chassis

[trish1958]

We are considering upgrading our '04 32' Dolphin to a new ('08 or'07) 35' Dolphin. We would like to get some opinions on the available chassis. We have the W-22 now and are happy with it. Is W-24 better? How good is the Ford chassis for that model?

[trish1958]

We are considering upgrading our '04 32' Dolphin to a new ('08 or'07) 35' Dolphin. We would like to get some opinions on the available chassis. We have the W-22 now and are happy with it. Is W-24 better? How good is the Ford chassis for that model?

[Fred and Bonnie]

I like the W24 with the extra chassis capacity, however NRV made very few units on this chassis. We have friends with a Sea Breeze on the Ford chassis and they are very happy with the ride and service. Keep in mind there are only a few new '08 models on the market and they will probably be gone by this fall.

Fred

[Richard S.]

Love the ford chassie, The new v10 and 5 speed transmission are great. Had my coach weighed and adjusted tire pressure to match the load it just handles great in the wind and when big rigs pass. Front Track bar,big sway bars front and rear are standard also have 22.5 wheels

[rkerber]

I think the new 362 HP Ford's came out in 2006, at least that is what I was told when I bought mine. I love the Ford's ride but you will find just as many who will only buy the workhorse's. It is a Ford vs Chevy thing. If it is not important to you, just pick the best kept rig at the best price.

[Fred and Bonnie]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by rkerber:
I think the new 362 HP Ford's came out in 2006, at least that is what I was told when I bought mine. I love the Ford's ride but you will find just as many who will only buy the workhorse's. It is a Ford vs Chevy thing. If it is not important to you, just pick the best kept rig at the best price. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Rick, you are absolutely correct, if the floor plan doesn't feel comfortable, you will never be happy, regardless of how well you like the chassis.

Keep in mind you will be spending much more time sitting still than going down the highway.

Fred

[Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376]

Our Dolphin is built on a W24. I was after the Allison Transmission and was lucky we found ours with it as they come on Workhorse chassis. I made a few inquiries about the difference between the two before we bought ours. Not from practical experience, I was told that if we planned on towing, the W24 GM engine / Allison tranny would be the setup to use. Back in the mid nineties there were a lot of issues with Ford transmissions in RVs. Maybe those issues have long been resolved.
We are very happy with our W24. It handles well and even with the 07 Wrangler in tow, it's a very capable platform and regarded as very reliable.

[trish1958]

Thanks for all the info. Beaudry Tucson has a W24 35' Dolphin and I have been trying to deal with them. I say "trying" because the salesman became ill and I have not been able to get any info for over a week. I wonder if business is so good there they don't really need any new sales. Or perhaps they don't think we are serious about traveling 2000 miles to make the trade. Oh well, I try to live by if its meant to be it will happen! I appreciate this site and all the useful information I have received. I have thoroughly read all the posts on the unit pricing and hope they will make a serious price reduction from their "Dealer List".

Trish

[Jestme13]

Trish, have you contacted Lazy Dayz in FL.

Ask for the sales manager at Beaudrys, he will respond. Use their e-mail !

[Our Cow]

Check with Le Mesa across the street from Beaudrys. Work them against each other to get your best price. Good luck and be smart!!

[tropical36]

Go with Workhorse and which ever one has the Allison super tranny with a parking pawl ...and no auto park to concern yourself with...
Trust me on this!

[trish1958]

dpg--I have to ask, what is a parking pawl??? We are still looking at '08 35' Dolphins with W-24 chassis. Holding out for a decent deal. I'm not opposed to someone making a profit but my goodness these dealers are greedy. We now are working with a dealer in So. Georgia. They seemed more concerned about moving the National products since the bankruptcy and admit that current or previous National customers are going to be the ones interested. However, the entire purchase process makes my stomach churn, but I guess that is a subject for another thread. Thanks for your response.
Trish

[tropical36]

A transmission parking pawl is an internal lock so to speak, like your car has, so even without the parking brake on, the vehicle won't roll.
When the coaches got too heavy, GM, especially, quit providing the pawl and instead came up with ...auto park...which is an automatic drive shaft parking brake...and that's all the coach has. There are miles and miles of thread on these and other forums concerning this infamous system.
I know some of the newer workhorse chassis models with the allison transmission have the pawl again, along with a manual driveshaft brake and have completely discarded that sometimes troublesome system. I'm assuming you don't know what you have in your present coach, which might be a good thing, instead of being paranoid about every trip you take. I have the system, have educated myself on it somewhat and have learned to live with it, I think.
If DriVer would intervene here, you'd have a complete knowledge of what years and which models have what I'm describing here, or you can call workhorse and have them help you with this.
If you need to PM the DriVer, try this link...
http://irv2.infopop.cc/eve/personal?...e&u=3116047352