8.1 L Reliability

[BEBOP]

10,000 on mine now as of winter layup and never a problem with the engine. We couldn't use it the first two years because it was either back at the factory or in the shop with 145 warranty problems. Not to mention that the factory driver wrecked one side of it in the gas station, when picking it up at my workhorse shop. sure they fixed it, but.........
However...........I have been through 145 other warranty problems but very few of them were with the workhorse chasses.
Bebop

[DriVer]

65,000+ miles and the engine purrs like a kitten, it has probably never run any better than it does today which is most definitely great!

[Oemtech]

Ed,

I think you missed Advertising 101. You can make it 300,000 if you want... But, the key item is 5 years. Workhorse, GM and Allison know that the average motorhome owner puts less than 20,000 miles a year on. So, it sounds good, looks even better in print and is almost worthless in practicality. Even DriVer will not make the 100k mark before the 5 years is up unless he does 35,000 before Dec 08, thats assuming his anniversary date is Dec.

As Bruceh said his 5 years was up and the 100k part did not apply..

[edgray]

Dale: I didn't miss anything, but you're free to think whatever you want. I'm completely capable, as are most other members here, to understand that the WARRANTY is 5 years or 100,000 mile WHCHEVER comes first. I happen to agree that "most" RVers will run out of WARRANTY because of time, not mileage, but that does NOT mean that their WARRANTY is nothing more than advertising hype as you keep insisting. It is not "practically worthless" if an owner has 40,000 miles and 4 years (that's only 10,000 miles per year). I know you make frequent "short" trips with your coach and have not racked up a lot of miles, but there are owners out there who add 10-15,000 miles per year. Unlike you and I who only got the 3/36,000 warranty, these newer owners got more than worthless advertising.

Go back upthread and you will see that bruceh did not clarify his out of warranty statement until after I posted a refernece to his situation.

Why pick on DriVer? I've got more trouble free miles than he does.

ED

[roy goble]

The 5 years is 67% longer than most of us had. The mileage just insures that we get the full 5 years. The extension was a corporate decision from GM, and we were lucky enough to be included. Some people on this forum seem to be very negative, and must live very sad lives.

[Oemtech]

I am not picking on Mike... he is just very vocal about his mileage.

Ed, would you or Mike have as many miles on your coaches if you we not involved with Workhorse as an ambassadors?

Agreed, an engine failure at 40k and over 3 years but less than 5 years makes the owner happy. But, I think this is the exception and the norm.

When you listen to the "sales" type and ask about warranty the first thing I hear is it "has a 100,000 mile warranty". This tends to give a false sense of security. You hear the same thing with extended warranties.

Negative... You could see it that way.... But, I view it has "looking at the fine print".

How many of you have ever sat in on corporate warranty meetings? If you had you may have a different view of warranties. Warranties are not free..... They are built into the cost of the product.

Why did Newmar dump its 3 year warranty? Cost... The cost of warranty claims and the cost of building the product.

[DriVer]

Originally posted by oemtech:
When you listen to the "sales" type and ask about warranty the first thing I hear is it "has a 100,000 mile warranty". This tends to give a false sense of security. You hear the same thing with extended warranties.

Dale, There is a HUGE difference between OEM warranty and after market extended warranty.

The OEM warranty is the best mechanism that will protect an owner's investment. Therefore regardless of the miles a new owner has a 5 year commitment which in my opinion is more significant than the mileage component. For the average owner this is almost like a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty because few if any will clock up 50K on their odometers. That's an excellent warranty in my opinion.

Extended warranties, for example, from "Warranty Gold" and others were just out to take your money and payment on claims was often painful and inadequate. Here's the rub; this coverage only began after the normal warranty period expired and more than half the time the failed components aren't covered. A lot of people will also point out that you are betting thousands against yourself that something is going to break costing thousands. If nothing breaks you're out a lot of money and the warranty company keeps raking it in. Regarding extended warranties, take the premium cost and put it into a CD and leave it alone. If nothing breaks you're way ahead of the game. If something does break you can pay for the repair yourself.

Regarding the OEM warranty, there isn't a false sense of security. Regarding extended warranties I believe that your absolutely correct and buyer beware.

