Workhorse Chassis

The floor plan is of primary importance. Years ago SOME W series WH chassis had a brake caliper recall. MOST should be well past that incident and have replaced the calipers. Some prefer the WH ride over the Ford chassis ride and some prefer the Allison transmission, which is ONLY available on SOME W series chassis. A lot depends on the year and the exact type of WH chassis that you are talking about. There is a huge difference between the different types of WH chassis.

Somewhat dependent on what year. Ford and Chevy kind of traded back and forth IMO for best Class A chassis.

I am a fan of the Workhorse W chassis, NOT the P chassis so just "Workhorse" doesn't mean much.

And the newer Ford chassis (beginning with the 362 HP and 5 speed transmission) are also good rigs.

When you consider that the WH chassis was about $4-5,000. higher priced and there were so any used there had to be a reason. I was always a Ford guy. DW even was a RN at Ford Motor. I love my WH chassis and even my Saturn toad.

There were numerous reasons why a WH chassis was more expensive than a Ford chassis, some of the reasons did involve better designs, but some definitely involved designs that were not. Then you have to take in consideration that WH had to BUY their engines from GM and their transmissions from Allison. That in itself adds significantly to the prices charged for their chassis, this was not the case with Ford. Now, one has to give consideration to certain parts availability. Actia, the company that built the WH dash is having trouble obtaining certain parts for the WH dash, the last I heard they did not know where they were going to get the parts. Without the parts necessary, the dash displays become unreadable. I think these kinds of issues will simply continue to pop up with the WH chassis. This is most unfortunate.

freestoneangler wrote:
Is the workhorse chassis a really big consideration when looking for a rig? One of the salesmen we spoke with really talked them up. Thus far, my searches on info have not yielded anything that would lead to me to only consider coaches with these. Are their any chassis that one should definitely stay clear of?
Thanks

Don't listen to the salesman, the 06 and newer Ford chassis is just as good or maybe better since Ford is still around and Workhorse and the 8.1 is not.

Given the choice between the two (especially 2006 and newer), I would pay more for the Ford. Parts and service are readily available and will continue to be.

Nail on the head!

rgatijnet1 wrote:
The floor plan is of primary importance. Years ago SOME W series WH chassis had a brake caliper recall. MOST should be well past that incident and have replaced the calipers. Some prefer the WH ride over the Ford chassis ride and some prefer the Allison transmission, which is ONLY available on SOME W series chassis. A lot depends on the year and the exact type of WH chassis that you are talking about. There is a huge difference between the different types of WH chassis.

I have aWorkhorse W -22 2003 and have been very satisfied. Doghouse in Workhorse is much easier to get around than a Ford.

Bob

427435 wrote:
Given the choice between the two (especially 2006 and newer), I would pay more for the Ford. Parts and service are readily available and will continue to be.

IF you go to a Ford dealer that services medium size trucks, that is true. The Ford dealers that DO NOT service big trucks will not work on your RV and do not have any parts in stock.
The facts are that either the Ford or the WH chassis have parts that are available from numerous online sources. GM 8.1L engine parts can be bought at ANY auto parts store, the same as Ford parts can be bought. Once the unit is out of warranty, both the Ford and the WH are equal, as far as service goes. Parts and service are available at most truck service centers that can handle medium size trucks. With millions of 8.1L engines, and Allison transmissions currently in use, parts and service will be available for many decades in the future.

When buying mine new in the fall of '08, I had the advantage of test driving both the Ford and the Workhorse in the same model coach.

My thoughts going in was to buy the Ford but through the test drives I found the Workhorse to be quieter and more responsive. The Allison tranny was also smoother and managed the hills better both going up and coming down using the grade brake. I went with the Workhorse and have been very happy with it.

Just my personal experience and opinion.