Seneca vs E450

[pmdevries]

Hello everyone,

I have been following this forum for a couple of years as my wife and I have been considering purchasing a Seneca. We've looked at them at our local dealer and really love the Seneca's and the M2 chassis. We currently own a E450 based class C and are putting that up for sale, so will be getting very serious about our purchase sometime this year. I have read every Seneca thread on this forum and very much appreciate the information and contributions everyone had made to this forum. I have learned a lot and look forward to doing some of the projects that others have done.

The one question I have at this point is for those of you who came from smaller motorhomes to the Seneca. Our current class C that we are selling is 30'. The Seneca is 38ish feet. Did you find that the bigger size hampered you much in finding campsites, especially in state/national parks etc? I'm not worried about driving it, just worried about maneuvering and getting in to certain types of parks. I'm hoping my worries are overblown

Thanks
Perry

[tjbroussard]

Perry

We went from Ford Class C, to bumper tow, to nothing to Seneca 37FS over the course of 25 years.

My wife would drive the Ford, but I've yet to try her in a large lot with the Seneca.

As for length, my 37FS is actually 40 feet bumper to bumper. Personally, I find the cameras system extremely beneficial in maneuvering in the park IMHO. I often travel locally solo, and my family joins later, so I typically spot the bus on foot first, then do my positioning.

We really enjoy the Seneca.

Good luck,

Terry

[Robbbyr]

We went from a 2006 E-450 Class C that was almost 33 feet long to our Seneca which is very close to 40 feet. So far I have never been excluded from any campground I wanted to visit because of length. Perhaps since, especially in the summer, I seek a 50-amp site those spots generally can accommodate my length. Even the state parks I have visited most have some 50-amp spots these days.

My wife drove both our last Class Cs and drives the Seneca on occasion. She is what I call a "rest area to rest area" driver! She noticed right away the Seneca was far more stable compared to the last Ford-based units we owned. Much less affected by the big trucks passing and light-to-moderate wind gusts. Seneca certainly not immune to all things, but with the Fords you really had to "work" sometimes to keep it in the lane!

I also have noticed that the turning circle is no worse on my Seneca compared to my last Ford, maybe even better. This is likely because of the extra cut the front wheels can make on the Freightliner compared to the E-series Ford. I do have to be more careful with trees and such, my last Ford was 11' 6", the Seneca is 13' 1". Watch the bridges and overhangs!

Another observation - fuel mileage. The best I ever got in my 2006 E-450 was 8.5 mpg. Of course the Seneca is diesel, but I have gotten as good as 11 on flat expressways. So long as diesel doesn't spike in price terribly my fuel costs are less than before. And having more fuel capacity (and better mileage) I appreciate the increase in range. Seems like I was fueling the Ford much more frequently.

And speaking of fueling, sometimes I was very "challenged" to find gasoline pumps where I could get in and out with my last Class C flat-towing a car. Did not want to ever have to disconnect and back up! So I always had to be very selective so I didn't get "trapped". Much less of a problem since I now go to the truck lanes where it is straight in and straight out.

I have not looked back even once since we got our Seneca.

[anav8or]

Everything Rob said. We also went from an E-450-based motorhome to the Seneca. The Seneca was a dream to drive compared to the Ford chassis and we never had a problem getting into a campground.

We've since moved up to a larger Class A and I miss driving the Seneca - the M2 is an excellent platform for a motorhome, in my opinion of course!

[jvteach77]

The sharper turning radius make the seneca easier to drive than an e450. Add to that the better visibility, since you are sitting 2-3ft higher in a seneca and it isn't even close imo.

[pmdevries]

Thanks for the responses guys. Exactly what I was hoping to hear. Even with all the suspension mods I did to our E450 Class C, it still wandered and was pushed by the winds and trucks, especially when towing our jeep. Now my impatience will start to kick in as we try and find a nice, lightly used Seneca. We have pretty much decided on the 36FK, somewhere in the 2014 to 2016 years, as I would like to buy 1 to 2 years old or so.

[Robbbyr]

Good luck with your search!

As you shop you will notice one big difference which took effect for the 2016 model year. That was the addition of air brakes on the Seneca. Prior to 2016 the chassis had 4-wheel hydraulic disc brakes with ABS, the 2016 and newer Senecas have 4-wheel air drum brakes with ABS. Not that either is a detriment, but many will say air brakes do "feel" somewhat different than traditional hydraulic brakes. My Seneca (2014) has the hydraulic brakes and I am very satisfied with how it brakes and have no concerns at all about its stopping ability. And owners of newer units with the air brakes are also very satisfied with their braking. So don't be "scared off" by either braking system. Just know they are somewhat different.

[pmdevries]

Thanks Rob.

I'm familiar with the differences on the 2016's and appreciate your previous threads and knowledge on air brake systems. Either braking system would be fine with me. The only thing about the 2016's I'm not sure if I like or don't like is the air seats. We actually test drove a 16 last summer, but is was a short ride, so not really enough to see if riding in them long term would be a plus or a minus. And then there's the gray color.. But if the price is right...

Perry

[Robbbyr]

Regarding my experience with air seats, I retired from a municipal fire department and many of our trucks had air suspension seats. I can tell you I could never seem to get them adjusted where I liked them. Too high, too low, too bouncy, etc. I preferred trucks that had fixed seats! I have no experience with Freightliner's air seats, perhaps they are easier to "fine tune" to your liking. Maybe some other owners will chime in on the comfort of their air seats.

Another addition on the newer Senecas was the inclusion of the Bilstein front shocks. Much improved over the stock Sachs shocks. I changed mine out to the Bilsteins, not cheap but the highway ride was much improved. No more "porpoising" on the pavement joints like it used to do. So even though I have non-air seats, my Seneca ride is very acceptable and certainly better than my old E-450 Class C.