For decades, the two main players in the class C chassis-building arena have been Ford and Chevrolet. As Ford increased the capacities of their chassis over the years, their van cutaway gradually became less like a van chassis and more like a truck chassis with a van-style cab attached. Their most recent attempt at furthering that evolution was the E-550, which bore a strong resemblance to the F-550 truck chassis except for its Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR). According to an industry insider, Ford had neglected to equip the chassis to tow more than 1,000 pounds when loaded to its maximum Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR). That meant that it couldn't even tow a dinghy. Combined with a hefty $5,000 price increase over the popular E-450, RV manufacturers did not initially show enough interest for Ford to build it profitably. They simply backed away from the plan, a decision some Ford executives now believe was premature.

At about the time the E-550 was introduced, Freightliner truck chassis began to appear in the mainstream market as the standard chassis for a number of new class C brands. With their chassis' impressive carrying capacity, some of these sizable class C's rival large class A's for living space and luxury. Furthermore, the driver and passenger are largely surrounded by steel, with a significant crush zone in front to absorb impact in the event of a collision. These and other truck-based motor homes, sometimes called chassis mounts, we have dubbed class C+.

Meanwhile, except for one brief and ill-conceived attempt, Chevrolet had not introduced a chassis with additional carrying capacity in a decade. Their market share continued to dwindle as motor homes simply outgrew the platform. Chevy had been sleeping, but perhaps with one eye open. With the Kodiak, they introduced a new line of trucks with shortened, sloping hoods. Soon after, they added a cutaway version of the truck. Now, they had a full-fledged truck chassis that could double as a class C chassis. All they had to do was install a different cab and select components appropriate to the class C. A recent example of the Kodiak cutaway features a 22,000-pound GVWR and 26,000-pound GCWR - enough to pull a dinghy.

Chevy's latest introduction is a higher-GVWR version of its van cutaway chassis, obviously intended to compete head-to-head with Ford's E-450. While this chassis fills the gap between Chevrolet's other van-based and truck-based models, we think they may need to upgrade the engine and transmission if they want to compete with Ford. The new chassis is marketed and serviced in collaboration with Workhorse Custom Chassis, who bought Chevy's class A business several years ago.

And for those few truly "mini" motor homes that are still being built, a new cutaway version of the Sprinter van built in Germany for Daimler-Chrysler will provide a fresh chassis alternative for that under-served market niche. Because they have five-cylinder diesel engines instead of gas-powered V-8's, these smaller class C's may be just what mileage conscious RVers are looking for.

RVCG Staff