Ford e350 frame versus Chevy 3500 frame

[zip]

Sold my Sportsmobile e350 with quigley 4wd.
Bought a Roadtrek 190.
Could go Chevy IFS 4WD, or ford straight front axle 4wd.
Just saw on another site a couple of guys arguing about frame strength.
The Ford guy is saying that the Chevy frames are not as strong as the Ford.
Chevy guy sez he has never heard this.

anyone here know?

 

[vintageracer]

what year models are you talking about?

 

[zuke]

I've never heard that, but what is the Ford Guy's actual claim? They're both one ton frames, so unless the Chevy frame is going to collapse like a house of cards as soon as you get a 4 wheel drive axle near it, I don't see where an incremental increase in strength is that big of a deal....

 

[TexomaPowerboater]

Frame is of no concern IMO, but yes I have heard that before. The frames get reinforced in the 4x4 conversion. The key differences are the approach, breakover, and departure angles. Chevy IFS will have a much better ride than straight axle Ford 4x4, but it also won't be able to handle as much weight as the Ford. A Chevy IFS with Coil Over conversion from weldtech would be best riding 4x4 van IMO. I think the Chevy drivetrain is much better. I've never once seen a thread or even a sale description on a chevy describing how they needed to "bulletproof" the transmission and engine. Can't stand the noise or smell of any ford diesel, but really like the duramax.........although I have heard it's toned down quite a bit over truck versions and does not get Atlas transmission because it's too big for the floor, thus the lower powered duramax.

Yeah I'm a bit biased, I drive a 02 Chevy with Quigley IFS, 350 motor. Been a chevy guy all my life.

 

[zip]

My van is a 2004.

Here is a snip from another thread on this site:

" I found one of the van convertors in Oregon who was at the time converting a Chevy van so I went to take a look. The guys there told me they would convert a GM van to 4x4 but only under protest. Two reasons. You ended up with a GM van with a lot of Ford parts so getting it serviced was a problem. The other was - even though the GM van was now built body on frame, the frame was not nearly as rigid as the Ford. They had a deep ditch on their lot where they could test a rig's resistant to twist when crossing that ditch at an angle, and also check on how the suspension worked. The Chevy van's frame twisted so badly that the front bumper actually made hard contact with the body of the van. The Ford van, on the other hand, did not exhibit any noticeable twist and that decided it for me."

 

[villageidiot327]

poppycock.

you can flex a ford van so much the doors won't open.

 

[vintageracer]

So I guess that confirm's it.

BOTH the Chevy and the Ford have a POS frame and neither should be converted to 4WD!

 

[Corneilius]

So I guess that confirm's it.

BOTH the Chevy and the Ford have a POS frame and neither should be converted to 4WD!

End of thread. Everyone go home.

 

[Len.Barron]

I can't comment on the ford frame, but, I can't imagine needing a better frame than the 2500/3500 (2003 and up) Chevy frame, it is exceptionally well built, tall fully boxed rectangular design, exactly the kind of platform you want to build off of.. there are just always going to be Ford or Chevy guys...they will never concede one is better than the other. Out of all the van builds I've read about, failures related to frame weakness/inferior design totaled up to exactly zero..
Buy and build what you like...they all require a ton of work to do properly..

 

[ericvs]

You should talk to Brady @ Sportsman Light Truck in Kamloops. They do tons of chevy 4x4 conversions using stock Chevy (IFS) parts. Brady was mentioning that they have a bunch of converted trucks up in the oil fields in AB so they take a ton of abuse and minimal issues. Might be worth a call, get the information right from the source

https://www.sportsman4x4.com/

My friend just got his 2009 converted up there and he is super happy with it, it turned out great.

 

[wgeyer88]

If you search on YouTube for “Chevy vs ford frame flex” it shows how much more ford trucks flex over Chevy trucks. I️ can’t believe Chevy would make their van frames that much weaker than the trucks. Or did they?

 

[TexomaPowerboater]

I would advise to run the opposite direction of any company or person building Chevy 4x4 van conversions with Ford parts.

 

[Lunchbox2]

I would advise to run the opposite direction of any company or person building Chevy 4x4 van conversions with Ford parts.

Superduty axles are a great option for the solid axle crowd, they also usually use the coils and radius arms. I don't see any problems with that...

 

[Lunchbox2]

I converted a chevy G-van, which is a unibody, and I wheel the SNOT out of it (probably harder than 99% of 4x4 vanners). I figure if this old unibody can hold up to the abuse I put it through, EITHER ONE of the newer ford OR chevy van frames will be just fine. Pick the van that suits you the best and roll with it!

 

[TexomaPowerboater]

Superduty axles are a great option for the solid axle crowd, they also usually use the coils and radius arms. I don't see any problems with that...

I agree if your going straight axle. Thought most were using IFS for the chevy's.