Retired JSO
Florida
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Joined: 01/28/2009
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We are looking into the future, maybe 2 years off. We then would like to purchase a Super C rig. I have read that GM has stopped making the Kodiak and Top-Kick trucks. What chassis will company's like Jayco use? Does any one have some reasonable idea if International will be the only alternative?
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The Texan
Summer: Cascade, Idaho - Winter: A Warm Climate
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Joined: 01/16/2004
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Ford makes a very fine replacement for the dead GM models. I would think that the F-650 would be an ideal replacement and Ford give you the choice of engines and transmissions with the F-650.
You're right, I did mean 650 and it is around the same price the Top Kick was.
* This post was
edited 09/30/09 05:32pm by The Texan *
Bob & Betsy - USN Ret'd '78 & FL LEO Ret'd '03 & FT Class of 2002
'05 HR Endeavor 40PRQ, 400 Cummins -With-'05 GMC Sierra SLT, CC, Z-71, the pusher & our '07 Arctic Cat 500A & '08 Suzuki KQ 400A, riding in the pusher.
Where the wheels are stopped
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carringb
Corvallis, OR
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Texan - I think you mean F650. There hasn't been an F600 in a couple decades.
The F650 is a MUCH more expensive chassis than the Topkick/Kodiak 5500. Enough so I don't think it would be used for much more than the market it is used for now... The premium Super Cs.
Maybe Ford will step up and re-introduce the E550. After all it was just an F53 chassis and driveline mated to an E-series powertrain and cab. I'd bet the never even got rid of the tooling from the first go-around.
The reason Ford cancelled it was it couldn't meet the price point of the Topkick/kodiak, so projected sale weren't high enough to justify it. But as we've now learned... GM priced the 5500 chassis low enough to capture the market, but well below the point to be profitable.
Chassis specs between the GM 5500 and Ford E550 were VERY similar. Frame specs, frame width, cab to axle distances, are all the same. Which is how the first super Cs transitioned from Ford to GM so easy.
Bryan
2000 Ford E350 DRW Wagon (14-pass all captains chairs)
V10 w/ Banks PowerPack, Diablo Predator, 4.56 LS, 250,000+ miles
Had: Weekend Warrior 41' FSW
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goldenman
Ohio
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I agree- Ford bring back the E550 chassis.
I love mine!
Bruce
2003 E550 Conquest 6330
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tatest
Oklahoma
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Freightliner (a subsidiary of Daimler), International, and Ford still manufacture conventional cab trucks at the lower end of "medium" duty, DOT Class 5 and 6 (most of the Kodiak C RV's were Class 5 or up-rated 5).
If U.S. RV buyers can be persuaded to accept cab-forward designs, there are a number of suppliers for truck chassis in the class 6 range (Toyota, Isuzu, Ford, Hino, etc). That is, if the buyers can accept turbo-diesel engines rated for 100% duty cycle, rather than the Duramax ratings for short-duration peaks that GM advertised to satisfy the pickup truck mental street-racing culture.
Ford and Dodge are also currently marketing DOT Class 4 chassis using their standard (Dodge) or "SuperDuty" (Ford) cab designs. These overlap the lower end of Kodiak/Sierra, which was what the RV industry was using: Class 4 and up-rated Class 4 (rather than true Class 5-6 Kodiak models that would required down-rating engine power to meet the service specifications).
Tom Test
Itasca Spirit 29B
2001 Ranger Edge
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cm
Dillon, CO USA
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Compare the size of the cab between a C-5500 and a E-550. The C-5500 is a MDT (Medium Duty Truck) sized cab. More room, easier engine access.
Also the Class 6 cab and chassis will be between $12,000 and $20,000 more expensive than the Class 5 chassis. Also the choice of engine and transmission comes at a higher price.
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JTCHess
Woodbridge, VA
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I have seen several reports out of Detroit, the latest report came out on Labor Day, that GM medium duty truck production is close to resuming, albeit not as GM. If this is true I suspect they will be Isuzu branded. The plants assembly equipment remains in place and agreements with the union have either been finalized or are in the final process of being negotiated. Time will tell. I'll post the web site where I learned some of this from when I get home. I beleive it was diesel page or diesel resource, a web site dedicated to GM diesel pickups with a medium duty discussion section in the forums.
John
2008 Winnebago 31C Outlook, Chevy Chassis
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Retired JSO
Florida
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JTCHess wrote:I have seen several reports out of Detroit, the latest report came out on Labor Day, that GM medium duty truck production is close to resuming, albeit not as GM. If this is true I suspect they will be Isuzu branded. The plants assembly equipment remains in place and agreements with the union have either been finalized or are in the final process of being negotiated. Time will tell. I'll post the web site where I learned some of this from when I get home. I beleive it was diesel page or diesel resource, a web site dedicated to GM diesel pickups with a medium duty discussion section in the forums.
John
Thanks John.
I too was thinking about Freightliner and International but their equipment is a bit more expensive than the Kodiak/Top-Kick.
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goodcruisin
Greenwood, IN
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I'm starting to see a lot of Hino chassis under large panel and garbage trucks around here. Someone may start using them in the RV world.
John (USN Ret) and Debbie
The Paw Pack (Freckles, Stinky & Ranger)
'96 Monaco Windsor 36' DP 8.3L Cummins
Ready Brake w/ Demco Excali-bar
'03 Ford Explorer (Toad)
'04 Honda Insight
'04 Volvo S80 AWD
240" Dragster 540 BBC
14' Boat 9.9 Mercury
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dbear
Hilton, NY
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goodcruisin wrote:I'm starting to see a lot of Hino chassis under large panel and garbage trucks around here. Someone may start using them in the RV world.
I mentioned this in another thread on this forum. Thought I'd put it here too as it pertains.
Hino Trucks would need some different engine options.
Their class 4 (models 145 & 165) and class 5 (model 185) only use a 175 HP, 376 lb-ft, 4.7L 4 cylinder; their class 6 (models 238, 258, & 268) use a 220 HP, 520 lb-ft, 7.7L 6 cylinder, and their class 7 (model 338) uses the same engine as the class 6, but increases the numbers only to 260 HP with 585 lb-ft.
Not really the numbers I'd want especially on a Super C. I might be wrong, but I'm thinking many folks get the Super C's for the increased towing they offer vs conventional C's. A Hino-based RV with the above numbers would be a dog getting just itself over some of the mountains out west, let alone do it pulling an extra 5k to 7k pounds.
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