Chevy vs Ford engines for a Class C

amarie1 · September 8, 2021

Any Chevy-powered motorhome owners out there? I'm buying a 2018 Class C, 25', passed the certified inspection. It has a Chevy 4500 6.0 Liter engine instead of the Ford e450 I'm selling (30' class C). Curious about pluses/minuses for Chevy engines in RVs in regards to reliability, power, gas mileage, engine noise, ease of maintenance and repairs. I know Ford engines have much more market share among class Cs than Chevy's so I'm wondering. Also: does it have a Tow/Haul mode? I relied on that w/my 30' when dealing with steep inclines/declines. Thanks!

mptjelgin · September 8, 2021

I've not owned one, but the Chevy 6.0L engine was produced for ten years (until 2019) and has an excellent reputation for reliability. The 2018 Commercial Vehicle Guide from Chevy shows the E4500 chassis used for RV's can come with two different transmissions, depending on the wheelbase of the chassis. Both transmissions include a tow/haul mode and grade braking, so should be similar to what you had in your Ford.

GlennWest · September 8, 2021

I did a lot of research on class A units. I am assuming class C uses same engines. The Chevy has more power. Both great motors.

Kirk W · September 8, 2021

The main reason that you see so many motorhomes with Ford chassis is that they are the only company who is building a class A chassis with the largest gasoline engines (7.3L) Ford still dominates the class C market as well and pretty much all of the class C gasoline powered market was Ford for a time but Chevy has made inroads into the smaller size class C, cutaway chassis market with their 6.2L engines. It does seem that most American males have a brand preference for cars and trucks that extends to motorhome chassis but as I read the reviews, I doubt that you will have any significant issues with it. Yours would be the 6.0L that has since been replaced by their 6.2L to get more power, but unless you are one of those who wish to race up the steep grades I see no reason to avoid it. My first class A was Chevrolet powered and the second was Ford powered. Both did the job that I asked of them and served us well. We had the Chevy for 9 years and the Ford for 14. The Chevy was 3 years old when we bought it and the Ford was new. Unless the brand name is of major importance to you, I would ignore that since it passed the inspection.

By the way, even though I have owned more Ford power vehicles than any other brand, most times when I changed vehicles I also changed brand names. I tow my travel trailer with a Dodge and at home we drive a VW.