Ford vs. Chevy extended vans... rear overhang, significant difference?

[UptownSport]

We had a '78 B300 with those wrap around windows- you'd know exactly the one if you saw it.
Short WB relative length.

Longer WB takes weight from steers; commercial vehicles you have to be careful specifying WB, as you can end up going over/underweight on steer axle.

The poor thing got beaten into the ground- by four, successive teenage kids in the N Wisconsin barrens. Nothing broke.

Best was swapping 8.75-16.5 for 235/85 16. 
Someone finally bought it for storage.

In short: It's how much weight you want on each axle, like many things, probably something you won't spend much time thinking about.

 

[duckwonder]

I have a single wheel 2004 Class B Ford E350 widebody with the shorter wheel base and longer overhang.  I don't know how turning radius is technically determined but I can tell you that the wheel cut is 47 degrees.  I'm still figuring it out, lol, so stay the h*** away from me on the road, but my point is that it is a stressful ride.  Some of that is me learning, and some is the design of the van.  Evidently it is too easy to smash into stuff so Pleasure-Way inset the rear wheels by 4 inches and that does the trick; however, it means a LOT of sway.  It is brutal to drive in a strong side wind, no matter how good the driver is.  It was uncomfortable even hitting a tiny pothole in the road too until I replaced the airbags, that helped a lot but makes for a bouncy schoolbus effect that cracks me up, so I reduced the air in the bags and it seems more balanced now.  The clearance is terrible.  I'll be going 5mph like Bob was saying.  The rear overhang is always an issue that I have to be aware of...not only for fear of smashing it or other things but also for WIND.  Wind on the drive is bad and wind while parked is bad, so I learned that nose into the wind trick and hope to find wind breaks when parked in windy areas.  The percentage for rollover is pretty bad until 2007, I heard that somewhere so take that with a grain of salt, and after that a safety feature was added, but I don't have that.  My plan is to drive as slowly as I need to, try to avoid high side or back winds even if I need to pull over for awhile or stop overnight, and be very, very careful off-road.  I made the wrong choice in vehicle for me maybe but I'm not a builder.  I also plan to distribute my weight as much as I can inside and drive without water or full tanks.  The difference for E350 RV vs van is also about the overall height so a Ford Van may handle a bit better.  Like I said, just learning, but to me that is when everything is the most noticeable and these notes may help someone I don't know, but I imagine I will get a handle on it and it will become more second nature, and I'll have a better idea of what I can and can't do over time.  Still love the van, but if someone has a choice for better handling and can do that, I'd think, do that.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Duck, there are steering stabilizer 'fixes' on the market for the E-series vans, both front and rear axles.....if yours does not have either installed, it might be worth it to upgrade.

 

[duckwonder]

Duck, there are steering stabilizer 'fixes' on the market for the E-series vans, both front and rear axles.....if yours does not have either installed, it might be worth it to upgrade.

Hey thanks Tx, it can't all be user error, lol!  I will definitely look into that. 

 

[tx2sturgis]

Here is a permalink to the latest page of a VERY extensive thread on the Ford Truck Enthusiast forum:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1035634-a-real-econoline-steering-fix.html#post17508115

It will take hours to filter thru all of it, but the basic premise is:

First, the front end needs to be checked for worn components, replace those, and do a full front end alignment.

Next, caster can be adjusted to help the highway manners.

Third, a steering stabilizer kit for the front can be added.

Fourth, a set of sway bars can be added if the ride is still not good.

A lot of money from top to bottom and this is probably not the thread for that discussion so....

Back to the regularly scheduled programming!

 

[MotorVation]

I have an '02 Dodge 3500 15 passenger window van. There was extensive testing on the Chevy, Ford and Dodge 15 passengers and their tendency to flip over during extreme maneuvering such as veering to avoid obstacles. These tests were carried out with 15, 150lb dummies filled with water belted to the seats. This raised the center of gravity of the vehicles and along with adding the weight behind the rear axle there were a lot of fatal accidents. The Chevy didn't have all the extra weight behind the axle due to the longer wheelbase but is still top heavy under the conditions mentioned earlier. The rear end of the vans would lose traction and once that happened it is almost impossible to control and most drivers would over-steer to try to correct and that would cause the rollover.

Keep in mind that the passengers were sitting on seats about a foot or so above the floor so that's what really screws up the center of gravity.

I'm going to keep heavy items such as batteries etc on the floor and if I do add a large fresh water tank I may mount it under the van. I haven't decided on that yet.

I can tell you this. These vans are not sports cars. I drive mine with the respect it deserves and never forget that it's a truck. A heavy truck. A heavy truck that can lose traction if I steer too hard, especially in the rain or snow.

There are several videos on YouTube about these vans including at least one actual instructional driving video.

I haven't been off road very much with mine (yet) but haven't had any problems with the rear end grounding out on driveways etc..