displacement Cummins and Volvo motors.

Thanks for the help as always Mike you are the man with the #'s

BIG

 

[SnoKing]

Cummins and Cats are the two most used MH engines over the years. I believe the Maxx Force motorhome engine is a bit of a bomb! So if you are looking at the smaller diesel pushers(used) many had the CATs and rear radiators. The CAT 330-350 used have a bit of blow by and the rear radiator has to be cleaned quite often which is a hasty job. DIY is simple green in a garden sprayer, leaf blower and water, and a hazmat suit!

Side radiators flow the air in, where rear radiators flow the air out!

Lots of complex system on larger MHs, like Hydronic boilers, lots of electric STUFF inverters, generators, combiners for battery banks and multiple electrical panels!!!

Chris

 

[Jim W]

Big, This is the one that I like it is built on a Freightliner M2 chassis with Cab and can be ordered with the 9.0L ISC Cummins engine. It is made by Dynaquest in IN and is a super C model. The retail price is between $217,000 to $360,000 depending on options. There is a lot to choose from out in the market place today but if I was ready to give up the 5er and pick-up truck this is the way I would go camping.


Jim W.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Big, This is the one that I like it is built on a Freightliner M2 chassis with Cab and can be ordered with the 9.0L ISC Cummins engine. It is made by Dynaquest in IN and is a super C model. The retail price is between $217,000 to $360,000 depending on options. There is a lot to choose from out in the market place today but if I was ready to give up the 5er and pick-up truck this is the way I would go camping.


Jim W.

Nice looking rigs I like the GT for the fact that the Cummins 525 HP ISX alone!!! GC370GT floor plan

Don't know that much about Freightliner lineup of cabs, I do know a little about a Columbia cab. When I worked they bought some with Mercedes motor (I think) Although never had one of them for any length of time they seem to work pretty good for what they were (gas trucks around town) The Columbia cabs seem to be the Problem, they didn't hold up well, ( I know drivers were most of the problem with this part) the cab had PLENTY of leg room, the controls were not the most ergonomic to use I had to lean forward from the seat back to reach the dash, and even with the steering wheel fully extended it seem that I had to reach for it.

Don't know if the Columbia is the economy model cab? Never been in the Cascadia or Coronado so I have no opinion on them, which is what this model is built on. I like Paccar Trucks, But really don't suspect that they would be any different now days!!

Thanks for the heads up Jim

BIG

 

[SnoKing]

The problem with a FRED is that you put up with the engine noise. With a pusher, you hardly hear it run. Chris

 

[BIGNASTY]

The problem with a FRED is that you put up with the engine noise. With a pusher, you hardly hear it run. Chris

I know about the lack of noise with the rear motor I can not hear the in-laws motor on his but with the price tag YOU HAD BETTER NOT!! with as many years of truck driving as I have, having the motor up front, I dont think is going to be a problem. Most of the motors now days are low RPM and the sound proofing is done pretty well. I roll with the window down most always even in the cold its down some, and the radio is at more than most like volume or I have on Head phones and a separate volume control for the outside speakers.

The thing that I do MOST DEFINITELY LIKE about the truck cab idea is the drivers height and visibility out the windshield, on the bus the drivers seat sets to low, not a bad thing on the open Hwy, but when driving thru a city I leave a little more room between the front of me and the car in front of me (force of habit driving tankers) and with the bus I leave even more because I cant see as well sitting so low, 4 wheeler's tend to dive in-front of me alot. I like to look VERY far ahead to see what's happening, another habit from a constantly moving load.

 

[Shadrach]

Prevost used to use Detroit Diesel exclusively until Volvo bought them. Of course I would vote for a Cummins engine and Fruitliner ( sorry Mike :-laf ) does make a good chassis. The smaller motorhomes in general have the rear radiator and you can't see the engine at all. The larger ones have a side rad and you can see ( and service ) the engine from the back, to a certain extent of course. With the HPCR engine a front engine unit isn't as bad as years ago, but you do lose floor space. Also check out these : http://www.renegaderv.com/.

From an engine point of view the ISB of course is similar to our Dodges, either a 5.9 or a 6.7. The next size up is the ISC which is a 8.3 litre, then the ISL which is a 8.9 ( 9 litre) then the ISM is an 11 litre and the ISX which is a 15 litre and can go a high as 650 HP. They don't hold up traffic If you want one with a built in exhaust brake then you start at the ISM, but if looking at an earlier version, make sure there is enough room to get the valve cover off as when they first started adding the brake there wasn't enough room because it adds several inches to the height of the engine. You don't want to know what it costs to do a valve set on one of those. You want one with enough power to tow a toad ( or dingy ) unless you get one with a garage but I don't think that is your style.

Onan generators ( a part of Cummins ) power most of the RV market in general. You can get an 8, 10 or even a 12 KW unit in big coaches. In a diesel unit they will most likely be diesel powered as well, but I have seen some cheaper units use propane powered generators.

If you have any questions about Onan or Cummins RV engines please feel free to contact me. A model or ESN would be helpful. While I'll be the first to admit I don't know everything I do have a little bit of experience with both of them. David

 

[Wayne M.]

Hey Big, good luck on the coach search. I always liked the conventional chassis/ coach body but you can't beat a fwd control coach for space and convenience. I've been to a couple RV shows and I'm always impressed!

I would stick with cummins. There is always a big C sign wherever you go! I don't recall where I read it, if it was here on the TDR, or elsewhere, but someone was crowing about how expensive the ISX is to repair. The ISM is a real bread n butter engine, and it's got that certain tone the L10/ M11's always had.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Have an APPOINTMENT!! to see this one. It looks very nice. I asked the wife about the price tag? she said yes, but im not sure that I want to spend MORE than what our property, house, barn and all equipment is worth to use this as much as we would.

THAT'S A FAIR CHUNK OF CHANGE!! But it LOOKS NICE!! has two others that are not listed about the same spec's

https://www.crestonrv.com/listing.php?model_number=6751

 

[SnoKing]

Have an APPOINTMENT!! to see this one. It looks very nice. I asked the wife about the price tag? she said yes, but im not sure that I want to spend MORE than what our property, house, barn and all equipment is worth to use this as much as we would.

THAT'S A FAIR CHUNK OF CHANGE!! But it LOOKS NICE!! has two others that are not listed about the same spec's

https://www.crestonrv.com/listing.php?model_number=6751

The living room TV looks to small, ask them to knock off a couple hundred K. Chris

 

[SHobbs]

Do yourself a favor and look into Good Sams extended service plan and see if the coach qualifies for the plan. I have had the service plan on my fifth wheel since new and any repair is only a $100 deductible, no bs either it works. The plan costs me around $42 a month, I could lower it a bit if I raised the deductible. On motor homes the engines are covered as well.