Class A Motorhome Engines

Sully2 wrote:
Stay away from Damons; stay away from in excess is 36 foot if its a gasser....and find a new mechanic

Why stay away from a 36+ gasser? The 2006 is a fine engine for gassers up to what, 39 or 40 feet now? I have a 2006 that is 37' and I tow a Grand Caravan, no problems at all. Have you driven a gasser in the length
you recommend not to drive?

I have had the Ford V-10 and it is a very good engine. I believe I would probably take it over the GM engine.

But I would never return to that mechanic that told you to stay away from the Ford Triton engine. It is one of the best.

Stay away from Damons; stay away from in excess is 36 foot if its a gasser....and find a new mechanic

Dutch Dolly wrote:
My husband and I are looking at buying a used motorhome (probably around 2004-2005) and were told by a mechanic friend of ours to stay away from the Ford Triton V10 engine. But it seems like everything I look at has this type of engine. What can anyone tell me about this engine and can you suggest other models that have different engines? I did see a 2005 Damon Challenger that has a GM 8.1L engine. Does anyone know anything about this type of engine?

Boy, did you open up a can of worms. As you'll hear time and time again, the Ford V10 is a great little engine and developed a lot more power later on and after it's introduction in 99. Having said that, the 8.1 is a big block V8 power house and coupled with the Allison transmission on a Workhorse chassis can be hard to beat, especially if the tranny is a six speed and the chassis is a W24. They don't make the 8.1 anymore and WH has quit the Coach business, so if you can find a good one, with the floor plan you're looking for, I'd go for it in a heartbeat. Right now, Ford is about it with the gas puller models.

We have the V10 in our 99 Holiday Rambler. We have about 42K on ours now. Almost all the new gas burners I've seen are Fords. You would be very much limiting yourself if you don't look at the Fords!

That being said, I've had one problem with ours. We were going on vacation last year when we came up on a heavy rain. Luckily we were in the middle of Nashville. Our coach slowed down and wouldn't get over 25 MPH. Turns out in the early years of this design the air intake snorkel would suck water into the filter and collapse it. When the air shuts down, so does the RPMs. A new Motorcraft filter and we were back on the road. Now I keep a spare. I hear there is a fix from the factory, but my local dealership isn't aware of it, if it still is available. As far as blowing plugs, that was very rare. Mostly involved the 5.4 V8 in 1997. The 6.8 is the 5.4 + 2 cylinders.

Now to your mechanic - if you stay with the same guy (and sometimes its a close friend or family) and you have problems, you will get a lot of "I told you so"s. If its a deal-breaker, go diesel!

Daveinet wrote:

tatest wrote:
Find a better informed mechanic. The V-10 is a workhorse. So is the 7.4 or 8.1 General Motors Vortec truck engine in the GM chassis that got branded Workhorse.

You can't go wrong with either one. Both are good for at least 200,000 miles, maybe 500,000 miles before overhaul if well cared for. The RVs they are put in don't last that long. Work trucks do.

The Vortec V-8 produces a moderately peaked torque at lower RPM, falls of at higher RPm but maintains enough torque at 4000 RPM to get a 325-340 HP rating, but most of the time you are at 1200 - 2000 and 20-30% max horsepower. The engine has a V-8 rumble, which I find pleasant, having grown up with the sound.

The Triton V-10 has no torque peak. It has intake runners tuned for two different RPM ranges, producing flat torque from 1800 RPM to 4000 RPM, a little bump about 10% higher where the intake tunings overlap gets called a peak. Torque curve looks like a turbodiesel, except the V-10 has it flat over a much larger RPM range. A torque curve like this doesn't need a lot of gears, it is always in a pulling range. Horsepower rises linearly with RPM to 4000, where it is flat at maximum rating until the the ECM cuts it off at redline. No peak, same horsepower, maximum rating, 4000 RPM to 6000 RPM.

Because it has 10 cylinders instead of 8, the V-10 sort of screams. Like a Formula One Renault V-10. Even at low RPM there is no pleasant rumble. At 4000-5800 RPM, when you are pulling max power, it really screams. Noises you will never hear from a big block V-8 that has already started shutting down just above 4000 RPM. This isn't a big block, it is a small block with extra cylinders.

A lot of people don't like the V-10 because it doesn't feel like, doesn't sound like, the four cylinder and V-6 engines in their cars. Or like the V-8s in there trucks. When it gets up to where it is doing its work, the V-10 sounds like it is tearing itself apart. It is not, it can run max power at 4000-5000 RPM all day long. The cooling system is sized for the job.

Um, I think you need to look a little closer at the torque curves between the 2 engines. The 8.1 has more torque at any RPM than the 2 valve V10. At 1500 RPM, the V10 is at 89% of its peak torque, the 8.1 is at 87% of its peak torque. So the difference in torque flatness is not enough that anyone can feel. HOWEVER, the V10 is around 375 FT-lbs at 1500 RPM, where the 8.1 is at 400 ft-lbs of torque. The V10 is not hitting 400 ft-lbs till it reaches 2600 rpm.

True, but keep in mind the V10 is also geared to run in the proper RPM range for it.

