Florida RV SuperShow
Gas or diesel: Workhorse® offers great choices, power, performance and value for Class A's
Come to Workhorse booth No. 110 at the Florida RV SuperShow in Tampa (Industry day is January 12 and the public days are January 13-17.), and we'll show you another great choice from Workhorse: a Class A chassis that gets up to 13.2 mpg!
The Workhorse® W20D/22D front-engine diesel chassis with its MaxxForce® 7 engine has taken a big leap in improving motor home fuel economy while providing some hard-pulling torque for front engine Class A motor homes along with the quietest V8 diesel engine you might ever drive.
Independent tests at Bosch Proving Grounds in South Bend, Ind., had this chassis-engine match-up achieving 13.2 mpg, an almost unheard of figure for a Class A motor home. The tests were conducted with a 32-foot Four Winds Serrano coach body and loaded to the maximum GVWR of 20,500 lbs. The Serrano drew heavy consumer interest throughout 2009 and was named a "Best of Show" at the September Pennsylvania RV and Camping Show by
RVbuddiesonline.com.
The legend
The big block 8.1L Vortec™ gas engine remains the mainstay of Workhorse's gas offerings. For passing, merging and climbing, this engine is still the king of the gas Class A hill. Since 2001, the 8.1L Vortec has achieved legendary status in helping power Workhorse chassis sales, and its appeal remains strong with motor home buyers. Coupled with the six speed Allison transmission and Workhorse chassis engineering, the 8.1L Vortec remains a key part of the Workhorse W Series value package of a bigger engine, better transmission and the best ride and handling.
The latest version of the MaxxForce 7 tuned for motor homes comes with 230 horsepower and 620 lb.-ft. of torque from a 6.4L V8 platform. "This is a tested, proven and very reliable engine that is already making its mark in the RV industry," said Tony Monda, Workhorse RV vice president of marketing. "Coupled with our six speed Allison transmission, our W20D and W22D front engine diesel platforms deliver unheard of fuel economy for a full size Class A, have incredible pulling power, and are ultra quiet. In this day of unstable and rising cost of fuel, the product certainly delivers sustainable power, performance and value for today’s RVers. It gives nothing away in terms of power and performance to achieve better fuel economy. RVers now have choices they've never had before with front engine Class As."
Drivers will also immediately notice that MaxxForce 7 is quiet. In fact, at 68.9Dba, the MaxxForce 7 reaches a level of quietness only seen with gas powered engines.
'Retails quickly'
Four Winds Director of Marketing Jon Krider said dealerships with their Serrano product find that "it retails quite quickly. They're getting a lot of people that traditionally look at diesel pushers and longer coaches. These customers are finding many features with the coach and chassis that they like, starting with things like storage and the whole aerodynamic look and contemporary feel of the coach."
Regarding the W20D and Serrano matchup, Krider said, "retail customers comment on how quiet the cockpit is for having a diesel engine right under their feet. We get a lot of comments about just how well the coach drives because of the 50 degree turning radius and being able turn a short coach around in a tight area. And we get many good comments about the overall stability of the coach moving down the road."
For such reasons, Krider believes spring sales of the Serrano will be even better.
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