Closing I'm sure that you are not ultimately suggesting that we forgo warranty for a lower price because that dog just ain't gonna hunt.

PS: Regarding the fuel filter adapter, does that come with a warranty? Was there any consideration to build into the cost of the device any product liability insurance? Surely someone has to come to terms with the cost of warranty and liability. Why would an OEM engine builder be any different?

PPS: There are many more people other than Ed and myself that travel a lot with their motorhomes. There simply can not just be 2 people with high mileage. The fact that we have benchmarked a lot of trouble free miles at the moment isn't unique to our situation. This does however speak to the reliability of the 8.1L engine which is what this thread is all about - not warranties.

[TOMF1936]

Originally posted by DriVer:

PPS: There are many more people other than Ed and myself that travel a lot with their motorhomes. There simply can not just be 2 people with high mileage. The fact that we have benchmarked a lot of trouble free miles at the moment isn't unique to our situation. This does however speak to the reliability of the 8.1L engine which is what this thread is all about - not warranties.

I have an '02 Brave with over 70k miles with no problems so far. I did have Brazels Ultra Power Mod with new plug wires and plugs done at around 46k miles. The original plug wires were still good at 46k miles which makes me believe that the coach builders cause most of the WH problems.

[max49]

Originally posted by TOMF1936

I have an '02 Brave with over 70k miles with no problems so far. I did have Brazels Ultra Power Mod with new plug wires and plugs done at around 46k miles. The original plug wires were still good at 46k miles which makes me believe that the coach builders cause most of the WH problems.

It's good to hear news like this.
Does this mean NO problems? No brake, autopark, Actia , air bag problems?
If so, that's great and make me feel, maybe I can have that too. What chassis do you have?

[Tom N]

My 3 year warranty ran out Jan. 25, 2008. I certainly wish it ran for 2 more years! That's a "no brainer"!

BTW, I never needed any warranty work from Workhorse.

-Tom
10,813.2, trouble free, miles

[Oemtech]

The Durability/Reliability and Warranties are directly related. WH/GM/Allsion would not do 5 year/???,???? miles if they didn't think the product would not make it that far.

I did not intend compare the OEM warranty to a Extended Warranty other than the sales pitch. You are right ONLY the OEM can truly EXTEND the original warranty.

As for the Fuel Filter adapter. If it was mine to market it and I had the money to invest, it would have a patent and have a Lifetime Replacement Warranty. It has no moving parts and can only fail if it is IMPROPERLY INSTALLED. In theory it should not require Product Liability Insurance. But, if I had to I would and the price would probably be $100 a pop.

As for high miler RVers... I will offer a free BBQ dinner for 2 at the Southside Meat Market in Elgin, TX for any RVer on IRV2 that puts 20,000 miles or more on their RV a year.

[TOMF1936]

max49
I have the P32 chassis, no ACTIA. I have had no engine problems, the autopark buzzer started going off intermittently when in park, this was at around 60k miles or so. I got all the info from oldusedbear on the autopark system. The adj took care of the buzzer problem.

As for the air bags, I purchased the MH in Aug 2001, the front end was a little low and the air bags wouldn't quite bring it up to what I considered level. I had the dealer order a set of super steer springs and replace the original springs. Also had the original air bags installed with the new springs. Also had a load controller installed with the switches and meter in the cab so I can adjust the air pressure while driving. The MH seems to handle best with 60/65 psi in the air bags, 10 psi + -from this makes a noticeable difference in the handling. I did have the front end aligned with the normal load we carry and the air bag pressure set at 60 psi.

As for the brakes I have had no problems at all. The only brake work that has been done was to have the brake fluid changed about three years ago. The rotors are showing very little wear, I can barely feel where the pads contact the rotors.

I guess you could say I haven't had any problems that were attributed to WH.

Tom

[TOMF1936]

oemtech

Is that 20k miles total or 20k miles per year? So far I have averaged about 12k miles a year.

[DriVer]

How about if you just suck it up, I'll come to Texas, and you can by me lunch anyway?

PS: The same offer applies if you come here to Myrtle Beach, SC.