What is an F53 motorhome

[opnspaces]

I've seen a lot of posts lately about problems with an F53 motorhome which got me to thinking. What is an F53? How do I spot one? Should I avoid one if shopping for a new MH?

[MrWizard]

years back the big 3 auto makers ford, gm, Chrysler-Dodge

all had truck chassis being used for MH's

Chrysler quit supplying Dodge truck chassis to the RV industry

GM sold off/spun off, the P30 chassis as the 'Workhorse' line
and that is no longer in production

Ford is the only one presently supplying a Gasoline powered stripped Chassis to the RV industry for 'Class A' MH's
and its been that way for almost a decade

in the 70's Dodge was the most common chassis for Class A, gas driven MH's
right now its Ford chassis, the F53

[4x4van]

jplante4 wrote:

zigzagrv wrote:

jplante4 wrote:
I read an article in an industry mag last year that said that Freightliner was bringing back the Workhorse. With all the major MH builders tooled up for Ford chassis, it'll be a hard sell.

Since GM no longer makes a big block (8.1) what gas engine would they be using?

Here's the article. 6L "DriveForce"

:h Interesting article, but it makes no mention of "Workhorse", and the 6L "DriveForce" engine produces significantly less HP and torque than the 8.1L V8 in my 15 year old Workhorse. Seems to be aimed at the smaller (16K-19K GVWR) class A market.

Currently, Ford (F53) is the ONLY class A gas chassis being produced/used by RV manufacturers, so you will see more online posts regarding the F53 than the Workhorse.

[Chum_lee]

opnspaces wrote:
I've seen a lot of posts lately about problems with an F53 motorhome which got me to thinking. What is an F53? How do I spot one? Should I avoid one if shopping for a new MH?

A few important points. Most Class A gas motorhomes are manufactured/assembled in two parts. The coach, and, the chassis.

The coach, or, the outer shell (and the interior) you see going down the road is manufactured by companies like Fleetwood, Thor, Holiday Rambler, Jayco, Safari, Winnebaqo, etc.

The chassis (or running gear) is manufactured/assembled by Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, etc. Look at the photo in the following link. The photo shows all (most) the components that are usually supplied by the chassis builder, in this case Ford or the F-53. The coach is designed/built by someone else ON TOP OF the chassis provided by Ford.

https://www.ford.com/commercial-trucks/stripped-chassis/models/f53-motorhome/

With some experience you can tell the difference between chassis manufacturers going down the road. The design specifications vary widely between manufacturers depending on what is important to the owner/builder. (payload, suspension/steering type, towing capacity, engine size/type, etc.)

Currently, Ford is the most popular Class A gas motorhome chassis so you can expect most threads for Class A gassers to be about F-53 Fords. It's not a reason for concern.

Chum lee

[JaxDad]

zigzagrv wrote:

jplante4 wrote:
I read an article in an industry mag last year that said that Freightliner was bringing back the Workhorse. With all the major MH builders tooled up for Ford chassis, it'll be a hard sell.

Since GM no longer makes a big block (8.1) what gas engine would they be using?

Freightliner is a Daimler (Mercedes Benz) brand, it would have an engine built by them, or one of their other divisions.

[jplante4]

zigzagrv wrote:

jplante4 wrote:
I read an article in an industry mag last year that said that Freightliner was bringing back the Workhorse. With all the major MH builders tooled up for Ford chassis, it'll be a hard sell.

Since GM no longer makes a big block (8.1) what gas engine would they be using?

Here's the article. 6L "DriveForce"

[timmac]

opnspaces wrote:
I've seen a lot of posts lately about problems with an F53 motorhome which got me to thinking. What is an F53? How do I spot one? Should I avoid one if shopping for a new MH?

Shopping for a new gas class A motorhome will only be on a F-53 chassis..

The F-53 is not that bad of a chassis and all the problems you are hearing is normal for most any motorhome chassis either gas or diesel, they all have there issues..

[4x4van]

jplante4 wrote:
I read an article in an industry mag last year that said that Freightliner was bringing back the Workhorse. With all the major MH builders tooled up for Ford chassis, it'll be a hard sell.

Not at all. IF a Workhorrse chassis were to return, it would be easy for RV manufacturers; there is very little that an RV builder adds to a chassis that is "specific" to the Ford. When the Workhorse was around, many manufacturers offered identical coaches on either chassis.

[zigzagrv]

jplante4 wrote:
I read an article in an industry mag last year that said that Freightliner was bringing back the Workhorse. With all the major MH builders tooled up for Ford chassis, it'll be a hard sell.

Since GM no longer makes a big block (8.1) what gas engine would they be using?

[jplante4]

I read an article in an industry mag last year that said that Freightliner was bringing back the Workhorse. With all the major MH builders tooled up for Ford chassis, it'll be a hard sell.

[blownstang01]

As Nick said, F53 is the chassis built by Ford that many (All ??)gas RV builders use.Don't get too hung up on issues though, they're hundreds of thousands of them out there. So every time a class A has any kind of problem, of course it's and F53 chassis. The diesel pushers have a couple different chassis manufacturer's. But if you look at gas, this is what you get. F53-Click

[opnspaces]

Thanks Nick-B, I don't really have any concerns. I've just seemed to notice posts about F53 chassis (ball joints, fuel pump, wind leaks, radiator etc) and I had no idea what one was. Even though I'm not in the market for a MH I was wondering if it was something I wanted to avoid. It sounds like pretty much every class A gasser that looks kind of like your sig pic, I can see that there are a whole lot of them out there.

[Nick-B]

F53 simply means it is a Class A gas powered motorhome chassis.
Many coach builders use the F53 chassis as it is currently the only Class A gas powered chassis available.
What problems are causing you concern?