Ford V10 vs Chevy Gas

[base1957]

I see a lot of the V10s for sale but fewer of the Chevy it seems.
I remember the V10s had some issues spark plugs or heads ... not sure when the issues were fixed.
Whats your opinion or experiences with the two.... I ve stayed away from the V10s but would like to remain open minded.

[crawford]

Maybe part but not the crappy park brake system. sometimes it wouldn't release the brake on tranny. the solenoid would get so hot it could burn you good. They were to cheep to put a park paw in the tranny.

[map40]

rgatijnet1 wrote:
WH brakes were covered by a recall and like the one I had, everything was replaced with new parts. Unless the WH recall was totally ignored by the previous owner, the brake issue is really a non-issue. The bulletproof Allison transmission is the main reason a lot of people prefer the WH chassis. As far as internal failures, the rate is very low and probably about the same as with the Ford engines. Mine went well over 100K and so did many other 8.1L engines with no problems at all. Like every other mechanical object, it does take routine maintenance to keep thing running smoothly.

That very well could be. I know at least 2 people that ended paying for a whole break system overhaul, don't now if they had any recall work done or not.

[Gjac]

It really depends on what year you are considering. I would buy something 2006 or newer only because the V-10 and 8.1 had the most HP and better transmission by then. If all things were equal I would chose the 8.1 over the V-10 because of the Allision transmission. Also some of the older V-10's were very noisy because of the higher rpms required to make the 362 HP. In the newer ones more gears were added and dog houses seem better insulated and the higher RPMs were not as objectionable, but I am used to an old 454 that makes max torque at much lower rpms. You can't go wrong with either after 2006. Older than that I would get the 8.1.

[Stim]

sgfrye wrote:
i had 20 years experience with a fleet service consisting of cargo vans. the v10 plug issues are from early days. we got 300k trouble free miles out of v10s post 2005, same with the 5.4 from late 90s thru early 2000s. bullet proof engine that loves to drink gas. don't get me started on ford diesels after the older 7.3 diesel. i have no experience with chevy and dodge

Time Cert is an aftermarket spark plug repair kit for Ford engines.
The kit instructions state that it covers 4-6-8-10 cylinder Ford engines from 1993 to 2004.

[sgfrye]

i had 20 years experience with a fleet service consisting of cargo vans. the v10 plug issues are from early days. we got 300k trouble free miles out of v10s post 2005, same with the 5.4 from late 90s thru early 2000s. bullet proof engine that loves to drink gas. don't get me started on ford diesels after the older 7.3 diesel. i have no experience with chevy and dodge

[rgatijnet1]

WH brakes were covered by a recall and like the one I had, everything was replaced with new parts. Unless the WH recall was totally ignored by the previous owner, the brake issue is really a non-issue. The bulletproof Allison transmission is the main reason a lot of people prefer the WH chassis. As far as internal failures, the rate is very low and probably about the same as with the Ford engines. Mine went well over 100K and so did many other 8.1L engines with no problems at all. Like every other mechanical object, it does take routine maintenance to keep thing running smoothly.

[map40]

WH chassis had more problems with the Bosh breaks and the 8.1 is considered less desirable because is not common and they have a history of internal failure. The same floor plan will be 10 to 15% cheaper with a WH chassis in the used market. The V10 pre-2001 had the spark plug problem. It was improved after that, and then completely fixed in 2005.
Transmission on the WH is better than the Ford, but the Ford after 1997 does OK.
Ford owns 87% of the gas market, that is why you don’t see too many WH.
I had a fleet and as a policy decided not to buy WH because I wanted everything the same.
If the WH has been properly taken care off, it could be great, but I would put some of the cash you save by not buying the Ford aside in case you have to do brakes. (Normally you need to replace calipers and all).

[Rick_Jay]

One additional reason that you tend to see more Ford chassis RVs when Workhorse was a competitor in that market was price. We ordered our RV new and got to choose between a Ford or WH chassis. I chose the WH. At the time, the "retail" price difference between the two was about $5,000 or so, from our manufacturer. The actual price difference was about a $2,800 upcharge for the WH chassis. I gladly paid it.

At the time the WH chassis had a lower doghouse and my wife REALLY liked that. I liked the Allison transmission.

I viewed it like this: I paid $2,799.99 to keep the wife happy and I got an Allison Transmission for a PENNY!!! What a deal!!! LOL

Anyway, a lot of motorhomes are ordered by the dealership for inventory and they usually choose the least expensive chassis available as the majority of purchasers don't know, don't understand or just don't care about the differences. So to keep the price down, they order what's cheapest for their inventory.

I love my WH chassis. I love our floorplan. That said, I would put the selection of a good floorplan that will work for you OVER the choice of chassis, all other things being equal. Our rig has been going strong now for 17 seasons with 4 kids and up to 2 dogs, over the years. I wish we could use it more, and with retirement hopefully just 2 years away, I'm hoping we'll have that opportunity.

IF I ever do decide to purchase another, I'm thinking a 20 year old, gently owned, Prevost unit would just about be in my price range. Buy quality and you won't regret the purchase. 🙂

~Rick

[pianotuna]

crawford wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
2005 and up is fine for the v-10. Lots of power. Loves to be fueled up.

I've done 3 sets of rear brakes in 120,000 miles--and I'm light footed on them.

Something is wrong with your rears should last 2 times longer then the front ones at least.

My front brakes are still OEM.

[pianotuna]

Hikerdogs wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
2005 and up is fine for the v-10. Lots of power. Loves to be fueled up.

I've done 3 sets of rear brakes in 120,000 miles--and I'm light footed on them.

Apparently not as light footed as you could be. We put over 110,000 miles on our 2001 Adventurer and did one brake job at 75,000. We currently have over 50,000 miles on our 2013 Adventurer and the brakes are well over 50%.

Hiker Dog my unit weighs, fully loaded, 13750 lbs. It is rated for 14000. I live on the prairies and coast to a stop as much as I can. My average fuel economy is 11 mpg (us gallons).

The rotors warp. This is a known defect. Then they wear. Then they grind.

[crawford]

pianotuna wrote:
2005 and up is fine for the v-10. Lots of power. Loves to be fueled up.

I've done 3 sets of rear brakes in 120,000 miles--and I'm light footed on them.

Something is wrong with your rears should last 2 times longer then the front ones at least.

[Hikerdogs]

pianotuna wrote:
2005 and up is fine for the v-10. Lots of power. Loves to be fueled up.

I've done 3 sets of rear brakes in 120,000 miles--and I'm light footed on them.

Apparently not as light footed as you could be. We put over 110,000 miles on our 2001 Adventurer and did one brake job at 75,000. We currently have over 50,000 miles on our 2013 Adventurer and the brakes are well over 50%.

[dodge_guy]

The plug issue was fixed in 2003. After that no plug issues. The F53 got the 3 valve when it came out in the chassis around 06 or 07? The Eseries kept the 2 valve. The 3 valve V-10 had 362HP and 457TQ. Ford dominated the market for years and now is the only manuf offering a class A MH chassis. This is why there are so many more V-10's out there.

[Bruce_Brown]

The spark plug issue was over-hyped by the internet, surprise. If you happen to be one with an issue its easily fixable. My level of concern would be zero.

As far as the 8.1, lately there seems to have been more than a few posts on them going BOOM - not enough to make me scared of one, but enough that I noticed it.