Let's start with the basics when it comes to RV's. What I would like to do is to cover all the different types of RV's that are currently in the market place. It has evolved over the years, but for the most part these are really the different variations of RV's that are out there now:
Class A Motorhomes - These motorhomes are built on a platform, and it this case it is either a gas platform or a diesel platform. See my examples below.
Gas Platform
Diesel Platform
What's the Difference between the too?
On a gas platform the engine is in the front and will already have the steering wheel assembly ready for the manufacturing company to start building upon. On the diesel platform the engine is in the rear, hence the word DIESEL PUSHER. More than likely it to will have the front steering assembly and maybe even some sort of a front fire wall when it comes from the OEM.
In the Class A gas market their is only one player in the market and that is Ford. The chassis that is used is the F 53 Class A chassis. The F 53 Ford chassis are powerec by the Ford 6.8L 3 valve V10 with 6 speed TorqShift automatic transmission.The 6.8L features a free-breathing 3-value-per-cyclinder induction system and generates an impressive 320 horsepower and 460 lb ft. of torque.
In the Class A diesel market their are a couple of players. The most widely used is the Freightliner diesel chassis, and on most of the upper end diesels, the other manufacturer is Spartan. Their are a number of different chassis configurations along with different engine combinations on the diesel pushers and I would like to do a whole separate blog on just diesel pushers at a later date.
Class B Motorhomes Same as above that Class B motorhomes can come in either a gas or diesel version. In the market place you have a couple of different options when it comes to platforms. You have the Mercedes diesel platform and also Ford has the transit gas platform.
Mercedes Platform
Mercedes Platform CutAway
Not to get to confusing at this point, but you can build on the Mercedes as an enclosed van or also use the cutaway and build a house on the back. More to cover on that later as we step in B's and B+'s. Some will even refer to the cutaway as a Class C. But, I don't want to create to much confusion now.
Ford Transit Platform
Ford Transit Cutaway Van
Pretty much that same applies here with either a Class B or having the box build on the back and now it's a Class B+. Again, if this were built with an overhead bunk it would slide into the Class C market. More to come on this in a later chapter.
Class C Motorhomes The Class C market is mainly characterized by a gas platform. However, some manufacturers have used a diesel platform from above and built their Class C product on a diesel Mercedes platform. You don't see it a lot, but it is out there and I want to make you aware of it. Traditional Class C's will always have a bunk above the driver and passenger seats. In this section we will also introduce the SUPER C, which brings a whole other segment of RV's into this section. Pictures are always worth a thousand words, so I will show you a number of pics that will help paint the picture of this segment.
Ford E-450 Cutaway RV Chassis
Ford E-350 Cutaway RV Chassis
Yes, it's hard to tell the difference between the two.
Chevrolet Express Cutaway
At this point, we also have to introduce you into the Super C market with some of the following chassis's that are being built in the market place.
Ford F-500 chassis
Freightliner Super C platform
Well, I think this covers a very broad spectrum of the RV industry and the different segments that are out there in the motorized markets. Their are some smaller companies building RV's basically from one of these foundations and marketing to the public, but for the most part all of your bigger companies are building RV's in these segments.
This should be a good start for us on the motorized side of things. Next, we will go over the non-motorized segments with TT, FW, and smaller tent camps.
Hope all this helps,
The RV Concierge
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