The bottom line - both work very well. If I were shopping for a gasser the engine would be about the last thing I'd be concerned with.

The plug popping issue was mostly the '99's - much newer than that and it's kind of a non-issue. Matter of fact, even in the '99's it was pretty rare considering the number of them on the road.

As to avoiding a V10, thats kind of silly. The V10 is and has been an excellent motor, and as of a few days ago Ford announced they are going to offering it in the medium truck market as well, territory previously you'd only find a diesel.

And as has been said, others have come and gone, Ford is the only gas chassis left - there must be a reason they're still here.

I'm not sure where your mechanic was coming from but on this one I think he's a bit out in left field.

The only engine to avoid right now is the Navistar MaxxForce, as it was in production for only a short time before Navistar shed its RV engine division. Thor used it for a diesel puller application.

tatest wrote:
Find a better informed mechanic. The V-10 is a workhorse. So is the 7.4 or 8.1 General Motors Vortec truck engine in the GM chassis that got branded Workhorse.

You can't go wrong with either one. Both are good for at least 200,000 miles, maybe 500,000 miles before overhaul if well cared for. The RVs they are put in don't last that long. Work trucks do.

The Vortec V-8 produces a moderately peaked torque at lower RPM, falls of at higher RPm but maintains enough torque at 4000 RPM to get a 325-340 HP rating, but most of the time you are at 1200 - 2000 and 20-30% max horsepower. The engine has a V-8 rumble, which I find pleasant, having grown up with the sound.

The Triton V-10 has no torque peak. It has intake runners tuned for two different RPM ranges, producing flat torque from 1800 RPM to 4000 RPM, a little bump about 10% higher where the intake tunings overlap gets called a peak. Torque curve looks like a turbodiesel, except the V-10 has it flat over a much larger RPM range. A torque curve like this doesn't need a lot of gears, it is always in a pulling range. Horsepower rises linearly with RPM to 4000, where it is flat at maximum rating until the the ECM cuts it off at redline. No peak, same horsepower, maximum rating, 4000 RPM to 6000 RPM.

Because it has 10 cylinders instead of 8, the V-10 sort of screams. Like a Formula One Renault V-10. Even at low RPM there is no pleasant rumble. At 4000-5800 RPM, when you are pulling max power, it really screams. Noises you will never hear from a big block V-8 that has already started shutting down just above 4000 RPM. This isn't a big block, it is a small block with extra cylinders.

A lot of people don't like the V-10 because it doesn't feel like, doesn't sound like, the four cylinder and V-6 engines in their cars. Or like the V-8s in there trucks. When it gets up to where it is doing its work, the V-10 sounds like it is tearing itself apart. It is not, it can run max power at 4000-5000 RPM all day long. The cooling system is sized for the job.

Um, I think you need to look a little closer at the torque curves between the 2 engines. The 8.1 has more torque at any RPM than the 2 valve V10. At 1500 RPM, the V10 is at 89% of its peak torque, the 8.1 is at 87% of its peak torque. So the difference in torque flatness is not enough that anyone can feel. HOWEVER, the V10 is around 375 FT-lbs at 1500 RPM, where the 8.1 is at 400 ft-lbs of torque. The V10 is not hitting 400 ft-lbs till it reaches 2600 rpm.

Find a better informed mechanic. The V-10 is a workhorse. So is the 7.4 or 8.1 General Motors Vortec truck engine in the GM chassis that got branded Workhorse.

You can't go wrong with either one. Both are good for at least 200,000 miles, maybe 500,000 miles before overhaul if well cared for. The RVs they are put in don't last that long. Work trucks do.

The Vortec V-8 produces a moderately peaked torque at lower RPM, falls of at higher RPm but maintains enough torque at 4000 RPM to get a 325-340 HP rating, but most of the time you are at 1200 - 2000 and 20-30% max horsepower. The engine has a V-8 rumble, which I find pleasant, having grown up with the sound.

The Triton V-10 has no torque peak. It has intake runners tuned for two different RPM ranges, producing flat torque from 1800 RPM to 4000 RPM, a little bump about 10% higher where the intake tunings overlap gets called a peak. Torque curve looks like a turbodiesel, except the V-10 has it flat over a much larger RPM range. A torque curve like this doesn't need a lot of gears, it is always in a pulling range. Horsepower rises linearly with RPM to 4000, where it is flat at maximum rating until the the ECM cuts it off at redline. No peak, same horsepower, maximum rating, 4000 RPM to 6000 RPM.

Because it has 10 cylinders instead of 8, the V-10 sort of screams. Like a Formula One Renault V-10. Even at low RPM there is no pleasant rumble. At 4000-5800 RPM, when you are pulling max power, it really screams. Noises you will never hear from a big block V-8 that has already started shutting down just above 4000 RPM. This isn't a big block, it is a small block with extra cylinders.

A lot of people don't like the V-10 because it doesn't feel like, doesn't sound like, the four cylinder and V-6 engines in their cars. Or like the V-8s in there trucks. When it gets up to where it is doing its work, the V-10 sounds like it is tearing itself apart. It is not, it can run max power at 4000-5000 RPM all day long. The cooling system is sized for the job.