Workhorse to Ford

[ron55]

how many of you have gone from the troubled workhorse to ford chassis?
would you share your experience? I looking to trade up to ford. thanks

[Kvtaylor]

Ron55, We looked at the workhorse chassis, but there was rumors going around in 07 that they were changing their motors. So we went with Ford in a 2008 Forest River Georgetown. We just finished a 8900 mile trip out west and had no problems. The motor home had plenty of power in the mts and fuel millage varied from7.5 to 9.2 with an average of 8.7 overall towing a Saturn Aura. We do have some side rock when trucks go by, but not enough to change the suspension. we did add a Safe-t stablizer. We have the model 378 and the front end had to be aligned at the first. It was brought to my attention when the dealer added the stablizer. Ford and Forest River paid the bill. Over all, we are well pleased with our Ford.

[Batman_777]

Issues I have with the Ford
- Motor (Triton V-10) is underpowered for MH's over 32 feet
- Chassis is underrated (Not heavy duty enough) for MH's over 32 feet causing a lot of sway, steering, cargo load and suspension problems.
- Tranny downshift at the slightest drag (so it seemed) and sounds like the motor is going to come apart from over-reving.
- Aluminum heads on the V-8 and V-10 (Spark Plug Spitting) (Ford will not fix this problem)

[Clifftall]

I put 51,000 on my 2001 and have 11,000 on my 2008 . All trouble free for the most part.

Cliff

[dieselclacker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ron55 how many of you have gone from the troubled workhorse to ford chassis? would you share your experience? I looking to trade up to ford. thanks

ron, IMHO, going from a Workhorse to a Ford in not a trade UP! True, a brake problem exists with some Workhorse chassis (W-20 and W-22) but has not been expierienced by all owners. An upcomming recall is supposed to solve this braking issue. I have over 32k miles and six years on our Workhorse and have had no problems with the brakes. If it is the brakes that is influincing your decision against Workhorse, you might consider the W-24 chassis. Same great 8.1 engine and Allison 6 speed transmission plus added weight carrying ability, and really good, problem free braking system.The extra cost of the Workhorse is, in my opinion, well worth it, and is a much better package than the RV package offered by Ford, especially for units that are over 32 feet in length.

Dieselclacker

[Clifftall]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieselclacker ron, IMHO, going from a Workhorse to a Ford in not a trade UP! True, a brake problem exists with some Workhorse chassis (W-20 and W-22) but has not been expierienced by all owners. An upcomming recall is supposed to solve this braking issue. I have over 32k miles and six years on our Workhorse and have had no problems with the brakes. If it is the brakes that is influincing your decision against Workhorse, you might consider the W-24 chassis. Same great 8.1 engine and Allison 6 speed transmission plus added weight carrying ability, and really good, problem free braking system.The extra cost of the Workhorse is, in my opinion, well worth it, and is a much better package than the RV package offered by Ford, especially for units that are over 32 feet in length. Dieselclacker

What does IMHO stand for? I see it a lot and can't figure it out.

Cliff

[Beachcomber]

I agree with most of the above posts. The Workhorse is the heavier duty chassis, better suited to larger coaches. But I can also attest to the anguish of having problems with the brakes and getting no help from WH whatsoever.

I traded a 2004 32ft class A with WH chassis, and repeated brake problems. My primary purpose was to downsize, and I went with a 2008 Winnebago Aspect class C, 26ft. It rides on a 14,500# Ford chassis with V10 and 5sp torque-shift tranny. Being only 26 ft, this chassis has plenty of reserve weight capicity (over 2000#) as we have it loaded. This is the best performing and handling MH we have owned (2 class C's and 2 class A's ranging from 26 to 32 feet).

Regarding Workhorse, my complaint is not the brake problem per se, but that they would not respond to my requests for assistance in getting something as critical as the brakes fixed and dependable. To my great surprise, they repeatedly took a position, the chassis is out of warranty so we won't even talk to you. In the end they sold my brand loyalty pretty cheap, IMHO. I will not knowingly spend my money with anyone who won't even try to assist a customer with a problem.

[Batman_777]

IMHO (In My Humble Opinion)

[Beachcomber]

By the way IMHO is short for In My Humble Opinion, in my humble opinion.

[Clifftall]

thank you both.
cliff

[LVJ58]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Batman_777 Issues I have with the Ford - Motor (Triton V-10) is underpowered for MH's over 32 feet - Chassis is underrated (Not heavy duty enough) for MH's over 32 feet causing a lot of sway, steering, cargo load and suspension problems. - Tranny downshift at the slightest drag (so it seemed) and sounds like the motor is going to come apart from over-reving. - Aluminum heads on the V-8 and V-10 (Spark Plug Spitting) (Ford will not fix this problem)

With all due respect to this post, I woleheartedly concur with the "underpowered" comment concerning coaches over 32', as ours is 37'8" and could definitely use more power. However we've always been able to navigate steep mountain grades, albeit sometimes at very slow speeds.

We've not experienced any excessive sway, steering, cargo load and/or any suspension problems whatsoever with our coach.

Regarding transmission downshift, being electronically controlled, it functions in concert with the engine' ECM and shifts according to power demands for the speed and/or load.

Up until the 3valve v10 engines were introduced, the v10 developed it's max torque and horsepower at just 50rpm's over that of the 8.1 GM v8. However I will stipulate the engine driven cooling fan may be louder on the v10 than the v8. The v8 is somewhat quieter than the v10 in that the v8 is mounted lower in the WH chassis.

As far as the aluminum head spark plug spitting issue, I've not been aware, nor seen any posts that would indicate this problem exists with later model v10's, however I would defer to the quoted poster's source of information concerning that issue.

In the 9 years of ownership of our 2000 coach with 66,000+ miles, it has performed flawlessly and been extremely dependable and trouble free with exception of a rather harsh ride in the cockpit until I replaced our front shocks with the Koni FSD shocks.

I would recommend to anyone considering purchasing a coach built on either chassis, take an extended test drive wth both, then choose the one you feel best meets your requirements for floor plan, handling, ride, power and quality of construction.

Best regards, Jim

P.S. Our coach became an orphan in 2001

[Marty too]

IMHO (In My Humble Opinion)

Interesting. I always thought it meant "In My HONEST Opinion." Never once thought about "Humble."

Marty

[Mc2guy]

I would say WH had a definitely advantage over ford from an engine and chassis design perspective up until 2005 when Ford introduced their new F53 and 3-valve V10. I drove both extensively during my shopping for a coach last year and could not find any one trait that outshone on one chassis or the other.

The Ford seemed more stable at higher speeds and seemed to track more smoothly on smooth pavement, while the WH seemed easier to navigate at slow speeds and slightly smoother over rough pavement. Power seemed about the same to me.

Combine the fact that WH has a known and much discussed brake problem and have not shown themselves to be customer service oriented with the fact that it is cheaper and can be serviced at more locations (any Ford truck dealer can generally service your F53 chassis); I went with the Ford. I have 11000 miles and counting including a coast to coast trip this summer with no issues so far.

I may try the Koni FSD shocks to smooth out the ride at somepoint...both chassis are metal leaf sprung and are a little harsh on rough pavement. Neither will hold a candle to a air-sprung DP chassis.

Oh, also, I have 3300lbs of CCC on my 35J model, so absolutely no problems with weight on the Ford for my 35 foot Winnie.

[DriVer]

"I would recommend to anyone considering purchasing a coach built on either chassis, take an extended test drive wth both, then choose the one you feel best meets your requirements for floor plan, handling, ride, power and quality of construction."

This is the advice that I could offer as well.