I've had both. I'm not a engine expert, far from it. My Our 2002 Pace Arrow had a Ford V10. Really nice MH, handled the mountains of SoCal nicely. We traded it after knee surgery because the "dog house" was just to high and wide making it extremely difficult to swing out from the front seats. Our next MH a 2005 Winnebago Adventurer had the Workhorse 8.1. Also performed flawlessly on the SoCal mountains and had a flatter, not flat front. We really enjoyed this RV and just traded it for our Allegro diesel for many reasons. One being that it is much quieter up front now. So based on my experiences I really see no difference between the Ford V10 and the Workhorse 8.1. But it is truly a loaded question because it bring up the long standing argument of which is better the Chevy for the Ford. Best of luck, and you did the right thing by walking away. I would not be surprised if you get a call in a week or so saying the Dolphin is still available if you want to talk some more.
